Growing up in Belfast Jenny had, from an early age, a desire to explore the world. During her school days she sought opportunities to travel and, with the help of various bursaries, was able to tour America. She lived on a Kibbutz in Israel and inter-railed around Europe before starting university.
As a Duke of Edinburgh Gold award recipient, she was selected to take part in an international team who were the first to circumnavigate the world overland in 1994, driving overland from London to New York. At the age of 21 she was the youngest member and one of only three women who took part in the expedition.
The team, led by Richard Creasey and sponsored by Ford, drove overland from London to New York in Ford Mavericks and Ford Mondeos (one of which is in the Ulster Transport Museum) meeting the challenges of the Channel tunnel, Siberia and the Bering Straits. The expedition, which was endorsed by the United Nations in its 50th anniversary year, was a first for event television and was aired each week on the ITV network.
The Overland Challenge expedition was unique in terms of automotive history, political contexts and routes that pushed vehicles and teams into extreme environments, often operating below -50 degrees Celsius.
Jenny is married to John, and they have two children, Erin and James.
During her time at university, Jenny took part in a Raleigh International expedition where she learnt how to dive and went on to become an Advanced Instructor utilising this skill to train many others in the sport across the world, diving in Central America, Asia, Europe and Africa.
Jenny works in education and is passionate about delivering and facilitating training which creates positive impact. She is recognised as a Higher Education Fellow by the Higher Education Academy and as a Chartered Fellow by the Chartered Management Institute.
Archival photographs provided courtesy of Richard Blanshard. Archival footage provided courtesy of Richard Blanshard and Kees t'Hooft.
