Jenny Garley with co-worker and WGW graduate, Megan Kavanaugh.
Jenny Garley in her early years.
Jenny describes herself as someone “riding a rocket ship to the moon.” Anyone is welcome to jump on, she explained, but she never felt like she could jump off as there are no stops on the way to the moon. That philosophy shaped her approach to opportunity. She kept saying yes, even when she didn’t know where it would lead. “Say yes,” Jenny often tells young people. “If it’s going to help you for a month, a few months, a year, or a decade, just say yes, because you never know where it will lead.” In fourth grade, Jenny was diagnosed with dyslexia and labeled “retarded” by her school. She was then removed from mainstream classes because educators assumed she would require too much support. At that time, dyslexia was poorly understood, and support was limited, but Jenny refused to be left behind. Her mother, her fiercest advocate, immediately petitioned to put Jenny back in the regular classroom, knowing her daughter was more than capable with the right tools. She knew that Jenny was simply a different kind of thinker. Jenny describes herself during those years as “the little engine that could,” believing firmly that you can crumble or rise above. And rise above she did. Jenny not only earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Pacific University, but also a master’s degree in food science and technology from Oregon State University. After two years into
her undergraduate degree and at only 20 years old, she received an Industrial Sea Grant Fellowship that provided a full ride for her master’s degree. The fellowship followed her work in Alaska, where she studied food safety microbiology, set up labs for salmon caviar processing and partnered with the University of Alaska to research ozone injected into fish processing water. And when time permitted, Jenny helped with elephant seal research in the remote islands near Kodiak. She even ran a fly-fishing guide service there. Jenny told me she had no idea those early experiences would continue opening doors throughout her career, but they most certainly did. I’ve known Jenny for almost two years now, and I can confidently say that she is not someone who boasts about her accomplishments. But listening to her describe her academic journey, from being removed from the classroom due to dyslexia to earning a fully funded graduate fellowship, I couldn’t help but feel proud of her—proud that she proved everyone wrong. After leaving Alaska, Jenny applied her microbiology degree in the workforce. She was recruited directly out of college by the National Food Laboratory, where she conducted microbial testing for major food manufacturers and worked internationally with processors to certify ready-to-eat and shelf-stable food equipment. For the next decade of her life, Jenny focused on one of her most fulfilling roles: raising her three children. Olivia, Milan and Kitty, now 22, 18 and 15, are the light of her life, and her face
31 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com January – March 2026
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