Meet Trailblazer Janifer “Jan” Kulmann

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janifer “Jan” Kulmann.

Janifer, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a wife, Mom, Engineer and Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of Thornton, Colorado.

My family has strong roots in Colorado. My paternal Great Grandparents settled in Steamboat Springs as ranchers. They were involved in their local public school and my grandfather was a principal. My maternal grandparents helped start the successful community college in Steamboat Springs still going strong today and my grandfather served on the School Board.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my family traveling throughout the state. Colorado was always part of my life and when my husband Dave and I had an opportunity to move back in 2007, we jumped at the chance. I chose Thornton because of the community, the opportunities for my growing family, and the feeling of coming home.

I am the proud Mom of two young kids, a 14-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter. When not volunteering at their school or serving as a City Councilmember at various events and meetings, I can be found cheering at my son’s baseball and soccer games or supporting my daughter’s ballet and singing activities.

Serving the community runs in my family. My father chose to become a public-school teacher after a full career as a pilot in the Air Force. My Mother did the same once their commitment to the military and its travel requirements ended.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Life is a journey with plenty of ups and downs. Mine has been no exception. My daily life is filled with choices, struggles and obstacles. I work hard to view each one of those as opportunities.

I have been blessed with a great career, a loving family and a heart to serve my community. The challenge I face every day is finding the balance for each one and keeping my priorities straight. This challenge is a huge blessing and I do the best I can.

As I tell my own daughter often, seek the joy in everything, appreciate the challenges, embrace life and never stop climbing.

We’d love to hear more about Mom, Engineer, City Councilmember.
I have spent my working career in both Texas and Colorado after receiving a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana State University, along with a minor in music performance. Later, I earned an MBA from Colorado State University.

Early in my career, I spent several years designing infrastructure for local electric utilities in the fast-growing Houston metro area and coordinated efforts with area builders and developers to safely increase the power supply for residents and businesses.

When my family made the move to Thornton in 2007, I took my leadership skills and technical expertise in both process safety and environmental protection to the oil & gas industry. In my role, I manage and develop the people, processes and programs that are necessary to ensure operations are conducted safely and with strict environmental protections.

I am proud of my profession. Being an engineer, I work hard every day to support safe development of our natural resources that are vital to our quality of life.

What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
Always be honest & open. Be civil in discussions no matter how heated the issue may be. Treat everyone with the respect you would like to be treated with. Seek out constructive criticism and always be willing to do better.

Make sure you are surrounding yourself with people who make you better and challenge you in good ways. Build relationships and be as much as a giver as you are a taker. Take risks! Trust your abilities and training. But most importantly, know your value.

This is how I operate, and I challenge everyone to do the same.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jankulmann.com/
• Phone: 720.440.7250
• Email: JanK4Mayor@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/councilmemberjankulmann/

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