Susan Jimenez: Attacking the Bits and Bytes
Imagine going to college to prepare yourself for an industry—that doesn’t yet exist! That’s how the story begins for Rehoboth Beach resident and businesswoman Susan Jimenez. Though the liberal arts program at the small religious college she attended couldn’t have foreseen the digital revolution, the resulting self-discipline would make her a pioneering force in business and technology. Susan’s company, Guardian Property Management, is thriving testimony to her extraordinary ambition.
It all started in the mid-1960s, when she and her husband immersed themselves in the social upheaval of the day; helping to organize marches on Washington, D.C., most notably the “Resurrection City” of 1968. Shortly afterward, her “flower child” persona, combined with what she describes as being “fearless of things; an idea person,” lead her to form Community of Hope, her first non-profit corporation. Still going strong today, it now provides transitional housing and other services to homeless and low-income individuals and families.
As if she didn’t have enough to do, Susan Jimenez also taught second through sixth grades in Montgomery County, MD; that is, until she gave birth to her first child—and also to her second non-profit corporation, the Acorn Hill School in Maryland. The school still exists, carrying on her mission of full and free development of the capabilities of children.
Though Susan’s marriage began to wind down in the mid-1980s, she still wasn’t finished being a social pioneer. She met a young woman named Brenda. Susan won custody of her kids and together they lived as an “alternative family” back before anybody even knew what that was.
When she was 38, Jimenez took a job at the Department of Defense. The life-and-death significance of the job meshed perfectly with the work ethic instilled in her by her Christian education. She eagerly absorbed concepts of telecommunications and information technology from the very people who would be instrumental in the development of the Internet itself. Continuing on the fast-track (climbing over six pay-scale grades in record time), she attended a six-month national security seminar at Harvard University, and was also awarded a civilian medal by Colin Powell for her technical contributions to Desert Storm. During that time she graduated as Valedictorian from a two and-a-half year program designed to groom women for high-level posts in government leadership. To this day, she still returns to speak to new graduates.
Needing something to fill her spare time (!), Susan took part in the formation of Women in Technology, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the integration of women into the “boy’s club” of IT. She also holds the distinction of being the first woman to be elected president of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association which, even then, boasted over four thousand members.
In the early ‘90s, at an AFCEA conference in San Diego, destiny smiled yet again on Susan Jimenez. She happened to be seated next to another attendee, Cathy Benson (also a talented professional in her own right). Though Susan
didn’t know it at the time, Cathy would become her life partner and eventually accompany her to Rehoboth Beach.
In the late 1990s, the Boeing Corporation sought out Susan’s flair for organization and charged her with the task of familiarizing government officials with Boeing’s massive 777 Jetliner. During that time, Susan was also presented with the FED 100 Award, honoring her as one of the Nation’s top 100 Federal executives. Now even further seasoned, Jimenez left Boeing to take a Vice President position with the Science Application International Corporation. She traveled extensively, bringing U.S. technological know-how to pre-NATO countries. In keeping with the vagaries of the IT industry, Susan was laid off (along with thousands of others). While everybody else around her was lamenting their ill fortune, she was excited about what she knew was to be a major change in her life.
Both Susan and Cathy had vacation homes here in Rehoboth Beach, and Susan moved here to create Guardian Property Management; applying her unique skills to a field which, up to that time, had been devoid of technology. Homeowners’ associations and communities flocked to this forward-looking entity, and she and her staff of 27 (not to mention a fleet of trucks and countless pieces of specialized equipment) now manage 70 communities—over 6000 individual homes.
Jimenez is very serious about her emotional and spiritual well-being, enjoying time with Cathy, relaxing in the tranquility of yoga, and volunteering for the betterment of Rehoboth’s Epworth United Methodist Church. When I asked Susan to tell me something “jazzy” about what she does, she replied that, “My three kids are the jazzy part of my life.” And she has every reason to be proud: Her oldest daughter is a rocket scientist (yup, a real rocket scientist), her middle child is a budget officer for the National Archives, and her youngest works alongside mom at none other than Guardian Property Management. “Anything else jazzy?” I insisted. “Of course,” she said, “The real jazzy part is my eight grandkids!”
Bob Yesbek is a Rehoboth Beach resident. Email Bob@ RehobothFoodie.com.