Jill Wood
The sign on Jill Wood’s desk reads, “Well behaved women rarely make history.”
When you ask her what that means exactly, all you get from Taylor and Walker’s Marketing Coordinator is a smile and the comment, “It was a gift from a friend.”
Jill comes to Taylor and Walker following more than 20 years with Taylor, Hazen & Kauffman, and has always been known to be outspoken and involved in promoting one cause after another. Is it her willingness to speak out or her activism that prompted the sign? Jill’s not saying, but she did say, “I have been fortunate in my lifetime to be involved with some exciting organizations and with people who espouse passionate causes."
“I guess my own involvement and advocacy have come as an outgrowth of my experiences while attending an all women’s university.”
Jill, a journalism graduate of Mississippi University for Women, came to adulthood during the turbulent 60s, fueled by the opportunities afforded by a single-gender education and spurred on by an inquisitiveness that pushed her to read the entire World Book Encyclopedia as a youngster. (“It was much smaller then,” she says.) These experiences have given Jill a special ability to attack new challenges in a positive way. She retired in June of last year after 15 years as Administrative Director of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, a job she pursued in addition to her full time work at Taylor Hazen. Now she’s energized by her new possibilities at Taylor and Walker.
“This is really my dream job - the one I always wanted but didn’t know existed,” she said. “When Firm Administrator Diana White told me she wanted me to join the Legal Marketing Association, attend all their meetings and conferences, and be active in the group, I felt like Brer Rabbit in the briar patch.”
In addition to her work at Taylor and Walker, Jill is very active in her church, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal. She sings in the choir, juggles the schedules of fellow parishioners to organize the approximately 50 people who assist at the worship services each month and serves as chair of the Altar Guild. She and her husband Frank stay involved in the lives of their five children and nine grandchildren while sharing their home with William Deng, a refugee from Sudan who has lived with them since 2002 and is a senior at VCU.
If you were to ask again about her motto and that sign on her desk, you’ll find out that Jill was a bridal consultant and etiquette advisor for many years prior to moving to Virginia and so knows a great deal about “behaving well.” As for making history, she’s on career number four and isn’t done yet!
