Jenel Ferrell
State Leadership of the Year
Jenel Ferrell was the connective tissue behind Minnesota’s Paid Leave technology launch — the person who made sure the right people were in the room, blockers got cleared, and the project kept moving forward. As Program Manager at the Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), Ferrell was the go-to fixer for all things IT. She brought a rare combination of technical fluency and people-first leadership, crafting a “one badgeless team” approach that united state employees, vendors, and multiple agencies under a shared mission: dissolving the silos that so often derail complex government projects.
