A Legacy of Leadership

Since she was young, Jessica Jannaman, Ed.D., SECS ’08, ’14, and ’23, always knew an education at Oakland University was in her future. After all, its proximity to home for the Clarkson native, coupled with her legacy connection to the school — her father is a proud alumnus of the College of Arts and Sciences — made it a natural choice. 

What she couldn’t have imagined, though, was that receiving her bachelor’s degree in environmental science in 2008 was only the beginning of her educational endeavors at OU. Jannaman went on to earn two additional degrees — a master of science in safety management, and most recently, a doctorate in organizational leadership — as well as a Lean leadership certificate and Lean black belt certification from the Pawley Lean Institute.

“How could I not choose Oakland?” she says. “[My father] spoke very highly of the [Lean] program and school, which swayed me to apply to Oakland. Choosing Oakland was a great decision, and I even managed to take a course with one of my father’s previous instructors.”

Beyond continuing her father’s legacy, Jannaman also aspired to establish her own. Driven by her unique blend of expertise in leadership, safety management and environmental science, she has leveraged her trio of degrees to build a successful career for herself in environmental health and safety (EHS).

“I have always been passionate about people and the environment,” she says. “I started out my career in environmental and fell into safety as a profession. Working in automotive and manufacturing has been a great exposure to always accepting new challenges. I took on quality and operations at a point in my career, but have always come back to environmental, health and safety as my foundation.”

Jannaman is currently the global director for health and safety at TE Connectivity, a company specializing in the design and manufacturing of connectors, sensors, relays, contactors and application tooling across various industries, including automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, oil and gas, consumer electronics, and energy sectors. In her role, Jannaman supports more than 60 sites globally with nearly 28,000 employees in health and safety. 

“As a leader in the organization for health and safety, my main role is to ensure that people go home the same way they came to work — hopefully happier and a little better,” she says. 

Jannaman attributes much of her professional success to OU’s Lean program, since it “can be applied in multiple facets and is driven from leadership principles.” After receiving her Lean black belt certification in 2012, she was able to put these principles to the test in a variety of leadership roles for various automotive companies, including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Dura Automotive Systems and Advanced Vehicle Assemblies, before eventually securing her current position at TE.  

She also credits the “excellent” professors at OU with “guiding [her] through [her] journey as a growing leader,” namely Drs. Julia Smith and Shannon Flumerfelt in the Department of Organizational Leadership; Dr. Linda Schweitzer in the Department of Chemistry; Dr. Kevin Ball, dean of the School of Health Sciences; and Drs. Charlie McGlothlin and Darryl Hill, the respective former and current directors of the EHS program.  

“Oakland has tremendously helped me in preparing for my current role,” Jannaman says. “I have built the technical skills needed to enter the workforce with my undergraduate degree, [and] my graduate programs … have taught me leadership skills and principles to excel as a leader in my organization.” 

Nowadays, the second-generation Golden Grizzly is on the other side of the classroom. In addition to her full-time job at TE Connectivity, Jannaman has also remained involved within the OU community as an adjunct professor for the School of Health Sciences since 2019. She has also held membership on the Industry Advisory Boards for both the School of Engineering and Computer Science and the EHS program, the latter of which she currently serves as board chair. 

Looking ahead, Jannaman hopes to continue evolving the EHS profession and inspiring the next generation of leaders through her work at the university and beyond.

“I am a lifelong learner and believe that we should never stop developing or growing,” Jannaman says. “I pride myself on building relationships around me and surrounding myself with people who support me as a person and professional. I am grateful to those who have been mentors and colleagues to me. I also believe in influencing the people around you. We can always act as a mentor or even just a friend and not understand the impact we have on others. I try to bring these values to my job, my family, friends and colleagues with the hope they will help others.”

For additional information on the organizational leadership programs available at OU, visit oakland.edu/orgleadership.