Impact Report 2025: Faithfulness

Jen Zajicek had no idea that Gary even existed, even though they had grown up in the same small Iowa town and he lived down the same street. Learning about Gary set her on a career path that’s kept her at Mosaic for 29 years (and counting!). 

“Gary was a few years older than me, but I didn’t know who he was. When I was in my teenage years, he started coming to our little Catholic church. I came to find out he lived in the same town my entire life, but he was in his 20s when he started going to church.”

Gary had Down syndrome, and at the time in that small town, it was hidden, even considered shameful to have a family member with a disability.

Her career in disabilities started out at a different organization for a few years. But watching how the organization’s values—or lack of values—were lived out, she knew she could not stay there. 

Then she heard Bethphage (one of the organizations that became Mosaic in 2003) in the nearby community of Des Moines was hiring a direct support manager. She applied and got the job managing three group homes, each with four people, on the 3-11 p.m. shift.

She was interviewed by an employee named Shawn, who took her to visit a group home. Jen remembers Judy, the resident who opened the door when Shawn knocked asking if they could come in.

Jen said in her first job, they felt they were “saving people” by bringing people out of institutions into six-person homes in a community. But her visit to the Bethphage home was eye-opening because it was even better than that. 

Watching the evolution of services has been satisfying for Jen and defines the journey she’s had in her career. Community-based services started as intermediate care facilities (more restrictive settings), then waiver homes were introduced (more freedom and less restrictive) and finally the transition to Mosaic at Home® Shared Living. 

“People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have more options today. They’re still not what they should be, but when you go back and see the progression of opportunities, Mosaic has always been on the forefront of leading that.” 

Jen moved into progressively more responsible roles with Mosaic through the years. She served as Associate Director in Central Iowa for several years before being recruited to serve in the National Supports office where she became the Director of Mosaic at Home, tasked with standardizing the service across Mosaic. She was quickly promoted into a vice president role and now serves as the Vice President of Operational Performance and Development. 

When she went to college, Jen said her dream job was to be a nursing home social worker, because she could work with both the residents and their families. But she says she now has her “actual dream job,” because she gets to work with people supported, their families, and a diverse workforce. 

Working with data and analysis, Jen’s main role is to improve the quality of supports for people by looking at the processes to find more efficient and effective ways to provide services across the organization. She also helps Mosaic locations in their operations, annual planning and helps identify areas for improvement. 

Her involvement in numerous Mosaic strategic initiatives keeps her in touch with how services directly affect people—the workforce, people served and their families. A common factor across the projects is a public-facing, customer service component where her work helps positively shape the experience people have interacting with Mosaic. 

“I have always had the opportunity to never get bored, never get static. I’ve been able to move to other roles that I not only enjoyed but also challenged me, even when I didn’t always appreciate the challenge. I’ve been blessed by leaders who not only issued the challenge but issued the support to help. You’re always growing and developing, and the times when it’s painful are probably when you’re getting the biggest bang for the buck.”

“It’s really amazing to reflect and see how Mosaic has grown as an organization. I don’t think I could be any more impressed by the leadership, the mission of the organization and the people. Seeing what’s coming in the future, I think we’re going to lead the way on some pretty cool things. I’m so excited about building the path and being a part of who’s taking the baton to carry this on.