Member Spotlight: Meet Eileen Bernens
My name is Eileen Bernens. I am originally from Cleveland Ohio and I went to Ohio State for both my undergrad and graduate studies I am 52 years young and I have lived in Summit, NJ for 11 years. I have two kids, Liam is a senior at Summit High School and Isla is a freshman at Mount Saint Mary's. I have been married for almost 22 years and we have two dogs, Pepe and Lupe. Here are some interesting facts about me, things I love to do, and skills I feel I have. I am an energetic and dedicated bilingual individual with international and cross-cultural expertise. I have maintained a high degree of fluency in major Spanish dialects for over 29 years. I lived in Spain for two and 1/2 years during my undergraduate studies and backpacked all over before it became the European Community.
After graduation, I then went to Mexico and taught ESL for a year before going to grad school for Spanish. My language skills have given me great opportunities to work and live in the international arena. I have taught for 25 years at different private schools, colleges, and universities in Ohio, Boston, and NJ. I worked for INS in Boston with the international student community for 4 years before 9/11. This then lead me to a bilingual marketing position in Boston at a publishing house where I traveled and sold books all over Latin and Central America. Lastly, I moved to Bermuda in 2004-2011 to live and raise a family. I moved back to the states and landed in NJ. I started volunteering a lot early on to meet people, and be present for my kids and their activities but now they are grown. I have done some part/time and full-time teaching at Oak Knoll and Kent Place and currently, I sub a few days a week, as well as tutor often after school.
The Co-Co is my first step in this self-discovery journey of "what is next for me?' and I am not looking back! Fun facts about me are that I love Racing 5K, 10K, and a half and full marathons. I am currently working on the Abbott World Majors marathons and have completed 5/6. My last world marathon will be in Tokyo, Japan. I hope to complete this race in March of 2024. I am heading back to Boston this spring for my 4th Boston Marathon. I love to learn!
A friend, Rebecca Ryan told me about it and how it was a great place to start meeting women who support women as well as networking within your community. I have just attended my first event and I loved it. Meeting all of the amazing women inspired me to continue moving forward after taking the first step as to what is next for me. The Co-Co will provide a welcoming and inclusive space as well as a community to help me embark on this new career journey. Thank you!
