Jennifer Everett grew up in Lehighton with her mom, dad—a local dentist—and younger brother, spending her childhood on a quiet rural road alongside her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Tennis played a big role early on, as she practiced at Valley Royale Tennis Club and competed on her high school team before graduating from Lehighton Area School District in 2010.

After high school, she attended Drexel University focusing on International Area Studies specializing in International Business and Economics, with minors in marketing and French and immediately headed abroad—teaching English in China and building a travel itinerary website in Chile with an English lawyer. Her travels sparked a passion for innovation, leading her to San Francisco, where she worked in marketing and branding, including at a creative agency with Google as a client. She later spent several years at Uber on their global web team.

In 2018, after a difficult breakup and while considering a move to Paris, she returned home and discovered that Valley Royale Tennis Club—the place where her tennis journey began—was for sale.

Looking for advice before making a major life decision, Jennifer reached out to an old high school boyfriend, Sam. They rekindled their connection, he moved back to Pennsylvania during COVID and they married in 2024.

Today, Jennifer works for Red Hat, an IBM company creating open-source technology, while dedicating her time to growing tennis in the community. Valley Royale, home court to the Lehighton school team, offers lessons, community events, and through the Valley Royale Foundation, provides free equipment and scholarships to local kids.

We met Jennifer inside the beautifully restored 1898 clubhouse, now hosting events and a four-unit Airbnb, to learn about her travels, entrepreneurial journey, and, after all her experiences, Why NEPA?

How long have you lived in NEPA?

With the exception of those 10 years in Philadelphia, China, Chile and San Francisco—my whole life.

What do you love about your town?

I am going to say three things. The community is so strong in a small town, and it’s just amazing to be able to feel that support and just be able to get out and get involved so quickly. I love our history. I love giving the little Coal Region quick story when friends come to visit. And nature is the biggest thing. I’m a huge outdoors person. Now, we’re very close to Mount Pisgah, so we’ll hike that literally before work sometimes, which is great. And we have the Switchback Railroad Trail right there. And I love the D&L Trail. I’m on the D&L board now, so I love to be a part of it and be able to support in that way.

What’s your favorite NEPA restaurant?

In Lehighton, I love Lorenzo Pizza Kitchen, and I feel like it’s a little hidden gem people don’t even realize is there. But then they have an adorable outdoor area too, and they have live music. They’ve got a little bar, so I love going there for a Negroni and a white pizza. It’s the best. I will shout out my Jim Thorpe places too. Union Publick House has a great Cuban and is always doing really fun stuff. And Bright Path Brewing — we love going up there and hanging out, and they always have a different food truck.

What’s your favorite thing to do in NEPA?

Aside from our local Switchback and Mount Pisgah, we love to go camping in Pinchot State Forest,  just up north a little bit. We found a great spot with a waterfall. We can go swimming, so that’s great. And we just started renting a boat and going on Lake Wallenpaupack. That’s been a fun activity. I feel like just even outside of our Carbon County area, there’s so much more that you can do.

What’s next for you?

I have no idea, and I think by now you should know I kind of like it that way. I just want to continue exploring and learning. I obviously think that I’ve learned a lot from this experience, and I still have so many more dreams for the Valley Royale and the Valley Royale Foundation, and I definitely want to continue that growing. I think I just want to stay open to anything else. I feel like I have so much more life to live. So, we’ll see.

Where do you see NEPA heading in the future?

Honestly, I think even beyond myself, I’ve seen so many young entrepreneurs coming back and starting things. There’re so many local businesses like The Hofford Mill, Donerds Donuts, Bright Path Brewing, as well, that I feel like there is this movement of, you know, we couldn’t wait to leave this area, but you turn around and you look, and there’s so much opportunity here. My brother just purchased land and is now considering what he could do with it. I’m hoping that we will continue this resurgence and bringing in new people. We definitely have more people from New York and New Jersey around my age too that are right for starting something.

Why NEPA?

I love my home. Yeah, I’ve been so many places, but everything is so accessible here. I bike here, and I biked in San Francisco, but I had to go across the scary Golden Gate Bridge—and I hated that. Here, I can just head out on this farm road and know I’m going to be fine and safe. There’s accessibility to nature and all the outdoor activities we have, but we’re still so close to major cities. It’s been totally fine for me to commute to New York or Philadelphia for things, or having to fly out when needed. You can have a great career and live here too.