Jenny Morrow: A Willingness To Say Yes
October 6, 2026
Before starting her career in real estate, Jenny Morrow owned a small vineyard in South Salem growing chardonnay grapes. By 2014, Morrow said she was in the process of selling her property when a friend, Val Lambert, suggested she give real estate a try.
It was a big change, but Morrow has never been afraid to try something new.
“I started the next day,” she said, enrolling in classes through the Norman F. Webb Real Estate Courses. “My kids had both gone to college at that point and were out of the house. Classes were held once a week on Wednesdays. That was the start of my journey.”
The willingness to dive into the unfamiliar has followed Morrow throughout her life. She grew up working construction with her father, who taught her that “anything is fixable.” She also lived overseas for a time in Vienna, Austria, and later competed in roller derby for Cherry City.
Morrow earned her real estate license in 2015 and has spent the last 11 years at Coldwell Banker Mountain West. Over the last year, she has served as MVAR board president, advocating on behalf of the industry while helping to increase the association’s membership and engagement.
“I’m definitely a lifelong learner,” she said. “I love trying new things and pushing myself.”
Finding Her Voice
Morrow was first elected to the MVAR Board in 2022. She decided to run after meeting Judy Gysin at an Oregon REALTORS® event, who encouraged her to get involved with the local association. Morrow admits that, at the time, she wasn’t familiar with MVAR, but as a self-described “yes person,” she once again stepped up to the plate.
“I learned that there’s a lot more back-end stuff we never see and that we take for granted,” Morrow said. “There’s a lot that goes on with education and on the government affairs side that that really helps to promote the industry.”
During her time on the board, Morrow said she has found her voice as a leader.
“It has definitely pushed me to put my opinions out there,” she said. “Things don’t get talked about if you don’t bring them up. You have to open a dialogue to make things better.”
The key for Morrow has been communicating clearly up front. She believes that Issues shouldn’t be discussed behind closed doors, but rather brought to the table so they can be worked through authentically and collaboratively among the membership.
A Mission of Fun
As MVAR board president, Morrow has overseen a change in management that, in her view, has helped the association run more productively and effectively. As a result, Morrow reports that member engagement has increased, with more people volunteering for events and attending monthly membership meetings than before.
Along with boosting organizational capacity, Morrow said the change has also allowed members to have more fun together as a real estate community.
“One of my core values is to have fun,” Morrow said. “We’re all volunteers. It’s important that we want to spend our time and talents trying to make things better … but we also want to have fun while doing it to encourage people to be a part of this association.”
Morrow pointed to several successful events this year, including a three-part leadership training series led by Dr. Kristine Medyanik and the annual MVAR Soup Wars in March, where Morrow proudly says she won best chili this year.
As for Morrow’s advice to the next MVAR president?
“Make sure you’re asking questions,” she said. “Make sure that everyone is feeling good about the decisions we’re making, and that the board understands what is happening across our committees to that everybody works together as a team.”