Jennifer Healy Keintz is an American politician and businesswoman who was a member of the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided ...

from the 1st district. Elected in 2020, she assumed office on January 12, 2021.

Early life and education

Keintz was born in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen () is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,495. making it the third-most populous city in the state. Aberdeen is home of Northern State University. ...

. At age four, her family relocated to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

where she started school. Her family later moved to Ivanhoe, Minnesota. Keintz attended Ivanhoe Public School, graduating in 1991 from Lincoln HI Public School, after Ivanhoe and

Hendricks, Minnesota Hendricks is a city in Lincoln County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 713 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Hendricks has been in operation since 1884. The city was named for Thomas A. Hendricks, elected 21st V ...

schools consolidated in 1990. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism in 1995 and a Master of Science in communication studies and journalism in 1998 from

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...

Career

While attending graduate school, Keintz worked full time as a video producer in the Instructional Technologies Center at

Brookings, South Dakota Brookings is a city in and the county seat of Brookings County, South Dakota, Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 23,377 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in South Dakota, fo ...

. Upon graduating with her master's degree, she relocated to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, where she worked as a Marketing Analyst at online brokerage

Suretrade Suretrade was an American stockbroker firm with an electronic trading platform headquartered in Lincoln, Rhode Island. It was created in 1997 and was acquired by FleetBoston Financial's Quick & Reilly in 2001. Prior to its acquisition the company ...

. In 1999, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she lived until 2003. Keintz held positions as director of customer experience at Trade.com, research analyst at Frank N. Magid Associates, and manager of usability and website analytics at

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

. From 2003 to 2009 Keintz held various strategic marketing roles for some of the largest homebuilders in the United States. These included Strategic Marketing Manager at Centex Homes in

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, director of strategic marketing for

PulteGroup PulteGroup, Inc. is an American residential home-construction company based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. As of 2023, the company is the third-largest home-construction company in the United States based on the number of homes closed. In t ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, and director of strategy and marketing for Centex Homes's Midwest Region, based in

Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of Minneapolis. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

. Keintz returned to Frank N. Magid Associates in 2009 as a senior strategist in their

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis and just south of the Interstate 494/Inter ...

, office. She spent time working abroad, including an extended consulting assignment with Deltatre in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

providing support to

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

at the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. In 2014, Keintz moved to Eden, South Dakota, and established an independent real estate brokerage firm, Dakota View Realty and Auctions, in 2015. In addition to a South Dakota Real Estate Broker license, Keintz holds a South Dakota State-Registered Appraiser license. In 2020, she was elected to the

, defeating Democratic incumbent Steven McCleerey. She was the 2022 democratic nominee for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Personal life

Healy married Corey Keintz in 2014. Their daughter was born in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keintz, Jennifer Healy 1973 births 21st-century American women politicians Businesspeople from South Dakota Living people Democratic Party members of the South Dakota House of Representatives People from Marshall County, South Dakota South Dakota State University alumni Women state legislators in South Dakota 21st-century members of the South Dakota Legislature