COMING HOME
Beth Jacobsen has plenty of childhood memories. Born and raised in Beloit, Jacobsen fondly recalls spending time outdoors with neighborhood friends, whether it was climbing trees, riding bicycles or swimming in her backyard pool. “Beloit was a neat place to grow up,” she says. “It was a fun and safe place to be.”
After being gone for a number of years, Jacobsen is home again. An opportunity to work at Beloit City Hall as Assistant to the City Manager brought Beth back to Beloit in 2010. In early 2015, Beth made a transition from working in the public sector, to the private sector and is now working as at Trust Officer at First National Bank and Trust. “I take a lot of pride in Beloit because I’m from here,” she says. “When I travel and am asked about Beloit, I can give a heartfelt response about our city.”
Jacobsen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with an undergraduate degree in political science and a post graduate degree in public administration. In college, she worked as a legislative aide for two Milwaukee aldermen. In graduate school, she interned for the City Administrator of Wauwatosa, Wis. She later went on to do a fellowship for the City of Savannah in Georgia, where she spent a year learning different facets of city government, such as budget and human resources. In 2007, she accepted a position as the Assistant Village Manager with the Village of Elk Grove, a Chicago suburb. “I wanted to get back to the Midwest,” she says. “I realized that I’m a Midwesterner at heart.”
More than ever, Jacobsen is engaged in her community. In addition to work, she has served on multiple boards, including the Visit Beloit board of directors, and has helped raise funds for United Way. She visits the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, attends musical and theatrical productions at Beloit College, loves to ride around the city on her bicycle and take walks with her dog, Dugan.
Jacobsen is happy to be home again. “If you look at our city as a whole – whatever your passion is – you can find like-minded people in Beloit, whether it’s art, exercise, or shopping,” she says. “You can live in a downtown urban setting, or a house with a big yard. You can’t always find that in a bedroom community.”