Bringing with her years of experience in non-profit association management, considerable firearms industry experience and a passion for the organization and its mission, Jan Ennenga of Yuma, Arizona will begin her new role as the executive director for TWAW Shooting Chapters, Inc. DBA Armed Women of America April 1.
“I am extremely excited about what our future holds. Having an Executive Director with Jan’s resume, and her love and passion for our mission is going to be an amazing thing for AWA.” said AWA President Michelle Camp.
She continued, “Working collaboratively with our Board of Directors, and utilizing the diverse talents of our staff team, Jan will guide us as we implement strategic initiatives to fulfill AWA’s important mission, run the day-to-day operations, and support our volunteer chapter leaders who are the heart of this organization.”
Said Ennenga, “I am humbled and grateful to be able to serve AWA in this capacity. This organization has had my heart since I first joined in 2013. Helping women to safely, responsibly and competently handle firearms for the past 11 years has been so rewarding and I’ve made so many friends through the years. I know I’m not alone! This continues to happen in our chapters throughout the country thanks to our volunteer leaders and our amazing members!”
Ennenga added, “I am invigorated by this opportunity to work together with our chapter and as state leaders we work together to achieve AWA’s goal of enabling women to be their own self-protectors, creating freedom, peace of mind, and confidence in themselves with the skills, mindset, and training to defend themselves and those in their care.”
Ennenga has over four decades of non-profit association governance and management experience; the majority spent in California’s San Joaquin Valley in the agricultural and food production industries. While serving as CEO of the Manufacturers Council of the Central Valley, and the Stanislaus and Merced County Farm Bureaus, she dealt with a myriad of regulatory and policy issues in the areas of air quality, water supply and quality, land use, energy, transportation, workforce development and career technical education.
For the past 11 years, Ennenga has served as the chief staff executive for the Yuma Association of Realtors (YAR), an organization of real estate professionals committed to protecting the rights of real property ownership and helping individuals and families obtain their home ownership dreams.
Ennenga has been an Armed Women of America member since 2013, joining the Yuma, Arizona chapter in its first year back when the organization was known as The Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapters. She became a chapter leader in 2014, the year the chapters program transitioned over to the newly formed non-profit 501(c) organization TWAW Shooting Chapters, Inc. She was named Chapter Leader of the Year in 2018 and has served as Arizona State Leader since 2018. She served on the AWA Board of Directors from 2021 until 2023, serving as secretary.
Ennenga has also earned the coveted Armed Women of America Cheerleader Award which she keeps on her desk as a daily reminder of the important work that AWA carries out every day as volunteer chapter leaders across the nation invest their time and talents to helping women gain life changing skills and learn to become their own self-protectors.
She is a Central Valley California native, where she and her husband also ran a small cattle operation, raised horses and for a time, operated a retail firearms business, before she and her husband relocated to Yuma, AZ to be near family.
A certified instructor, Ennenga’s National Rifle Association (NRA) credentials include Pistol, Rifle, CCW, Personal Protection in the Home, Refuse to Be a Victim® and Chief Range Safety Officer. She is also a certified United States Concealed Carry (USCCA) Instructor in Conceal Carry and Home Defense and Women’s Handgun and Self Defense Fundamentals. She has trained with a variety of instructors over the years and is a graduate of several Gunsite Academy courses including the Gunsite and AWA
Instructor Development courses.
Ennenga says she continues her own training to better serve her students and chapter members and to identify and correct her personal protection deficiencies.
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
