Rosanne Dunkelberger
Jodi and Monte Stevens have demanding lobbying jobs, but their greatest challenges don’t come from persuading reluctant legislators to see their clients’ point of view.
Instead, the couple’s daily challenges revolve around “a tiny little army that we created ourselves” (her words), their three young boys, ages 5, 4 and almost 3.
“Monte and I can figure out the Process and all of that,” Jodi said. “But learning to navigate work life with family life and balancing, ensuring that our boys are raised well and doing well — it’s really difficult.”
Jodi is the Director of Government Affairs of Pace Center for Girls, a nonprofit founded in Florida providing academic and social services for at-risk high school girls. Founded in Florida, Pace recently expanded its reach to Georgia and South Carolina, which requires her to juggle three state legislatures that meet at essentially the same time.
Monte is a lobbyist at The Southern Group, focusing on insurance-related issues. Jodi puts it this way: “I have one client, but I’m in three states, and he’s got a whole lot of clients in one state.”
If you’re doing the math, the Stevenses had Henry, Conner and Fletcher in just over three years (beat that, Rhianna) and the result has been a “wild ride,” according to Jodi.
Much of their parenting journey has been learn-as-you-go, without the help of nearby family.
“We bring very different perspectives and because we have very different, backgrounds … and so we’re not always on the same page but we learn how to get there,” she said. “And I think as long as we trust each other and respect each other everything else kind of falls into place.
“I like to think (our children) get to see two people, who may not always have agreement on a problem, work together in their own way to figure it out.”
There’s an informal division of labor — she does dishes, he takes out the trash; she drives the giant SUV, and he cleans it out.
Between Cheerios and other snacks left behind, “if you ever got stranded on the side of the road You could survive for a really long time,” Monte quipped.
Jodi describes her husband as “incredibly smart” and a problem solver, which sometimes can lead to some Mars/Venus miscommunication.
“A lot of times if I’m talking about something, he’s like ‘How can I fix this?’ she said. “I don’t know …. I didn’t come looking for an answer, I just wanted to complain.”
The couple first met at the Office of Insurance Regulation, where he worked; she was tagging along with the lobby shop where she was a college intern. Their first informal date was at a Valentine’s Day party.
As for Valentine’s Day plans this year, Monte lays out a simple agenda: “Jodi is going to be giving testimony to a committee in Georgia. I’m gonna be trying to keep our children alive.”
