Jennifer Bowes was born in Saskatoon and grew up in Waldheim, Saskatchewan. After graduating from high school, Jennifer attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario where she completed a BA in Psychology.
After university, Jennifer worked with the Ministry of Corrections at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre. During this time, she served as Director and then Secretary for the board of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan. Jennifer has also worked with the Ministry of Social Services as an Income Assistance Worker. During this time, she was elected as the Vice President for the Elizabeth Fry Society.
Jennifer has also served overseas with CUSO International, where she worked with a local human rights NGO in Burma (Myanmar) to empower women to seek positions of leadership within their communities and the broader political sphere.
Jennifer now works for SEIU West as an advocate for employees in the healthcare sector.