Black Hills Advocate

About Black Hills AdvocateEmpowering Black Hills Seniors

Jenny Schmidt - Founder/Owner

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Jenny Schmidt has over 25 years of experience working in the health care field. She has a passion for serving vulnerable people in our community. She is a Rapid City Stevens High School graduate. After graduation, Jenny honorably served the Marines for four years as a field medical hospital corpsmen in the United States Navy. She went on to attend Elmhurst College, graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Professional Communication.

Following graduation, Jenny worked in business development for large companies in Chicago including Orbitz.com during its startup and IPO as well as piloting a new sales initiative and successfully creating a new revenue stream for Cars.com. Her business background gives her a unique perspective to address financial, insurance and quality of life questions.

After her return to Rapid City in 2006, Jenny worked for 9 years at Westhills Village Retirement Community serving in the role of Director of Marketing/Business Development and subsequently the Director of Independent Living.

Seeing the need for someone to help people in the community quarterback care and ensure quality of life with an unbiased opinion and fierce allegiance only to the client, Jenny launched Black Hills Advocate in June of 2015 with a passionate focus on connecting people with the services that were right for them while ensuring delivery of the best care available.

Jenny serves on the Board of Directors the Hope Center and is an active voice in the community for seniors and other underserved populations. Jenny makes her home in Rapid City with her wife Tina, two children, Henry and Claire, and three dogs. On weekends, she can be found spending time with friends, reading, and enjoying the beauty of the Black Hills.

Amber Wichmann

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Amber has spent 20 years working in an operational and administrative assistant roles in a variety of settings from an engineering company, to non-profits, and chiropractic clinics. To her, every day is another chance to do better than the day before as she strives to learn, love and grow. Amber tries to live life from her heart and understands that the most sacred times of being present in people's lives are times that can bring joy and heartache.

Amber and her husband both hail from East River, but she has fallen in love with the Black Hills, especially when she is rock climbing, hiking or camping. She likes to tell her two children: "Fresh air is good air!" and then live it out.

Janelle Murphy

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Janelle has spent the last decade in sales and management in the healthcare industry; specifically working with hospitals and facilities on complex case management and discharge planning. In her last position, she piloted a joint program with her local health system to reduce hospital readmission rates for at risk patients.

She is motivated by identifying a client's needs and finding a blend of solutions that better their quality of life, while building life-long relationships with both clients and their families. Janelle is passionate about building effective teams and has a degree in Human Resource Management from Wilmington University. She also has a depth of experience in medical coding and insurance.

Janelle is originally from New England but has lived all over the world due to being a military wife for over 20 years. The most recent cross-country move from Delaware to Rapid City was an unexpected blessing that continues to prove that there is a bigger plan for her life. On the weekends, you can find Janelle exploring her new surroundings in the Black Hills area or completing a home project with her husband. Her proudest joys are her 5 daughters that fill her life with constant laughter and controlled chaos. You can hear her telling her girls to "DO RIGHT!", knowing it may not be the easiest road or most popular option, but will always lead to a beautiful destination.

We are Here to Help

If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening or debilitating illness, is receiving home health services, hospice services or residing in a nursing home or assisted living facility, or perhaps you reside in the private community and your children live outside the area or have limited availability due to juggling other family obligations - Black Hills Advocate is here to help.

We can coordinate all the services necessary to ensure that you or your loved are receiving the highest standard of quality care and services possible and report to the family members so they remain involved. Our services vary between a single visit to ongoing advocate services.