Being a CFO, or any kind of executive, wasn’t on his radar at first. Instead, Jarod Bridges wanted to be a rock star.
He dabbled in a bit of everything, but was mostly a singer. Bridges said he even jammed with the original drummer of Evanescence, one of the most popular rock bands of the 2000s.
Although his first dream didn’t pan out, Bridges said his nontraditional background gives him a career advantage. “I think a little differently. I’m not afraid to just throw any kind of crazy idea out there and see if it sticks or not. I’m not afraid to play devil’s advocate,” he said.
Bridges graduated from high school in 1990 and enrolled as a pre-engineering student at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. A year later, he dropped out to spend a few years singing in local bands.
In the mid-1990s, Bridges returned to school, earning a degree in philosophy from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He did a little bit of everything after that, working in restaurants and retail and selling mortgages.
He landed at a temp agency in 2006 that placed him at Youth Home, where he stayed. Bridges earned his accounting degree from UA Little Rock in 2015 and was promoted to CFO of the nonprofit in 2018.
He said he enjoys solving problems there and making other people’s jobs easier. He also believes in Youth Home’s mission of helping those struggling with mental health issues.
Just a few years ago, the nonprofit was suffering heavy losses and had layoffs, but Bridges has helped it turn its finances around and transition from paper records to electronic records as well as navigate pandemic challenges.
Outside the office, he helps his wife and two other women entrepreneurs with the business side of their mental health practices.
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