From high school teacher to building Warrior Woman

As a former high school teacher working in Southwestern Sydney for over a decade, Jessica’s passion has always been assisting the students at risk of falling through the cracks of the education and welfare systems.

The Warrior Woman Foundation is Jessica’s second social empire after founding the Life-Changing Experiences Foundation in 2003 and its multi-award winning SISTER2sister program, which she led as CEO for 17 years. The Warrior Woman Foundation is a national holistic support model assisting under-represented, vulnerable young Australian women to become resilient, independent, and capable of taking their place in the world. Read on for our our change maker interview with Jessica!

Describe your career trajectory and how you got to your current position.

I started my career as a high school teacher and taught in South Western Sydney for a decade. I loved my job and had a good rapport with the students and their parents (many of which I remain in contact with). What I did not love was seeing the vulnerable students falling through the cracks of the education and welfare system. These were the ones who were struggling in the classroom or the school environment. Nine times out of ten there was something going on in the background for them and many dropped out of school altogether, missing out on crucial education.

To combat this, I founded my first charity SISTER2sister in 2003, supporting teenage girls who had experienced abuse, neglect and the trauma that comes with it. The program matched them with solid inspirational female role models combined with fun, friendship building activities to develop positive social skills. The results were incredible with many of the mentor/mentee relationships continuing beyond the formal 8-month program, with some relationships now extending decades.

In February 2020, after learning that women 55+ are one of the fastest growing vulnerable groups in Australia, I handed over the reins and set out on a new adventure and founded the Warrior Woman Foundation, with a focus on supporting under-represented and vulnerable young women through our flagship program called The Young Warrior Woman Program. The program combines life-skills education, mental health support, and the connection to a safe and nurturing group of female mentors. The program has a strong focus on financial literacy and job readiness, as well as trauma healing, self-awareness, and personal growth.

Unexpectedly born at the very beginning of a global pandemic I’m immensely proud that the Warrior Woman Foundation is now three years old and running successfully in NSW and QLD with big plans for national expansion.

What does this role mean to you?

It is so much more than a job because it incorporates everything I am passionate about; social justice, equal education, the protection of children and the advancement of women in Australia. Although I’m not without the sleepless nights that come with starting a new business entity, I do wake up each day happy knowing that I’ve created a vehicle for positive change in the community and have built a team of incredible change makers. My passions have led me to create my dream job which I will continue to do for the rest of my career. I love my job so much I think retiring will be my biggest issue down the track!

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it?

Avoiding burnout has always been an ongoing challenge for me. I love what I do, so, like many founders and the amazing people who work in the not for profit space, there is a tendency to take on more than what is sustainable over the longer term. Blocking out time for regular holidays to see my family in New York is how I overcome this. I’m the type of person who needs to get out of the country in a different time zone to really switch off. Working with small teams for much of my career, my knee jerk reaction and natural default has always been “it’s quicker just to do it myself”, resulting in piling more things onto my to do list which, at the end of the day is counterproductive. Although I do still need to remind myself, I’ve learnt to be a much better delegator. Even if it takes a lot longer to teach someone else to do a task the first time, not having that task on your list can make the world of difference in the busier months. I’ve also made myself accountable with my staff who know my natural default well and remind me to delegate!

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career? 

Take more risks. Mistakes are not failures…..they are learning lessons. When you are an entrepreneur, you have to take risks to get something going because you are
merely starting out with an idea. Unless you believe it will happen-it won’t. I don’t mean “on the spare of the moment” risks. I mean calculated risks where you are fully prepared to fall on your face but dust yourself off and come up with a plan B. Taking risk does involve a lot of faith in your own ability, self-determination and A LOT of hard work. When starting my second charity I did take bigger risks than the first time, but thanks to experience, (thrown in with a bit of life wisdom) I was able to make educated risks which paid off.

How do you unwind after work?

As I work from home 90% of the time, I have had to train myself to “clock off”. I live in a unit literally across the hall from lifelong friends who have two beautiful little girls aged 4 and 7. We are just like an extended family and often joke about drilling a tunnel between both places. The little ones will often knock on my door and say “Jessie…have you finished work yet…can we come over and play ‘Boss Lady’?”. They love hanging out in the office and swinging in my big black office chair, drawing and colouring in and pretending to be the boss. I love that I’m teaching them that they can be bosses one day.

What was the last thing you: Watched, Read, & Listened to?

I was honoured to recently present on a panel at Coca Cola’s Diversity Equity Inclusion Summit (in conjunction with the FIFA Women’s World Cup) where Malala Yousafzai headed an amazing line of speakers. In preparation, I read her first book “I am Malala” which I can’t believe I didn’t read sooner. At the summit she told the story of her amazing father who was her role model and an astute feminist who played an integral role in empowering her to strive for equal education. A more

light-hearted part of her keynote was when she told the story of going to the Barbie movie with her husband. You may have seen her tweet which went viral “I’m a Noble Prize winner and this is just Ken”. I didn’t really get the comment until I recently watched the Barbie movie (alongside my favourite 4- and 7-year-old). Malala is such an inspiration to so many. And hat off to her legend of a father who helped pave the way.