MEET JERELYN

Jerelyn?is a nonprofit co-founder and CEO, creative storyteller and educator.

Jerelyn?co-founded?The Knowledge House, a tech skills nonprofit headquartered in the Bronx. They teach software engineering skills to young adults and help them land high-paying careers in tech.

During the pandemic,?Jerelyn?led The Knowledge House through a growth surge. They doubled their programs, doubled their staff & expanded nationally into 3 new cities.

Jerelyn?sought coaching support to ground her confidence as she scaled The Knowledge House, and to improve her team leadership skills and create more balance in her life.

She reconnected to her spirituality and creativity along the way.

We discuss the work we did together below.

Alexis

PS: Click through the GIFs for videos…or you can watch them all?here.

Meet?Jerelyn

What were your goals in coaching?

My job has always been very hard. But it became five times harder during the pandemic. Our program applications doubled in 2020 and tripled in 2021. We doubled our staff. There was a lot of demand to meet and opportunity with this new funding.

I was doing everyone's job. It was very overwhelming and I needed to grow a team. And people were really dealing with grief. So many staff transitioned out because they had deaths in their families or they had to take care of a family member. I needed to focus on expansion and the future and how to survive the pandemic.

The leadership coaching I was seeking was honestly some validation. Am I the right person to be scaling the organization? Am I crazy for trying to scale during the pandemic? Or am I crazy to miss this opportunity to scale?

What did you expect?

I needed operation strategy and people management strategy. My expectation was to work on org charts, logic models and policies. I remember that I wanted to look at my calendar to get your feedback — do I have too many meetings? What is going on with my time? I entered the engagement like that. And we would talk about those things…but those were not the most meaningful topics at all.

What’s shifted for you?

Obviously, I do this work because it feeds my spirit. But I can feed my spirit in other ways. I don't only need to feed my spirit through The Knowledge House or through entrepreneurship. Before all of this I was a filmmaker, and that also feeds my spirit. I can't ignore my creative side.

In the past six months, I’ve found more opportunities to engage in film. I enrolled in a group writing network. I had to write every day from 7am to 9am. On those days, I clocked into work super duper excited. My creative juices were already flowing and I was like, I'm here to solve problems today!

Last year we started filming a documentary about The Knowledge House and right now we're editing it. It really brings me so much joy. I think I gave myself permission to do both.

I do feel like I was called to do this work. But I think you helped me understand that the hard work should not be a struggle. You shouldn't feel like you're struggling all the time because you're giving back.

It was perfect timing for the coaching because I got engaged last year. And I've been with my fiancé now for about three years. But the last year, especially, all of the day-to-day at my job was impacting my relationship.

I am amazed by the progress we made in 7 months. I can genuinely say that your coaching was life-changing.

?

What would it feel like to reconnect to your calling?

How would your leadership change if you refreshed your relationship to spirituality?

To your creativity?

//?BUILD

I provide 1:1 coaching support to leaders growing their impact and exploring questions like these through?BUILD.

6 months ? 3 sessions per month

Ready for support?