Dr. Anita M. Jackson

I attribute my success to my mother, my faith, my passion, and my determination to become more than my circumstances. My career journey has actually been somewhat unexpected. I didn't set out to build the career I have today. At one point, all I really wanted was to be a wife and mother, serve in ministry, and become a cosmetologist. I often say that I fell into my career rather than intentionally pursuing it. Along the way, professors and mentors saw something in me that I didn't always see in myself, believed in me, and opened doors that changed the trajectory of my life.

Today, I understand success very differently. It is not simply about accomplishments, titles, productivity, or how much I can produce. For me, success is holistic. It is about honoring who I am, honoring my calling, using what God has placed in me, and leaving a legacy that helps women—and men—become the highest version of who God created them to be.

Keep going.

I honestly can't recall one specific piece of career advice that someone gave me that shaped my journey. I was simply driven and determined to keep going. There were many moments when I didn't know exactly what was next or where the path would lead, but I continued to show up, learn, grow, and move forward.

Looking back, I realize that “keep going” became my own advice. I didn't always have the answers, but I learned that I didn't need to have everything figured out to take the next step.

Know that you are enough. You always have been, and you always will be.

A woman's enoughness and worthiness are her divine birthright—not a reward for how much she produces, accomplishes, earns, or achieves. Your value is not determined by your title, your salary, your productivity, your appearance, or the number of people who recognize your work.

Build your skills. Pursue excellence. Learn your craft. Work hard. But never confuse what you do with who you are. Build your career from a place of knowing your worth rather than trying to prove it.

You do not have to earn your enoughness. You were born with it.

One of the greatest challenges in the workforce today is that organizations are asking people to perform at increasingly high levels while many employees—particularly women—are navigating significant pressures without the resources, opportunities, support, and compensation necessary to thrive.

The conversation about workforce wellness must therefore become much bigger than wellness programs. Organizations need to examine the conditions in which people work: access to resources, meaningful opportunities for growth and advancement, leadership practices, compensation, flexibility, wellbeing, culture, and the systems that influence whether people can remain healthy and engaged while doing their best work.

Women deserve particular attention in this conversation. Women continue to experience unique challenges related to leadership advancement, caregiving, economic security, workplace expectations, and the ability to sustain demanding careers. The opportunity is to stop treating these issues as individual women's problems and begin designing workplaces that genuinely support women—and the broader workforce—in succeeding.

I believe the future of workforce wellness is human-centered, equitable, and systemic. It is about giving people better resources and opportunities while creating the conditions for healthier, more resilient, engaged, and sustainable performance.

Integrity, purpose, excellence, growth, compassion, and impact are among the values that guide me most. I believe how we accomplish something matters just as much as what we accomplish. I want my work to be excellent, but I also want it to be meaningful and useful to the people it serves. I value authenticity, lifelong learning, and the courage to grow beyond who I have been. Ultimately, I want my life and work to leave people, organizations, and communities better than I found them.