Jacqueline Phichith

My career journey began during the 2008-2009 recession when a promised Director of Development position was rescinded on my birthday due to the economic collapse. This catapulted me into building resilience as I competed against experienced professionals for entry-level positions. After hundreds of applications, I found work in New Delhi, India with Ed Terra (Education Around the World) as a curriculum writer, where I had the incredible experience of interviewing a Pulitzer Prize-winning children's author and working alongside a kung fu master from China. My ability to speak multiple languages, including Spanish, allowed me to become a facilitator across cultures. I then joined Uniqlo, a Japanese retail company, and lived in Tokyo as part of a competitive cohort being groomed for store management. I evacuated during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which led me back to Rochester where someone who had seen me on the news offered me a job in learning and development. My corporate career accelerated rapidly - I was promoted every 1-2 years, progressing from project manager to program manager to client service manager with 15 direct reports by age 30. I designed and implemented training programs for major clients including McDonald's, where I redesigned their global manager onboarding program while 37 weeks pregnant. I earned my master's degree in adult education while pregnant, paying for it myself and graduating with a 4.0. After my daughter was born, I founded Inspiration Your Way in 2021 as an executive coaching and consulting business. I later joined CooperVision where I co-led the Mind and Body Wellbeing Employee Resource Group, building a volunteer-based micro-enterprise serving over 15,000 employees with neurodiversity resource hubs, speakers, book clubs, and wellness programming. I recently left corporate to fully dedicate myself to my lifelong mission of helping people transform their lives through keynote speaking, workshops, and coaching, because now more than ever, we need people to feel aligned, empowered, and confident to let their true light shine.