Jamila Nash

I attribute my success to so many people who played crucial roles at different points in my journey. It started with that history teacher in community college who told me I wasn't smart just because I could regurgitate knowledge, but that real intelligence comes from critical thinking. That completely changed my perspective. Then there were the two teachers I worked with as an instructional aide while I was in school - they were incredible mentors who taught me what good teaching looks like, even though they didn't realize they were mentoring me. I also learned humility from two college professors, one who was the director of special ed and another professor. They were the most down-to-earth people you would ever meet. I went to a conference with them and they were drinking and taking shots, but when it came time to work, they were amazing at what they did. They taught me that you don't have to be uppity to be good at your work, and you don't have to take yourself seriously as long as you take your job seriously. I also had a colleague who got me through my first two years of teaching when I was dealing with toxic workplace dynamics and established cliques who were threatened by my presence. I wouldn't have survived without him. And honestly, the kids I taught played a huge role - they taught me things I thought I knew but didn't, because each child is a whole new person with a whole new way of living. They completely destroyed what I thought I knew, but I needed that destruction so I could learn to do better. And ultimately, I attribute everything to God. When I seek God with all my heart, I come walking and He comes running. There was a ten-year period where I lost that connection, and even though everything looked amazing on paper - I was traveling, my company was blowing up, I was teaching, winning awards, I got married - it all fell apart in some way or another. When everything falls apart and you realize you can't just rely on yourself anymore, God builds you back up, but you realize it was never you in the first place. The old you dies, the new you is forming, and that's the phase I'm in right now, figuring out who I am for who I am, not based off of what other people have told me to do or be.

The best career advice I ever received - and it was also the worst in some ways - came from my ex-husband. When I first became a teacher, he was looking at my grades, the feedback I was getting from professors, reading all the emails, and hearing about the success of the kids I was working with. One day he told me, 'You need to start your own company. You're thinking too small.' At that time, no one in my family owned a business, and I remember telling him, 'That's for other people, that's not for me.' I was scared of it. Like, a business owner? No. So I just pushed it off. But he was right. The company actually fell into my lap - I wasn't even planning on starting it. A family friend needed help, and they needed so much help that they wanted to pay me. Based on how much they were paying me, the IRS said I had to report it. I was told if it's more than $600 a year, you have to make a business. So I ended up starting the company that way for the international side. It was the best advice because if he had never pushed me and said I was dreaming too small and needed to dream bigger, I never would have known that I was a small dreamer. It's so important to not put limits on yourself and think that big dreams are something that 'those people' have, not for me. But I also call it the worst advice, because I was actually quite content and think I could have been a special education teacher, and that would have been more than enough. Doing what I did burnt me out. I had health struggles because of it. Even though I played soccer for 15 or 16 years and was thankfully healthy most of my life, I sacrificed my health and other things to keep up with what I was doing. Yes, I was helping other people, but at the expense of my own life. The reason it was the best advice is because the principle of the matter - that I could do whatever I want to do - changed me. I thought it was just career-oriented, but actually that principle is important for life in general. Now I'm confident that I can pivot and do whatever I want to do, whether it's stop working for three and a half years and be a full-time mom, or completely change professions, because I now know what it feels like to dream big and do something I thought was impossible. But it was the worst advice because just because someone tells you you can dream big and do big, doesn't mean that that's the big that you need to do. Sometimes getting the money and the accolades is not - if it's not what you want, it's just not what you want.

Trust yourself; stop living for others’ expectations; keep learning; and be willing to stand up and fight for the supports your students and their families need — but do it with grace.

The field faces significant challenges, including limited resources, systemic disparities in special education identification and services, strained school–family relationships, and ongoing practitioner burnout. At the same time, there is meaningful opportunity to strengthen parent advocacy, rebuild collaborative partnerships between families and schools, and expand impact through intentional personal branding and professional networks.

The most important values in my work and personal life center around authenticity, community, and slowing down. I'm realizing that a lot of the problems we have as adults are the same problems we had as kids - we just often didn't have an adult who was honest with us and vulnerable enough to share their path and what they wish they would or wouldn't have done. That's why I'm working on a children's book series now, because I want to equip kids with timeless principles and create moments for genuine conversations between parents and children. I've also learned so much from traveling and staying in villages all over the world - from Spain to Morocco with nomads in the desert, to Thailand in forest villages, to Belize. No matter where you are, when you stay in villages, you realize the Earth is on a cycle and there's a natural rhythm to life. Women in villages have such camaraderie - they're all together because they have to cook, clean, and sometimes walk to wells for water. It made me realize that women are not meant to be having kids alone and isolated in their own little homes. You're supposed to have aunties, nieces, cousins, sisters - so much love and support. I'm in a season now where instead of connecting with the big picture world, I'm focusing more on my city, like bringing food to the community refrigerator three days a week with my son, and visiting the convalescent home. I've also learned the importance of trusting myself rather than just not caring what people think. There are going to be times in life where the best move to make won't have a single person around you who gets it, and they won't understand the wisdom in it until you've achieved what you're about to achieve. But you have to trust yourself. And ultimately, faith is central to everything. When I seek God with all my heart, I come walking and He comes running. I lost that connection for ten years when everything looked successful on the outside, but it all fell apart. When you can't rely on yourself anymore, God builds you back up, and you realize it was never you in the first place.