Javonna Wylie

I would contribute my success to my predecessor, actually. She was at the organization for 23 years, and I worked under her for almost 10. And just because she believed in me, but also gave me opportunities. We have a 30-year age gap, and so sometimes she was annoying, or we did clash heads, or like, just clash about ideas and things, just having like a different generational scope. But at the end of the day, we always have respect for each other, and we're able to hear each other out, and there was nearly nothing that she wouldn't allow me to try or do or be innovative about, so it really gave me the space to build my career versus her being a barrier, which I know exists sometimes in the workforce. And myself as a leader, I aim intentionally to do the same thing for the people who work under me, to make sure that I'm investing in their success, that I let them know, like, I want you to do well here at this organization, but I want you to do well outside of here, too, and giving them opportunities to grow.

I would say clear is kind. I had the pleasure, or the opportunity to have an executive coach, and she has coached me through 3 promotions, from like workforce manager to even CEO. And when I was like mid-career as a manager, I just didn't see the gaps that I had of like how I think, even as a woman, sometimes you just like approach certain spaces, and you feel like you shouldn't speak up, or you have to be a certain way, and all those things. And I think that when I learned clear is kind, it was just like, no, be clear. Like, whether it's a conflict, whether it's just something that you need for yourself to get to the next level, if you're not speaking up and saying it, no one's gonna know. And at least if you can be clear about where you're at, you can get the information you need to make an informed decision. So I would say clear is kind has really supported me, because in those moments where I might be feeling disempowered, or I'll say even maybe insecure, just not sure, I remind myself, just, you know, stand in who you are. And I think that has helped me grow so much.

Speak up and be clear about your goals, help normalize the presence of younger leaders in leadership spaces, and actively seek out intergenerational mentorship and support to grow and navigate your career.

One of the biggest challenges—and opportunities—in the field is addressing disparities in education and access while building durable workforce pipelines that help move individuals from poverty to economic stability. At the same time, strengthening intergenerational mentorship and deeper public-policy engagement is critical to creating lasting, systemic impact.

In my personal life, I love to write. I'm a writer, I actually have like a published poetry book from 2022, and that's one thing I love to do in my free time. I also have a rescue puppy named Scuba, and during my free time, I'm always spending time with Scuba and venturing to new parks and just enjoying the calm. That's totally opposite of work. In my work, I think building my network is important, but also people kind of seeing an example in me, and just understanding that every leader has a diverse background. I think there's still rooms I walk into once I say like I'm the CEO, and I'm in my early 30s, so sometimes when I say I'm the CEO, people are either taken aback, or they're really impressed, or it's just surprising. And so I think for me, just being a part of this platform, it's a good thing for people to see, because I want it to become more normalized and not surprising. I think it's important to normalize that there are 30-year-old millennial CEOs, and that there should be more, and also knowing that my journey wasn't linear, and it took a lot of work and challenges to get there, to get here, and I still have challenges that I need support with. I hope that more leaders that are older than me could be that reaching hand to help our generation continue to grow as they age out of the workforce.