Sometimes things have to break completely before you can build something that actually belongs to you. Letting go wasn't a choice so much as a purpose.
When She Let Go of the Life She Thought She Was Supposed to Live
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I spent my life making myself small. Owning my value meant realizing the girl who grew up too fast and built something real out of it deserves to take up space.
Jennifer St John · In Her Own Words
From How She Did It
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Her Story
About Jennifer
Jennifer St John is the Tri-County Director at A Brighter Way, where she leads a regional office providing reentry services for formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals. Drawing on her own lived experience of incarceration, Jennifer brings empathy, understanding, and a people-centered approach to her work. She emphasizes holistic reentry, guiding clients “one relationship at a time” and helping them navigate the barriers to successful reintegration with compassion, purpose, and faith.
Her career in reentry began in May 2023 as a Peer Navigator, where she supported clients while still on parole herself. She quickly advanced through the organization, serving as Program Manager before being promoted to Tri-County Director. Jennifer credits her growth to mentorship from her CEO, Adam Grant, who recognized her potential and provided opportunities for leadership development. She has also embraced technology and social media management to better connect with clients and expand the organization’s impact.
Jennifer’s dedication to personal growth and education is evident in her academic achievements. While incarcerated, she earned two associate degrees from Jackson College—one in General Studies and one in Arts—both with a 3.9 GPA and honors in Phi Theta Kappa. She is a certified Community Health Worker and trauma-informed trained, with plans to become a peer support specialist. Her mission is deeply purpose-driven, honoring the memory of her late son and using her experiences to empower others to reclaim their lives and thrive after incarceration.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jennifer
01What do you attribute your success to?
First and foremost, God always. I can't do anything without him. I'm purpose-driven. I do this work because I lost my son, which kind of led me to my incarceration. So he's my purpose. I don't allow his death, or my incarceration to kind of hang over me in a way that I don't have purpose. I will say, our CEO now, Adam Grant, met me while I was still on parole, and I did the training for this job. And he saw something in me that I couldn't see. And I'm gonna say, if it wasn't for him giving me the shot, I wouldn't be where I am today, because I didn't believe in myself when he met me. I was just out, still trying to find myself, and about to get off parole. I started out at the low totem pole, and now here I am in charge of a whole office. He actually decided to move me because he knew that I could handle it. He had a lot of faith in me, and here I am.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think the hardest part in this industry is that it's not really meant for women. You know, when you think of reentry, you think of minority that's usually incarcerated. And a lot of the times, especially me, for a white woman in this industry, it can become kind of difficult sometimes. So I think the one advice that I would give would be to, one, know your purpose of why you're in this space. And the biggest one is know that you belong in this space. Your story can heal and help others. And if you've lived it, you don't owe anybody else an explanation.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in reentry work is that the field can be difficult for women and for those who don’t fit typical practitioner demographics. At the same time, lived experience is a powerful opportunity, providing unique insight and credibility in helping clients navigate systemic barriers.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that guide me in both work and life are faith, purpose-driven service, compassion, and building people-centered relationships.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Jennifer
My story isn’t polished or perfect, but it’s real. I come from struggle, and I stand in purpose because I refused to let my past be the end of me.
From Where I’m From to Where I Stand Now
From Survival to Purpose: A Journey of Resilience and Leadership
From Where I’m From to Where I Stand Now
I come from a story that could have easily been written for me by other people’s assumptions. I come from hardship, responsibility, survival, and the kind of pain that teaches you how to grow up too fast. I know what it means to carry more than a child should have to carry. I know what it means to move through life while holding grief, fear, and uncertainty in one hand, and hope in the other.
But I also come from resilience.
Where I am from is not just a place on a map. It is a lived experience. It is family struggle, silence, strength, and learning how to keep going even when the road ahead is unclear. It is being shaped by systems that were never designed with people like me in mind, and still choosing to believe that my life could mean more than what I had been through.
Today, I stand in a very different space, but I have not forgotten where I started.
As a woman with lived experience, and as someone who has walked through incarceration and reentry, I now serve in a leadership role at A Brighter Way, a peer-led organization rooted in relationships, dignity, and second chances. The work I do is deeply personal. It is not theoretical. It is not distant. It is lived, felt, and understood from the inside out.
That matters.
Too often, women who come from difficult circumstances are expected to either hide their past or spend their lives apologizing for it. I have learned the opposite. My story is not something to be ashamed of. It is evidence of survival. It is proof that healing, growth, and purpose are possible. It is also a reminder that women who have been impacted by trauma, incarceration, poverty, or instability are not broken. We are powerful. We are resourceful. We are visionary. And when given room to lead, we do not just change our own lives—we help transform our communities.
The space I am in now is one of purpose.
I have the privilege of helping create pathways for people returning home from incarceration, many of whom have been overlooked, judged, or counted out. I get to stand beside people as they rebuild trust, reconnect with family, pursue stability, and redefine what is possible for their lives. In this work, I have seen again and again that transformation does not happen through judgment. It happens through relationship. It happens when people are met with compassion, accountability, and real support.
Being an influential woman, to me, is not about titles or recognition. It is about impact. It is about using your voice to make room for someone else’s humanity. It is about leading with honesty. It is about refusing to let your past disqualify you from your future.
I am proud of where I come from, not because it was easy, but because it taught me how to endure. I am proud of where I am now, not because I arrived without struggle, but because I kept going. And I am committed to making sure other women know that their beginnings do not have to define their limits.
We are allowed to become more.
We are allowed to lead from lived experience.
We are allowed to turn pain into purpose.
If my journey offers anything, I hope it offers this:
Your story still has power, even after the hardest chapters—maybe especially then.
For every woman who has ever wondered whether she can rise beyond what she has survived, the answer is yes. Not perfectly. Not all at once. But yes.
And sometimes, the very place you come from becomes the foundation for the woman you were always meant to be.
Jennifer St. John
Tri-County Director
A Brighter Way
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