Jessica Okpareke

I attribute my success to God and the favor and grace I've experienced throughout my career. I haven't taken a traditional path of upward mobility within a single company. Instead, all the positions I've chosen have been very intentional in exploring what I like to do, helping friends and colleagues, or pouring into startups to help build something new. I've been lucky because I don't think a lot of what I do is as intentional as it might seem from the outside. It just comes with favor and grace. My network has become so strong at this point that opportunities come to me, and that's because I invest in the people I know and in being someone that's worth knowing. I also support my community and network, which creates a reputation that's worth remembering. The professional skills I learned early on through MLT, like how to negotiate, advocate for myself, and make myself stand out, have made me stand out as a professional and have stuck with me throughout my career.

Invest in your network and relationships. The connections you build throughout your career can create opportunities, provide mentorship, and support your long-term professional growth. I've learned that building a strong network of people you can trust, not only to be mentors but also to be really good colleagues, is essential because a lot of the time upward mobility starts with people who are in the same room as you advocating for what you do. The relationships that go outside of your organization are incredibly valuable. I have such a huge community outside of my professional life that if I ever thought of something, I could call someone up at any point and ask their opinion or get connected to someone that could give me momentum in what I'm thinking of. The personal always leaks into the professional.

Learn as much about the industry as you can. If that means getting certifications, do it, but you don't have to spend money if you don't have it. Find ways to still do what you want to do without going to school and accumulating hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, because we have accessibility with the increase of technology in the world, so it doesn't cost as much to learn what you need to learn to be good. Always be a learner, always be a student, because the world changes so fast and the industry changes every two to three years with something new. Take on volunteer opportunities and do things that don't pay you, because those sometimes turn out to be the biggest learning opportunities. Build your network of people that you can trust, not only to be a mentor but also to just be a really good colleague, because a lot of the time upward mobility starts with people who are in the same room as you advocating for what you do.

One of the biggest challenges I face as a Black woman in this industry is that I have to show up with excellence to every role and everything I touch because we have to work so much harder to show that we are worth an opportunity. I'm a very high-achieving person, and as a Nigerian immigrant, I've learned that in order to be recognized, you have to move in excellence. I show up with excellence to every role, and my friends and colleagues know this, but sometimes when you have this kind of armor or face that people know, vulnerability becomes difficult. I just transitioned to motherhood four months ago, and I've been learning what it looks like to not always be at my best but still advocate for my work and show up differently. It's about trying to show up in ways that require more grace from colleagues or more flexibility from the job itself, and that's not something I've had to address prior to now. On the opportunity side, I see huge potential in specializing and niching down. We live in a world that is embracing AI with such force, and what you can't replace is relationships and human creativity. When you niche down into being really good at one thing that is AI-proof, that helps you forever have a job. There's so much opportunity when you do one thing really good and find what that one thing is given how the world is changing. For me, the programmatic role has been that, and there's a lot of opportunity in ad tech right now.

Family is huge to me. I pour a lot into my personal life because when my family is happy, it kind of just gives me the energy to do everything that I can do on the professional side. I'm also a Christian, so I try to spread love into the world. Those are two of my personal values that drive me as an individual. Beyond that, I value excellence in everything I do. I show up with excellence to every role and everything I touch. I also deeply value relationships and investing in people. I believe in being someone that's worth knowing but also being someone that supports their community and network. Building authentic connections and maintaining strong relationships has been central to my success. I'm driven by continuous learning and being open to new opportunities, always staying curious and willing to explore what interests me.