Jessica Young, MBA

I attribute my success directly to my mother. Growing up, I watched her persevere through numerous challenges, including health difficulties, socioeconomic hardships, and relationship struggles. Despite these obstacles, she remained positive, cared deeply for the people around her, and continually sacrificed to provide me with opportunities to succeed. Her resilience, positivity, and commitment to helping me move forward in life have profoundly influenced who I am and the way I approach my own goals.

The best career advice I have received is “strategy over urgency.” I received this advice from a professor while completing a 90-day strategy plan in class. Initially, I felt stressed and focused on the urgency of completing the plan. Once I stepped back, took a broader perspective, and thoughtfully developed the strategy, I realized how valuable strategic planning could be in helping me scale and grow my business. This experience taught me to prioritize long-term strategy rather than allowing immediate pressures to dictate my decisions.

My advice to young women is not to let anyone tell you that your goals are impossible. If you have a dream, pursue it with confidence and determination, even when others cannot see the vision that you have for yourself. Believe in your ideas, remain committed to your goals, and do not allow doubt or other people's opinions to prevent you from pursuing the future you envision.

One of the biggest challenges in our field right now is that families know their children need more support, but they don’t always know where to find it or they’re met with long waitlists, high costs, or environments that don’t quite fit their child. There is a real need for spaces that fall between traditional childcare, education, recreation, and therapeutic support.

At the same time, I think that is also our greatest opportunity. We are beginning to understand that children don’t all learn, communicate, regulate, or connect in the same way. Families are looking for environments where their children can be supported without constantly being asked to fit into one box.

At JR’s Sensory Play Garden, we see play as an opportunity to build confidence, independence, social-emotional skills, and connection. Our approach is structured enough to follow, but flexible enough to follow the child. I believe the future of this field is creating more inclusive, accessible spaces where meaningful play and development can happen naturally and where families feel supported, too.

The values that guide me most are family, authenticity, compassion, growth, and meaningful impact. I’m a mom of four, an educator, and an entrepreneur, so much of what I create comes from real life, seeing a need, understanding the struggle, and asking, “How can we make this better?”

In my work, I believe strongly in meeting people where they are. With children especially, I value the process over the result. Every child deserves the space to explore, make mistakes, build confidence, and develop in their own way and at their own pace.

Personally, I also value perseverance and purpose. Building JR’s has taught me that meaningful work isn’t always easy, but I want the things I pour my energy into to matter. Whether I’m supporting my own family or a family who walks through the doors of the Garden, I want people to leave feeling seen, supported, and a little more confident than when they came in.