Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Mcclain

Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

Often when I talk with friends and professional colleagues about how I got started in my field, I begin with one of my first post-college jobs, at what was then a well-known social services agency in Chicago (Abraham Lincoln Centre, now no longer in existence). But as I reflected on this question more, I realized that my career and my “story” is really rooted in my high school experience, which is perhaps a bit different than most people’s. I had the honor of attending Piney Woods School, a historically black boarding school in rural Mississippi with a 100-plus year history of preparing students for leadership through high-quality academics and experiential learning. (I highly encourage readers to check out Sacred Soil, a new Hulu documentary on PWS’ extraordinary history, legacy, and continued impact on its students.) In addition to planting the early seeds of my passion for leadership and service, the challenge and the experience of living away from home as a teenager while at PWS pushed me out of my comfort zone and sparked in me a lifelong desire to continually seek similar new experiences.

I continued this trend of seeking new environments and challenges by attending Dillard University, Louisiana’s oldest HBCU in New Orleans, but faced an obstacle after I graduated–an obstacle that would turn out to profoundly shape the rest of my career. I left Dillard with a bachelor’s degree in computer science but had difficulty finding a job in IT, as had been my career plan at the time when I returned home to Chicago. It turned out my church was operating a workforce development program with Abraham Lincoln Centre and through that connection, I ended up working in the nonprofit sector, where (after a brief stint in the federal government working for the IRS before I returned to Abraham Lincoln Centre) I’ve grown my career ever since.

Some of the work I was leading at Abraham Lincoln Centre involved implementing an innovative new program model (Center for Working Families, which evolved into the Financial Opportunity Center® model now operating at 9 community partners in Chicago and 3 in Central Illinois) and through some of the questions I was asking and observations I was sharing from our community based organization perspective, I was connected to LISC, which was funding the emerging CWF work. This led to an opportunity to work at LISC, where I’ve grown my career and remain today, serving as a Senior Director over all of Chicago and Central Illinois programming. After many years focusing on workforce development and financial health initiatives with LISC, I recently stepped into an expanded role that involves not only program management but staff and leadership development, supporting my direct reports in their own management and career growth journeys. This work aligns closely with the passion for coaching that I’ve developed alongside my nonprofit work and I’m excited to see what this next phase in my career brings.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Absolutely not! I’ve raised two daughters on my own, which as any parent will tell you, isn’t easy balancing work and parenting. I’m very grateful that I had support from my family and so enormously proud of the young women my daughters have become.

I also experienced some moments of doubt and questioning in my career. Earlier in my career, I knew being in the nonprofit sector that my overwhelming driver and motivation wasn’t going to be making money, necessarily–but I didn’t have a strategy or intention around my career aspirations, even as I pursued graduate education, earning an MBA in 2005 and later an MPA (Master of Public Administration) as well, after I realized that I wanted to stay in the nonprofit sector and gain some industry-specific management knowledge.

I’ll be honest, I struggled early in my time as a leader and manager. I’m not sure if this is common in other industries, but in the nonprofit field we’re often wearing so many “hats” at work, focused on the mission and serving the community, that there isn’t always time (or resources) for formal training on management and supervision. When I was promoted into my first supervisory role, I had no idea how to do it and ended up fumbling my way through. Looking back, I realize that I wasn’t very good or effective as a supervisor early on, though experience has helped over the years, as have external leadership development programs that I’ve been fortunate to participate in. Part of why I’m so passionate about my new role on our Local LISC team is that I want to be able to provide my team members with the tools, resources, and confidence to manage and lead that I wish I’d had when I was starting out.

One of my other major struggles was with confidence. This might surprise people who work with me now and see me giving presentations to external partners and executive leaders, coaching clients, and facilitating trainings and meetings–but it took time and pushing through self-doubt to build those skills. It took a long time for me to see myself as an “expert” in my field and I’m grateful for the colleagues who helped me build that confidence over time. Over the years, I realized that colleagues were increasingly turning to me for resources, advice, and expertise particularly in my focus areas of coaching and nonprofit program design and analysis–and that, in turn, helped me see that in myself and embrace my role as an expert and leader.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

In my nonprofit career, I’ve specialized in designing, scaling, and innovating community-based and community-rooted initiatives that integrate workforce development, financial health, and economic opportunity. Drawing on my academic background in computer science, I started out focused on data systems and data analysis in the nonprofit sector, and while data remains a strength and a passion of mine, I’ve been fortunate to grow my career to incorporate broader experience in program design and leadership.

One of my proudest accomplishments is leading the growth of community-based integrated workforce and asset building work (under the Financial Opportunity Center® model) from a handful of partners in the mid/late-2000s to working with over 22 partners who have served over 20,000 Chicago community residents since 2005. What’s powerful and meaningful to me about this accomplishment is that the ripple effects go far beyond my home city of Chicago. Since I work for the Chicago office of a national organization, I’m fortunate to be able to learn from peers across the country, and also to share what we’ve learned from our longstanding history in this field.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?

Outside of my day job, one of my big goals recently was to start a blog. I got bitten by the writing bug when I contributed a chapter to a book on entrepreneurship, and while I have a longer term goal of writing an entire book one day, I wanted an outlet for shorter, more frequent writing where I could share some of the lessons and strategies I’ve learned with a wider audience than I otherwise might have the opportunity to interact with on a day to day basis at work. I launched my blog “Flourishing Fiercely” in 2023 and while it’s sometimes a challenge to post regularly–and I don’t always post as regularly as I might want–I really enjoy the structure and the accountability of keeping the blog current. I invite everyone to give it a read and hopefully find some tips and inspiration for whatever career or personal goals they’re striving for!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.missionenspire.com
• Other: https://missionenspire.com/blog/