We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Jewsbury. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.

Michelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

Legacy is not just something you leave behind after you pass away, legacy is something you build today so that you can live your best life while still on this earth. Building a legacy requires passion and commitment. Your story matters and the experiences you have gone through in your life matters. My hope is that through creative expression and storytelling I can live my legacy. It is important to speak up and speak loudly. Unsilenced Voices, the non profit formed after I escaped my abusive relationship is my lasting legacy. It serves thousands of people worldwide. I also am humbled to be able to speak on stages all around the world sharing stages with amazing, talented entrepreneurs. What is yours?

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was born August 1983 to two loving, hard-working parents. My dad, Bill, was a looker. He was 6’1” with blue eyes and shaggy blond hair. He met my mom, Wendy, in high school. Our family lived in a middle class home, went to public school, and played sports. We moved to a lot because my dad served in the US military. I excelled in school, but didn’t really like school. When I was twenty, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. The summer of 2011, I was reconnected with a man who began courting me romantically. Paul and I began dating January 2012. Roughly 4 months into that relationship was the first sign of physical violence and it got worse throughout the years. I stayed with Paul for 4 years where I had endured psychological manipulation, physical abuse, sexual violence and financial abuse. When escaping, I began writing and realized my story was too big not to share, I also realized how many people experienced similar situations as myself. In 2017, I felt a calling from God to start Unsilenced Voices, a non profit that works to combat domestic abuse and gender-based-violence worldwide. In 2022 we gifted over $33,000 to survivors in the USA and in Sierra Leone we sponsor and 26 young women in a vocational training center, paying for their medical, schooling, lunch and counseling. I began speaking and coaching in 2019 to help people have tremendous breakthroughs in their lives and use their stories to create a lasting legacy.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I have learned that in order to attract donors and clients, people need to know who you are. One of my mentors, Bill Walsh says, “you have to show up to blow up.” This is exactly right. You have to put yourself out there despite the fear of rejection or what others say. People invest in you because they like, know or trust you. No other reason

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I remember traveling with a friend before starting Unsilenced Voices. She was a beautiful brunette with piercing green eyes, we will call her Sara. Sara was adventurous and had just moved to Europe for school. She was studying humanitarian crisis in foreign countries. Her desire was to work for a non-profit that had global impact. I had invited Sara to Positano, Italy with me during a solo vacation.
Sara had never been to Italy, so I suggested she join me on part of the trip. If you have never been to Positano, it is a city about 170 miles south of Rome. It is famous for its colorful buildings stacked high into the steep mountainsides. It is also about 1,800 steps vertical from the base to Montepertuso road. It is an athlete’s heaven on earth.
Sara and I did not go to Positano to work out though, we went for the amazing beach, breathtaking sunsets and parties. While walking up the stairs back to our Airbnb one evening, Sara said, “you don’t have the education to start a nonprofit, you need more schooling and training.” I remember immediately doubting my abilities and questioning my path. I argued back, “you don’t need a college education to be successful.” She just brushed me off and focused on the climb. I knew God called me to start a mission, but I didn’t know how to get there.
Henry Ford said, “obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off of your goals.” My goal was to become CEO of a prospering nonprofit and impact hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. I started to see my lack of schooling as a huge obstacle, and for a brief time, I took my eyes off of my goals. I started to invest in myself to counteract my fear. I began listening to podcasts and reading uplifting books to help me overcome my obstacle. It worked and I continued to move forward toward my dream.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.unsilencemyvoice.com and www.unsilencedvoices.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellejewsbury/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.jewsbury
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-jewsbury/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjewsbury
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBzJMdaCQOwpNBZnDqtt8w

Image Credits
Dan Kavanaugh