Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen Rafferty. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

Teaching always felt more like a calling than a choice. I loved my career as a music teacher and I taught in the public schools for 15 years. By 2019 I was conducting choirs across New York State, presenting at national conferences, and publishing a book. But in the fall of 2020, I took off what I thought would be a semester of teaching to homeschool my kids, start my Ph.D. in educational psychology, and studied to become certified as an emotional intelligence practitioner. When the time came to decide whether or not I was going to go back to the classroom, everything in my body was telling me to move in a new direction (even though my mind was telling me to go back to teaching). I trusted my instinct, and my company, Empowered Educator, was born. I now work with teachers and school leaders focusing on the social and emotional well-being of the adults in schools. With my transition from teacher to entrepreneur, I truly feel like I am living in alignment with who I want to be to make the impact I want to make in this world.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a push for more social/emotional learning programs in schools. However, in order to teach it effectively, educators need to embody these practices themselves. I believe the well-being of a school is dependent on the well-being of its educators. My company, Empowered Educator, provides professional development to address the power of holistic social and emotional health for everyone on the school campus. A healthy school environment happens when there is a shift in priorities about social/emotional well-being (and the language we use when we talk about it). We can only make our massive impact when we realize the most generous thing we can do for our students is take care of ourselves.

Students thrive when they are surrounded by thriving adults. Empowered Educator provides comprehensive research-based programming that leverages concepts of mindset, emotional intelligence, and cognitive neuroscience to give educators the tools to cultivate a culture of compassion, awareness, and empathy. I love working with people who are ready to elevate the way they think about education so they can begin to live and work with more intention. I am deeply committed to helping educators regain agency in how they show up for themselves and their school communities every day. Generational change begins when schools commit to creating safe places for everyone to become their best-selves.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Educators are experts in their field. However, in an effort to do our best for students, we often leapfrog our own needs. We need to shift this paradigm because teachers are now leaving the profession in droves. They are exhausted, burned out, overwhelmed and frustrated, and it is simply not sustainable. Something needs to change.

We often point fingers as to who is to blame, however organizations don’t change until people change. I think the most helpful thing for educators is knowing that they have agency in every situation. Even during times where you may feel powerless, you are always 100% responsible for how you show up. If you want to see change, you need to be the change. This means that you need to have a clear vision of who you want to be, know your values, and hold fast to your boundaries. Once you understand your agency, then everything starts to shift. Opportunities become available and you begin to see possibilities and solutions.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most powerful lessons that I had to unlearn was my limiting beliefs about myself. When we’re younger we dream so big. But, as we get older, we learn to dream less. We hear people telling us to “be realistic,” and to have a back-up plan for when our dreams plummet to the ground. But in an effort to protect us and keep us safe from heartache and disappointment, they actually teach us to stop dreaming. And since we hear it so often, we stop wishing for big things, and desiring a life that is full of possibility; we start thinking small. We become very practical, and ultimately, safe. If our dreams exist in the sky, we can’t get hurt if we stay on the ground.

I spent a lot of my early life “on the ground,” following the path I thought I was supposed to be on. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve had many incredible experiences along the way. But, if I’m being honest, I didn’t actually know who I was and what I wanted until just recently. I had to unlearn this lesson of listening to everyone else’s projections about what they thought I should do and who they thought I should be. As soon as I connected to myself, my path became clear, and I haven’t been happier. In unlearning my self-imposed limits, I’ve learned to trust myself to reach for my big audacious dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://empowerededucator.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenrafferty_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/empowerededucatorfacultyroom
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenrafferty_
• Other: https://takenoteswithjenrafferty.buzzsprout.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTE_y6GSwqM

Image Credits
nineonefourpf, Alexandra Alexandre DeAnne Marshall