Geneviéve Jones-Wright
Founder and Lead Empowermentor at Motivation.In.Action (MIA)
Public Speaking/Storytelling
Education: University of San Francisco - Howard University School of Law
Memphis, TN, USA
Biography
I decided as a fourth grader that I would go to Howard University School of Law to follow in the footsteps of Justice Thurgood Marshall. My mother, who raised me as a single parent in a low-income home, nurtured my dreams and nourished them as if they were her own. Because of her unyielding support and God’s faithfulness — and despite what other people had already scripted for my life — I became the very first person in my family to attend a four-year university. I went on to study internationally and earn three degrees in higher education: a B.A. (University of San Francisco), J.D. (Howard University School of Law), and LL.M. (California Western School of Law).
I am a celebrated attorney and accomplished social entrepreneur.
As founder and CEO of Motivation.In.Action (MIA), I empower individuals to “write their own story” and live on purpose. In 2023, I launched DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Daily to help organizations and corporate leaders fulfill their goal of creating and maintaining truly inclusive work environments after routinely being asked to facilitate and lead conversations about racial and social justice at the behest of Fortune 500 corporations.
I coined the term “perpetual autobiographer™” to illustrate my intentionality in writing my own story every day. As a perpetual autobiographer™, I harness the power of being the author of my own life. I take pride in defying odds and crushing stereotypes. I live each day as the changemaker I was created to be.
In honor of my tireless work, I was inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame on March 21, 2021.
Passion
Faith; Racial and social Justice issues; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Accessiblity Issues; Inspiring others.
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
Everything is negotiable
Topics
Best Story
I’ve spent the last several years mastering being comfortable in uncomfortable situations and conquering a fear a year. In 2017, I accepted the biggest challenge of my life: I ran for political office! During the race, I offered the cure for our failing systems: more care, compassion, and concern. I quickly came to be regarded as a voice for “The People,” and garnered the reputation of being a compassionate, inspirational, and humanity-centered leader.
Origin Story
As a fourth grader, I decided to become a Howard-trained attorney, following in the footsteps of Justice Thurgood Marshall. And I did!
Example talks
How to Overcome DEI Fatigue
This talk will give practical tools to help you overcome and mitigate burnout in your DEI work.
Strengthening Workplace Culture by Creating a Sense of Belonging
In her illuminating talk, Geneviéve will give three main points to help your organization translate the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into real actions that result in a strong culture of Belonging.
1. Understanding DEIB: What DEIB is and why it is essential for your organization
2. How Inclusion is different from Belonging (and why both are necessary)
3. Real actions to concretize these principles (DEI) to cultivate a true sense of Belonging
Turn Your Pressure Into Praise
If pressure knocks you down, you are in the perfect position to praise.
God Never Gives a Vision Without Provision
The Bible is full of examples of God's provision for His people when He has given them a vision. From the Old Testament (Abraham in Genesis 15:1) to the New Testament (Paul in Acts 18:9-11), God shows Himself faithful. Certainly, today He remains faithful as He continues to give vision to His people.
Eliminating Barriers to Bold Living
You cannot start to live boldly if you are unwilling to get out of your current comfort zone. This means you cannot live boldly without shifting.
IN ORDER TO LIVE BOLDLY AND ON PURPOSE, you must:
1. Ask yourself "whose lens are you looking at yourself and your life through?" because perspective is everything.
2. Know it is not about believing in yourself. It is about believing in God and trusting what He says and holding onto His promises.
3. Take an honest inventory of your thoughts and remove the ones that are not in alignment with God's Word.
4. Hide His Word in your heart and fill your mind with His promises and good plans for you.
That's how you start to eliminate barriers to live boldly.
This talk is also accompanied by an e-book authored by Geneviéve Jones-Wright.
Embracing the Word "No"
Learning to say "no" is a "yes" to self-care.
I've learned that saying "no" helps us to prioritize and is essential for self-care. However, saying "no" can be difficult for a lot of reasons - even when we want to. It took a long time for me to buy into the idea that I needed to say “no” more. When we talk about keeping the main thing the main thing, it’s usually a cautionary tale about getting sidetracked by taking on too many things (which are not the main thing), and your real focus (the main thing) suffers. Why would I need to heed this warning? I get things done. Nothing suffers, or so I thought. Because I had been effective doing it this way for so long, it took some self-reflection to arrive at this point where I am now embracing the word “no”. Since then, I’ve been taking things off of my plate that are distracting and/or not aligned with or beneficial to my “purpose work”. As we enter into 2020, I urge everyone who, like me, wants to be more productive and effective in the new year, to embrace saying “no” and "yes" to self-care.