Hey, I'm Jessica.
Speaker • Author • Stress & Safety Educator
I'm a public health professional, speaker, author, and the founder of Journey To Yourself.
At the heart of my work is a simple belief:
When we slow down long enough to understand what's happening within us, we can make better choices about how we show up for ourselves and the people around us.
But I didn't always understand that.
Where I Started
In grade school, we're taught things like:
"Keep your hands to yourself."
"You are in control of your actions."
Growing up, I took that lesson a little differently.
I thought being in control meant being in control of how other people saw me.
So I became happy and bubbly.
Because when you're happy and bubbly, people don't usually ask:
"What's wrong?"
And for a long time, that worked.
On the outside, I was fine.
But inside my home, addiction and my parents' divorce were affecting me in ways I didn't know how to process.
So I learned to keep going.
I carried that mindset with me through jobs, college, relationships, heartbreak, and adulthood—until eventually, I crashed.
That was the moment I realized something important:
The version of myself I was showing everyone else wasn't the same person I needed to take care of.
I had spent so much time learning how to keep going that I hadn't learned how to pause.
And that changed the direction of my life.
From Personal Experience to Public Health
My journey eventually led me to public health, where I earned my Master's in Public Health and began developing workshops focused on stress management and well-being.
What started as a personal realization became a professional passion:
How do we help people recognize stress before it takes over?
How do we communicate when we're overwhelmed?
How do we take accountability without beating ourselves up?
How do we create environments where people feel safe enough to speak up?
And how do we take care of ourselves without feeling guilty for doing it?
Those questions became the foundation of Journey To Yourself.
What I Do Today
Today, I speak and lead interactive workshops focused on stress, communication, accountability, confidence, and safety.
My primary work is with trades, construction, utilities, manufacturing, and other hardworking teams.
I help people understand that stress isn't just a personal wellness issue.
Stress can affect communication.
Stress can affect decision-making.
Stress can affect relationships.
And stress can affect safety.
Through my Coffee While It's Hot Framework, I give audiences practical tools to pause, recognize what's happening, communicate more effectively, and take accountability for how they show up.
I also speak to women in male-dominated industries about stress, communication, confidence, and workplace safety.
And I'm continuing to create conversations for young women around self-love, confidence, boundaries, and healthy relationships—because learning to take care of yourself is a journey that starts long before you enter the workplace.
Why Journey To Yourself?
Because I don't believe the journey is about becoming a completely different person.
It's about coming back to yourself.
Sometimes that means slowing down.
Sometimes it means setting a boundary.
Sometimes it means speaking up.
Sometimes it means admitting you need help.
And sometimes it means realizing that you don't have to keep pretending you're okay just because everyone thinks you are.
My goal is to create spaces where people can be honest, learn something practical, laugh a little, and leave with something they can actually use.
Because taking care of yourself isn't selfish.
It helps you show up better for everyone around you.
And the coffee?
I wrote Drink the Coffee While It's Hot because I needed that reminder in my own life.
Don't wait until everything is perfect to enjoy the moment you're in.
Pause.
Breathe.
Notice what's happening.
Drink the coffee while it's hot.
My Favorite Reminder
You can't pour from an empty teapot.
But I've learned something else along the way:
You don't have to wait until the teapot is completely empty before you take care of yourself.
That's the work.
That's the journey.
Journey To Yourself.
And yes—
