Features

In this article, Jennifer shares her journey from a historically black boarding school to becoming a Senior Director at LISC, navigating unexpected career paths in the nonprofit sector. She highlights her work on the team that developed the Financial Opportunity Center® model, which has served over 20,000 Chicago community residents, while overcoming personal challenges like professional self-doubt. Her career is marked by continuous learning, earning advanced degrees, and a passion for community development and leadership. Jennifer also mentions about her recently launched blog called “Flourishing Fiercely” to share her career insights and strategies.

Jennifer was a speaker at the Voices of Color Virtual Summit.

This article is an interview with Jennifer McClain, who discusses how she found her purpose and launched her own business, Mission ENSPIRE, to support women, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations. She shares how her vision of purpose evolved over time through various experiences and reflects on the importance of lifelong learning, seeking feedback, and self-reflection in her journey. McClain also provides advice for those early in their career on developing skills through professional development opportunities and finding a balance between building on strengths and improving growth areas.

Guest on the Trailblazin’ Bosses Podcast with host Veranda Adkins. In this podcast episode Veranda sits down with Jennifer D. McClain, a community development leader, bestselling author, and certified coach. With over two decades of experience managing teams and supporting community-focused organizations, Jennifer’s talent as a facilitator has earned her recognition as a noteworthy leader by Crain’s Chicago Business. Explore Jennifer’s wealth of knowledge in team leadership and community support, and uncover her methods for empowering individuals and organizations to achieve their utmost potential through coaching.

Jennifer McClain was a speaker at the Challenges2Champions Summit.  Click HERE to listen to her interview.  The key themes in Jennifer’s interview were celebrating women, sharing personal journeys, the value of a supportive community, and having faith in one’s own abilities to overcome challenges.

Guest on the Embrace Your Power Podcast with host Denise Taylor, Career Success Coach. In this podcast episode, Jennifer McClain, a social impact leader with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, shares her career journey and insights into leadership and professional growth. Jennifer initially joined the nonprofit world out of necessity and struggled to find her path in the field. She emphasized the importance of faith, family, and friends in helping her make courageous career decisions and navigate challenges.

This article features Jennifer McClain, the Founder & CEO of Mission ENSPIRE, a purpose-driven company that provides coaching, training, facilitation, and consulting services, primarily targeting women in the nonprofit and faith communities. Jennifer discusses how she came up with the name for her company, emphasizing the importance of reflecting the company’s mission and values. She also shares her funding journey, highlighting the need for capital to support the business’s growth, and the importance of investing in oneself and personal development. Furthermore, she talks about overcoming her inner critic and the need to eliminate comparisons to others in her entrepreneurial journey.

Jennifer is featured on pages 26-27 of She ROCKS It Magazine – the Magazine where SHE Belongs was created to introduce the world to amazing women. The content is written to Inspire, Motivate, Encourage, Uplift, Empower and Ignite women to go out and live their best lives.

The Entrepreneurs’ Toolkit for Success offers support, knowledge, and community in these 15 chapters written by seasoned, entrepreneurs, each offering advice and actionable tips to new entrepreneurs and others who need more support, training, resources, tools, and networking. Providing access to accomplished women experts was the goal of Hey Taxi when producing this book written by a powerful group of financial experts, course creators, community leaders, wellness and life coaches sharing their journeys and talents. This wonderful collection of entrepreneurial success was collaborated and sponsored by Dawn Cermak and Jill Knerr, Founders of Hey Taxi, LLC.

Interview w/ author – Jennifer McClain

Purchase book HERE

Jennifer was named as a Notable Leader in Community Development in Crain’s Chicago Business

2022 marked my fifteenth year at LISC supporting our network of Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) partners. During that time, I’ve seen the model, inspired by the hopes of my Chicago neighbors, grow from four sites in the city to over 130 sites based in community organizations across the United States. Our model works because LISC supports partners, just as our partners support their community members.  

I wrote this article about my journey in this work. 

In this intimate discussion, three alumni participants of the Black Woman Leading Radiance cohort (Tracie Haygood, Jennifer McClain, and Roxann Stafford) share their stories of overcoming challenges, lessons learned, and resilience as they navigate their careers as Black women leaders working in both corporate and non-profit spaces.

In our rich discussion, we talk about the importance of having “mirrors” in your life, exercising your choice, communicating your value beyond your degrees, their strategies to advance in their careers, stepping out of the shadows of others’ expectations, resisting the “black women can’t work together” false narrative, and coming more fully into our authentic selves.

Listen on SPOTIFY