|||||| MEET JESS ||||||
Jess curates Leadership Development that is vibrant, efficient and aligned.
Hello! I’m Jess Évora. I’m a passionate life-long learner & leadership development professional with 13 years of full-time experience. My work includes leadership development, program design, facilitation, public speaking, recruitment, member on-boarding & success, and donor engagement. I’m a builder and connector with particular interest in work that brings together multiple organizations for strategic partnerships. I gravitate towards projects that require significant expansion or improvement, or projects that need to be built from scratch. I also love human beings and find most enjoy in member-facing roles, as well as roles in which I can lead or collaborate with a team.
I am currently Director of Leadership Development for The Health Management Academy, where I direct The Academy Fellows Program, a partnership with GE HealthCare. I collaborate with Executives-in-Residence, Faculty and Enterprise C-suite leaders to provide leadership development for 200+ highest-potential healthcare executives at the Leading Health Systems in the U.S. Previously, I enjoyed 7 years total leading leadership development for the University of California system (4 years at UCLA & 3 years at UC Merced).
EXPERIENCED SPEAKER & MODERATOR | Presentation topics:
leadership development || executive presence || confidence || empathy || resilience || building authentic relationships || empowering teams || presentation and engaging audiences
check out this sample video to see jess in action:
Experience with THE FOLLOWING ASSESSMENTS:
CliftonStrengths | DiSC | True Colors | Personalysis | Emergenetics+ | Predictive Index | MBTI
My Strengthsfinder TopStrengths: Positivity, Empathy, Futuristic, Learner, and Focus
MY VIA Institute Character Strengths: Love, Love of Learning, Hope, Perspective, and Gratitude
Communication & Formal Training
Faculty Institute on Designing Resilient Online Instruction Certificate | UC Merced Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching - August 2020
Advanced Facilitation and Public Speaking Skills (experienced keynote speaker and event moderator for high-level events)
Formal training in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator; Microsoft Office, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher
Advanced experience with digital tools & learning platforms (Canvas, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack and others)
Selected Presentations & Training
Executing on Strategic Priorities | Planner/Moderator for the Annual change management strategic project showcase during The Health Management Academy’s CFO, COO, CNE and CPE Forums for enterprise-level executives. (Spring 2022 - Present).
Developing Executive Presence. Invited Speaker. University of California Merced Health Promotions: In-Person staff training founded on the best practices of experts Jessica Chen and Selena Rezvani. (2022)
Confidence & Resilience for STEM Professionals. Developing your STEM Identity. Contract work. Designed and facilitated a national virtual training series (across several months) for Growth Sector Staff across all sites. (2022)
Inclusive Leadership for Change. Invited Presenter. Designed and facilitated a 45-hour minute presentation at the 2020 Aggies Lead The Way! Leadership Conference at University of California, Davis. Davis, CA. (2019)
Building Authentic Relationships. Invited Presenter. Designed and facilitated a 2-hour training for full-time summer Teachers for the Urban Scholars Program at the University of Massachusetts - Boston. Boston, MA. (2018)
Developing Authentic Relationships: A Tool for Conflict Management. Invited Presenter. Half-day training for Tutor Counselors of the Rhode Island College Upward Bound summer residential program. Providence, RI. (2018)
Presentation Strategies: Truly Engage Your Audience. Invited Presenter for the Black AIDS Institute Fellowship Program on presentation skills for the research symposium. Los Angeles, CA (2017)
HOW I define leadership
Leadership is (1) growing into the best version of yourself, (2) empowering others to grow into the best versions of themselves, and (3) working together to create positive change. I believe it is the foundational responsibility of all leaders to lead with equity, diversity and inclusion in mind.
leadership development IS CRITICAL
The 7 leadership skills I feel are critical in today's world are self-awareness, empathy, communication, critical thinking, creative problem-solving, proficiency in DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging), and digital literacy (both the willingness & ability to continue to learn new technology).
Leadership Development is my passion. For this reason, it will always be incorporated into the work I do, regardless of my job title or the industry in which I work.
VOLUNTEER WORK
Jess is former Executive Director (2 years) for Ranja CV, an international nonprofit that promotes unity and leadership development among Cabo Verdeans across continents. Jess served for 2 years as marketing manager for The International Poderoza Conference on Cabo Verdean Women. Jess co-founded and chaired the USC Black Alumni Association Young Professionals. She also served for many years as an alumni mentor for the USC Black Alumni Association scholars program. Jess recently moved to a new state and is excited to look for her next opportunity to give back.
A PERSONAL NOTE FROM JESS
I’m a confident introvert who loves people. I’m known for my calm energy. I’m an adventurer. I’ve climbed an active volcano and the Sydney bridge in Australia, and worked on a cruise shop for months sailing across continents. I’ve also driven coast-to-coast solo multiple times. My family is from the African country of Cabo Verde. Much of our family lives there, and we go back often. I grew up in the tiny state of Rhode Island (Little Rhody!). I’m super grateful to have such a loving, encouraging, family. It is not lost on me how they contribute to the leader and the speaker I am today. It is not lost on me how privileged I am to lead the life that I lead. I lean specifically towards work that allows me to give back and contribute to bettering the lives of others.
I try everyday to make sure my life reflects my approach to leadership development: vibrant, efficient and aligned.
