Dr. Jacklyn Chisholm: Visionary + Change Agent

Dr. Jacklyn Chisholm:

VISIONARY + CHANGE AGENT

by Jennifer Coiley Dial

Looking at Dr. Chisholm’s incredible list of accomplishments, achievements, degrees, and accolades, it doesn’t take long to realize that this woman of faith is as equally ambitious as she is focused. The president and chief executive officer of Step Forward (formerly Council for Economic Opportunities of Greater Cleveland – CEOGC) is a visionary leader. The nonprofit currently has a budget of $140 million, and more than 420 employees who serve low-income residents in Cuyahoga County. As a child, Chisholm’s family was eligible to receive the services Step Forward provides.

Education was important to Chisholm’s mother, one of eight siblings. While her grandfather owned a trucking company and did well financially, he didn’t believe in investing money in his children’s education. Chisholm’s mother always wanted to be a nurse, but couldn’t go to school because her grandfather wouldn’t pay for it, so she emphasized education to young Jackie and her two sisters.

A Cleveland native, Jackie grew up primarily in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. When the family moved to East 93rd Street, Dr. Chisholm’s mother divorced her abusive father and knowingly married a man who was an alcoholic. Even though her exhusband was ordered to pay a small amount of child support, he still didn’t pay, and she didn’t know how she would care for her

Photos of Dr. Chisholm by Dale McDonald

President and Chief Executive Officer Step Forward HOMETOWN: Cleveland, Ohio EDUCATION: B.A., Medical Anthropology; M.A., Psychological Anthropology; Ph.D., Psychological Anthropology with an emphasis in Educational Anthropology CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: Board of Directors: Women of Color Foundation, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Ohio Urban Resource Systems, Cuyahoga County Family and Children First Council Advisory Boards: Early Childhood Education Partnership Council, Cleveland Early Childhood Compact, United Way Accountable Health Communities

MY MANTRA… “Dream Big” because it takes as much energy to dream big as it does to dream small. children. The promise of a new home for the single mom with three girls was the impetus behind the decision to remarry. Naturally, a lot of drama came with the marriage.

Chisholm’s fifth-grade teacher at the former Mt. Auburn Elementary School, Mrs. Mattie Stephens, was the “calm in the midst of the storm” at a time when she needed it. Mrs. Stephens expected the best from Jackie, and wouldn’t accept anything less. She believed in Jackie’s ability when Jackie didn’t believe it herself. While attending middle school, she had another teacher, Dr. Bert Holt, who expected her students to excel. Dr. Holt introduced her classroom to the world, setting their sights higher than other classrooms or the community.

By the time Chisholm was about 18 years old, most of her peer group was talking about boyfriends and future children they would have. No one was talking about going to college, but Chisholm had decided, “I’m getting out of here.” She didn’t yet

know how she was going to do it, but did know that education was her ticket out. She didn’t feel comfortable going home – her stepfather had started making sexual advances toward her – so she used to spend all of her afterschool hours at the library. She would spread out on the floor reading Greek mythology and other books, checking out as many as eight at a time. The library was her safe space outside the home, while her bedroom with a book and a vision for her future was her safe space at home. She knew she was going to college.

“I didn’t know necessarily what I was going to do,” Chisholm says. “Originally, my plan was to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, because my mother used to come home talking about surgery.” Even though she didn’t become a nurse, Jackie’s mom eventually became a surgical technician. “She was in the operating room everyday and would tell us about it.”

Initially denied admission to Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Chisholm was not one to be deterred. Case was the only school she wanted to attend; there was no “B” option. With the help from the chair of her high school Math department, Chisholm was interviewed and granted conditional admission.

She started off as a pre-med student, but at some point had to become honest with herself, as she couldn’t stand the sight of blood, and couldn’t fathom cutting into a cadaver. This put her in a position of having to decide what to do. She had worked hard to get there, now what? Dean Robert Davis, an advisor and professor at Case, gave her tough love when she faltered academically in her freshman and sophomore years. He helped her to understand where she was, how to access campus resources, and gave her a vision for what she could achieve.

At the time, Case had a global studies requirement, so she signed up for an anthropology class, and fell in love with it. It “spoke” to her. When it came time to declare her major, she discovered that the majority of her A’s were in anthropology classes, making the decision clear. (She still minored in pre-med, just in case.) In the end, all of Dr. Chisholm’s degrees are from Case: B.A., Medical Anthropology; M.A., Psychological Anthropology; Ph.D., Psychological Anthropology with an emphasis in Educational Anthropology.

Before taking the position at Step Forward, Chisholm held leadership positions at Case Western Reserve University, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum, and Global Music Cultural Center (GMCC) in Atlanta. She assisted in the planned development of the GMCC and is immensely proud to have led the effort to build the Rock Hall’s Library and Archives facility in partnership with Cuyahoga Community College.

Dr. Chisholm is a wife, mother of two, and grandmother of two, and by most standards, she is considered successful. But she believes success is relative. “My title confers a certain amount of success, but that can be fleeting if I lose the title. I try to measure my success by whether I made where I was better, or made someone’s life better or easier because I was there or through my efforts or support.” However, balancing career and lifestyle remains a challenge for Chisholm, but she’s learned to allow herself time away from work when she needs to mentally decompress or to think more strategically.

A chance meeting with poet Maya Angelou early in Chisholm’s career profoundly changed the way she interacts with others. “Ms. Angelou had a way of making me feel that I was the most important person during our brief encounter. I try to embody her famous quote: ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ I strive in all my interactions to make people feel that I ‘see’ them,” she says.

Dr. Chisholm loves the work she does at Step Forward. Reminding her staff of “why” they exist and seeing the positive results in how they care for and serve their clients brings her the most joy. “I also especially enjoy hearing stories about how our programs or services made a difference in our clients’ lives or how our efforts to improve the agency, including our salaries and benefits, have helped our staff feel more energized by the work and their connection to our organization.”

Equity, diversity and inclusion is vital to the longevity and success of any professional. On a challenging day, she recalled what a friend shared with her when she complained too often of being the only woman or Person of Color in the room. “She said that her son told her, ‘God must trust you if He keeps putting you in that situation!’ I also recognize that it is a privilege to serve.” stepforwardtoday.org

2021 Calendar of Events

Cleveland, Ohio (Virtual Event) 18th Annual Personal and Professional Development Retreat “Connections, Community and Career 2021” Thursday, May 20, 2021 9:00 am - 12:00 pm HOSTED BY: Women of Color Foundation

Cleveland, Ohio (Virtual Event) 10th Annual “Speaking of Women: A Dialogue Series for Women in Leadership” Thursday, August 5, 2021 11:30 am - 1:30 pm HOSTED BY: Dominion Energy Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio (“LIVE” and Virtual Event) 5th Anniversary C-Suite Executive Women’s Summit Sunday-Tuesday, October 24-26, 2021 Walden Inn & Spa 1119 Aurora-Hudson Road, Aurora, Ohio 44202 HOSTED BY: Women of Color Foundation

LEARN MORE womenofcolorfoundation.com

216.391.4300, ext. 307 or 866-962.3411 (toll free)

Women of Color Foundation

4200 Warrensville Center Road Medical Office Building A, Suite 353 Cleveland, Ohio 44122

Executive Profile: Deborah Riley Draper

Deborah Riley Draper is an award-winning and critically-acclaimed filmmaker, motivational speaker and advertising agency veteran. Variety magazine named Draper to their “2016 Top 10 Documakers to Watch” list. She is a 2018 TEDx speaker, 2019 Facebook SEEN Initiative participant and frequent guest on panels and in media speaking on storytelling, diversity and advertising. Her 2019 short film Illegal Rose starring Jasmine Guy tells the story of a disengaged nurse who accidentally kidnaps a 9 year-old ICE Detention Center runaway. Draper adapted the screenplay and will direct her next project, Coffee Will Make You Black, which will be produced by Octavia Spencer and Tate Taylor based on the coming-of-age novel of the same name. Her 2016 documentary, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice (www.1936olympicsmovie.com), tells the untold story of 18 African Americans who defied Hitler and Jim Crow in 1936 and was a 2017 nominee for the NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Documentary Film and qualified the 2017 Oscars. The film world-premiered at the 2016 LA Film Festival and was an official selection at many festivals, including the Traverse City Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, Cambridge International Film Festival (UK), and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

Her debut film, Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution (www.versailles73movie.com), opened New York Fashion Week and Toronto Fashion Week in 2012. Versailles ’73 is the first intimate look at the infamous Palace of Versailles fashion show fundraiser, which catapulted the American ready-to-wear to global prominence. The film was theatrical released and premiered on Viacom’s Logo TV in September 2015. Draper will serve as executive producer of the feature film version of the optioned documentary.

Draper’s leadership in advertising can be seen in campaigns for Lamborghini, CocaCola classic, FedEx and adidas. She has earned two regional Emmys, a Gold Effie, and several Addy Awards. Source: https://www.deborahrileydraper.com/

Q&A

PROFESSIONAL TITLE: Filmmaker HOMETOWN: Savannah, GA EDUCATION: Florida State University CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: Film Fatales MY MANTRA… Greenlight Yourself

EARLY YEARS

Thinking back to your early years, was there a teacher or professor that had a significant impact on your professional journey?

I was very fortunate to have an incredible group of teachers in Middle School who collectively poured into me and expressly encouraged me to be myself. Among that group of teachers was Mary Thomas. And, I still Facebook with her today. She pushed me to lean into my creative side and provided a very thoughtful environment for learning and exploring.

CAREER

What professional accomplishment are you most

humbled by and why? I am most humbled by the 2017 NAACP Image Award for my documentary Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, which follows the story of 18 African Americans athletes who defy Hitler and Jim Crow at the 1936 Summer Games. It was so important to me to bring the stories of these overlooked real-life Black superheroes to life.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is vital to the longevity and success of any professional. On your most challenging day, where do you draw inspiration to continue feeding your passion for

this work? I draw my inspiration from the words and pictures of the strong Black women in my family and the knowledge of the generations before me that have already carved a path for me to follow and make my own.

What is the toughest decision you’ve made

professionally? The toughest decision to turn down a lucrative advertising agency role to pursue my life as a filmmaker.

PHILOSOPHY

The essentials to creating a harmonious work environment are…

For me, the essentials are solitude, a great desk by a window, my Spotify playlist and my coconut water.

What have you come to learn about success?

Success is redefined daily and how you measure suggests evolves as you evolve. And your measurement of success can only be defined by you.

What have you come to learn about balancing

career and lifestyle? This is a still a work in progress. But both my body and my mind tell when in no uncertain terms when I am out of balance or when I just need to sit down.

MY CONFESSIONS

What part of your job brings you the most joy?

I am on set directing a script that I have written.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned professionally? How do you apply this lesson to

the work you do? I can trust my instincts and only ask the advice of people I trust.

FUN FACT

My ideal vacation is…

It is a tie between the South of France and St. Bart’s filled with beach time, spa time and amazing food.