Meet Jessica Manfre | Published author, senior contributor, licensed social worker and CFO of the Inspire Up Foundation

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Manfre and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, what role has risk played in your life or career?
As human beings we seek comfort, doing things going against this feeling doesn’t sit well with us. But when it comes to having a dream or idea, without leaning into the uncomfortableness — there’s no room for growth and learning. Being a military spouse has taught me all about expecting the unexpected and focussing on solutions. In choosing to pursue self employment and start a nonprofit, both things I’d never done before, I had to choose risk. Though the typical 9-5 yields expected results like secure income and consistency, I would have always wondered “what if”.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Getting to where I am today took a lot of hard work but also the ability to accept feedback and be willing to use it to grow. No one is an expert overnight, if you can’t learn from the people who’ve done it you don’t deserve it. Becoming a senior contributor for publications and writing a book came from a lot of red pen edits and mentoring sessions to get better. Running a nonprofit is hard but the four of us work really hard to be better every day. We’ve taken every negative and turned it into a learning experience for the next challenge. This makes the world of difference in success or true failure.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m all about connecting and building beautiful memories. Starting the day at an amazing cafe for breakfast and food coffee would definitely be on the addenda! I’d like to follow it by strolling the area and playing tourist in between finding great meals.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have a core group of friends who have mentored and encouraged me for years. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. From being a driving force behind developing me as an author to simply being in my corner of support as I navigated hard seasons, good friends were the foundation for everything.

Bianca, Tessa, Megan, Maria, Stacy and Sam — I love you!

Website: Www.Jessicamanfre.com

Instagram: @jess_manfre

Facebook: @jessicamanfrelmsw