Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeri Perkins.
Hi Jeri, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up in predominately white spaces I learned from a very young age how to assimilate and gain the cultural capital needed to navigate systems and institutions that were not built for little girls like me to thrive. At the intersection of race/ethnicity, gender and Socioeconomic status (SES) I have experienced different levels of privilege and different levels of oppression. I grew up in affluent neighborhoods, attended private schools and transitioned from childhood, adolescence to adulthood with a foundation that was built on the value of education as the pathway to meeting future goals and milestones. Since I was five years old I remember my mother reviewing my school lessons with me after school to strengthen my skills, knowledge and understanding. She made flashcards pertaining to my school lessons and would review them with me daily by insisting that “practice makes perfect” and that I should strive to do my very best in everything that I do in life.
I transitioned to Cupertino High School and the curriculum became more challenging, but I had a plethora of educators and college and career service advocates who made the pathway to higher education more clear and attainable. I remember my father instilling in me at this stage the desire to “learn how to learn.” My HBCU Lincoln University of Missouri is what made me. GO BLUE TIGERS!!! It is because of the sacrifices of the 62nd and 65th soldiers of the United States Colored Infantry who founded my illustrious undergraduate institution in 1866 that a young scholar with testing anxiety received an opportunity to be a Presidential Scholar and graduate Summa Cum Laude. ASU Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions School of Social Work program ignited my passion for advocacy, policy and community practice. It was there that I started to view education, changing the narrative, blazing my own trail, and creating a vision for the future as the pathway to liberation.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Throughout the challenges and barriers that I experienced fortunately I have had a plethora of resources to aid me with holistically navigating spaces that do not necessarily support my mental health and wellness and cultural identity as a Black young woman. Mental health is an area that I advocate for to eliminate the stigma and shame in communities of color associated with accessing mental health care. I am an individual who navigates life with high-functioning anxiety and depression. My journey has not been easy because of these challenges however, I refuse to let challenges become barriers to meeting my goals and milestones. The resources provided to me by mental health counselors, psychiatrists and dietitians who I refer to as the “dream team” have served as a guiding light on my pathway to recovery from a compulsive binge eating disorder. As Satire once said, “Progress is not linear.” Perhaps the intersectionality of my identity is what led me to the social work and education profession because of my own lived and shared experiences. Oftentimes people discuss the journey to success without acknowledging the challenges and or barriers along the way. I seek to provide representation and advocacy resources for individuals and communities who share intersectionality’s of identity.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the CEO & Founder of Impact Action Network Advocacy Consulting Agency, LLC. The mission of my organization is to “Educate to Liberate” so that Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice (DEIBJ) is a priority and not a checkbox. The vision of my organization is to provide access to individual and group coaching and training for students and professionals of color to navigate power dynamics and conflict resolution safely and confidently with strategies that eradicate the normalization of racism and oppression within these systems and institutions. My own experiences navigating academic and professional settings have ignited my passion to eradicate the normalization of racism and oppression perpetuated against people of color within these systems and institutions by refusing to cater to the fragility of whiteness. These experiences have ignited my passion to practice servant leadership and provide safe spaces and community-building opportunities for students and professionals of color to thrive while navigating the racism and oppression engrained within academia and professional settings. For example, at ASU I created the BIPOC Student Network now known as the Multicultural Students Alliance.
Furthermore, I experience disillusionment by the way individuals and communities of color perpetuate racism and oppression within our own environments. So, I seek to educate on a collective responsibility lens and solution-focused approach to heal from historical and generational trauma that creates division between us. I desire to end the cycle of trauma, harm and toxic workplace environments with my work and business to enhance service-delivery outcomes. Various life experiences have shaped me into the young woman, community advocate, Black female business owner, and educator that I am today. In the words on the Haitian flag, “La Union Fait La Force. United We Stand and Divided We Fall.”
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Culture is a strength and not a deficit. Resiliency is the greatest protective factor that your ancestors gave you. Demonstrate gratitude in everything that you do in life. Everything is for your deliverance. You deserve and have earned the right to access opportunities in life. Use your platform to answer the call to leadership. You have a social responsibility to the communities that you serve and represent. Your Age ain’t nothing but a number. Your impact withstands the test of time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://impactactionnetwork.com
- Instagram: impact_action_network
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeriCPerkinsMSW/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeri-perkins/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-action-network-advocacy-consulting-agency/
Image Credits
Heather Nelson Photography
