Today we’d like to introduce you to Selena Jackson-Guines.
Hi Selena, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was 15, living in Brooklyn, hanging out with my girlfriends after a trip to Manhattan, we were confronted by a robber who followed us. He shot my friend right in front of me and stole her jewelry. I was fast-tracking to graduate early but immediately sent to Mobile, Alabama, where I was treated like I was arrogant because of how I spoke. Southern norms didn’t fit my personality. Teachers hated me but the students liked me. They thought I was edgy and cool. I was very angry and out of place. Seeing that I was struggling, my grandmother took me under her wing and showed me the ways of the south. I wasn’t a fan of how my teachers wanted me to be, but I learned I was better off learning to listen and assess the situation. I learned I was disrespectful to them, and I needed to adjust to have outcomes work in my favor. That was my most important lesson. My grandmother was a district manager for Popeyes. She had many locations and people to deal with throughout her region. I watched how she handled herself. My grandmother was very direct yet crafty. My mother was charming. She had a look you would never forget. Then she knew how to work the room until everybody knew who she was. I learned from both.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I was a mortgage broker in an office full of white males. Black or white, you had to prove yourself. If you couldn’t prove yourself, you were hired and likely fired in 60 days. To me, it wasn’t just about being in the room. It was about sitting at the table. I wanted to make money, but I wasn’t motivated by the money. It was about what I could change. They wrote the story. I wanted to change the narrative. Racial tension didn’t bother me. I was there for business. I was not intimidated. I wanted new people coming in to know how to follow a process and play the game. Seeking racial equality was not a strategy. Either I complained and got sabotaged or went along and made a new path.
I made management deal with me. Woman first. Black woman second. I will be the nicest person and laugh with you, but I won’t allow someone to dismiss me or define me. I did not expect anyone to give me anything. What they didn’t teach me, I taught myself. I got to work early and stayed late. I read everything I could, equipped myself with knowledge, and performed at a very high level.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Genesis Medical Supply Service Inc. is a medical supplier for the Pentagon, the Air Force, FEMA, the National Guard, VA hospitals and hospitals nationwide. We provide a variety of government contract services in communities hard hit by natural disasters, among other things. I’m now engaging in manufacturing and global distribution, along with doing deals with Golf Women Mean Business.
On the non-profit side, I serve on the Paulding County Superintendent Advisory Board and Board of Directors for Kiwanis Club of Paulding County. I chair the Boys and Girls Club of Paulding County. I founded and offered scholarships to outstanding members of the STEAM Club (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) and Coding Club at Sammy McClure Middle School, also pushed to enroll five other schools to apply state-certified standards throughout Paulding County for the diversity and inclusion of minorities and girls. I’m on the Advisory Board of the North Paulding High School CTAE (Career Technical & Agricultural Education) program. And I created Healing Je’ Ryan, a 501 (c)(3) as Chair for children who have experienced sexual trauma by assault or molestation.
I’m currently running for office in Paulding County School Board District 6.
With so many roles to manage, where do you get your spark and how do you do what you do?
By redefining the playing field to have time for my family, to run businesses in my own way, give back as an activist and philanthropist. If your passions are great, you are going to find a way to make it happen. I live my passion. I know it sounds like a cliché, but if I am passionate about something, I make time for it.
I’m very hands on with my interests until I trust my team. Then I’m very hands off. I didn’t go to school for business. I spent more time developing powers of observation and respect for process. My approach to business is simple and direct.
I’m not going to lie. My schedule is insane. I believe in taking a prominent role in my children’s lives no matter what’s going on with my businesses. I can chair a board, yet I prefer to work behind the scenes. That gives me freedom to impact more organizations. I may not even be on the board, but I engage figureheads because I bring input deemed valuable.
What is the one thing you do that makes the world a better place?
When it comes to children, I’ll stop at nothing to make sure they get what they need. If a project works to help kids, I’m in.
When I had my first child, he had major health issues. He was born premature and remained hospitalized for months. Doctors kept telling me what he could and could not do. I decided I’ll tell the doctors what he could do. He went from a kid who couldn’t do anything to playing tuba in the school band with one lung.
When you tell a child they are special needs, they limit their expectations. They don’t feel they can do more than what adults say they can. That is wrong. If you tell a child they’re an honor student, they will rise to the occasion. This is where my passion for children comes from.
That’s why I join the advisory board and chair the Boys and Girls Club. I enjoy volunteering to help the kids in Paulding County as a community leader, advocate, mentor, wife, mother and friend.
Contact Info:
- Email: selena@genesissupplyservice.com
- Instagram: Selenabest_life_
- Facebook: facbook.com/jacksonsaraland
- Youtube: genesismedicalsupplyservice
Image Credits
Kimazing photos
