WORKING WITH DR. BARRON

“Dr. Jessica Barron is one of the more innovative leaders I’ve seen. Her collaborative working style, creative thinking, care, and approach to the work, has made me and my team successful in getting much of our work approved and funded. If it were not for Jessica’s finesse, emotional intelligence and relationship building millions of dollars in funding for women and girls of color would not in existence right now. I cannot imagine a world where her leadership isn’t fully utilized.”

- Ada Williams Prince, Director, Program Strategy and Investment, Pivotal Ventuers

“I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Jessica Barron on a number of occa- sions and have always found her to be one of the brightest, most thoughtful, imaginative, collaborative, and compas- sionate people working toward social justice and liberation in the sector.”

- Dr. Raymond Foxworth, Vice President, First Nations Development Instituted

“Jessica Barron is gifted in giving critical feedback in a way that her audience can hear it, driving deep change -- personal and organizational. This is a gift that any organization can benefit from, as well as their clientele. Don't we all need someone to tell us the truth, even if it makes us uncomfortable, in order to drive systemic change and personal growth? Jessica is so talented in identifying new opportunities for organizational growth and rallying the community around her to move toward the new desired future. She persists when the challenges show up, never losing her confidence or her sense of humor, developing collaborative partnerships internally and externally to meet the common goal.”

- Kimberley Whitefield, Vice President of Enrollment, Robert Wesleyan University

“Jessica made me better. She saw me, saw my talent and my potential. Working with her made me push myself harder, do more, and really challenge myself. She gives real-time feedback, something I hadn’t experienced on any team prior. Anyone who works with her will grow.”

- Dr. Monique Gamble, Consultant (Frontline Solutions)

“On top of being brilliant, working with Jessica, you will feel a sense of calm and assurance. She is able to quickly observe, fit all the puzzle pieces together, and then translate that to the team and client in a way everyone can understand. That is not an easy task and she does it effortlessly. You always knew you were in good hands when she was the project director.”

- James Bui, Founder of Lotus Impact

 

Read The Urban Church Imagined

The book adds to the growing constellation of studies on urban religious organizations, as well as emerging scholarship on intersectionality and diversity in American religious life. It offers important insights into concepts I call managed diversity, and the racialized urban imaginary to discuss organizational diversity efforts among institutions relocating to urban areas. This work is an important case study on the inclusion challenges faced by modern churches and urban institutions in general.