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Jenny Vazquez-Newsum

Jenny Vazquez-Newsum, Ed.D. is a leadership facilitator and writer with a long-time interest in leadership stemming all the way back to being a 5th grade elementary school elected official. As a biracial Black/Latinx woman, the leadership journey has been bumpy, invigorating, challenging, and a life's work. As a former Vice President of Leadership Training and Programs at Coro Southern California, Jenny has worked with leaders from 200+ organizations ranging from established executives at large corporations to early career professionals beginning their leadership journeys -- witnessing the untapped capacities that exist across all stages in career paths. Interested in digging deeper into the limitations of current leadership rhetoric and bringing in the voices of the often-unrecognized leadership contributions of marginalized leaders, Jenny launched Untapped Leaders to create a space for those contributions to be named, validated, and amplified. Jenny holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, an M.P.A from New York University, and an Ed.D from the University of California - Los Angeles. In the Untapped Leadership biweekly newsletter, you can expect a simple, yet powerful exploration of untapped leadership capacities from overlooked perspectives by offering... something to W R I T E, something to W O N D E R, and something to W I T N E S S.

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Featured Post

What Exactly Happens When You Harness Your Untapped Leadership?

Hi Reader, In a recent facilitated session, I asked a group of executive women of color to complete the statement, "When I harness my untapped leadership, I..." This is what they said: I feel unstoppable at peace, in alignment, happy, focused, unstoppable! I feel that I excite, inspire, and create. I feel I OWN my space. unstoppable, powerful & “in the zone” have clear vision I own my power, comfort in my own skin I feel motivated to create change. I am my most energetic and authentic self....

over 2 years ago • 3 min read

Hi Reader, Next week, we will be launching the Untapped Leaders Community -- a dynamic and diverse leadership community committed to each others' success. We have an amazing group of founding facilitators leading sessions this fall. We'll have biweekly, structured peer coaching sessions, and ongoing discussion threads fueled by the career questions and leadership challenges top of mind for you. Those on the waitlist will get early access to our limited founding seats. To join the waitlist,...

over 2 years ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader, Happy Monday. This week's newsletter explores the power of collective leadership. We often hear the phrase "it's lonely at the top," yet it's a manufactured reality that doesn't have to be the case. We don't realize that we often set those conditions up. We assume that's the way it has to be without realizing how much of it is the structure we've elected to define and uphold for leadership. By interpreting leadership as a very solitary, isolated endeavor, we limit its potential...

over 2 years ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader, Over the next few months, the work of Untapped Leaders will shift from thought to action. There is a dynamic interplay between thought and action in leadership, generally. We tend to orient towards action because that is what is visible -- that is what shows proof of progress. Getting caught up with action, however, can mean perpetuating status quo practices that may not be effective. It can also mean moving quickly without regard for impact. We might be expending unnecessary...

over 2 years ago • 2 min read

What if we built work environments where no one felt a hesitation to lead in their own way? Tweet This Hi there, It's Big News Monday! These past few months, I've been digging into what presence Untapped Leaders ought to have in the somewhat-crowded leadership space. While crowded, however, there is plenty of room for our diverse perspectives to take up more space, offering everyone strategies and frameworks to lead from based on our unique standpoints. As these perspectives have been...

almost 3 years ago • 2 min read

How often are we mirroring our leadership to what we are experiencing externally rather than beaconing out what's within? Tweet This Hi There, In a few fast-approaching months, I will be formally leaving my role as Vice President of Leadership Training and Programs at Coro Southern California, an organization and team that I deeply love. I'm proud of my 4.5-year tenure expanding the organization's program offerings, designing and delivering inaugural cohort-based leadership development...

almost 3 years ago • 2 min read

We often connect and define our leadership within our professional structures, but given we've inherited many of those structures, we may actually be missing out on much more that we're capable of. Tweet This Hi there, This past week, I took some much-needed time off to travel with friends in Mexico. As part of our trip, we participated in a Temazcal Ceremony, a traditional, pre-Hispanic indigenous Aztec healing practice. It was a powerful experience of reflection and renewal grounded in...

almost 3 years ago • 2 min read

We have situated ourselves around ideas of leaders-as-heroes, leadership as requiring follower-ship (either behind or below) and determined by behaviors, traits, and/or situations. We haven’t explored much beyond those parameters. Tweet This Hi there, The LA Marathon was this past weekend which caused me to reflect on when I ran it years ago. Running at the right pace was essential to make it to the finish line and everyone ran at the pace just right for them. I recall how much discipline was...

almost 3 years ago • 2 min read

In subtle ways, code-switching redirects important cognitive resources towards unimportant causes. Tweet This Hi there, This past week, I received the update to the right on the Untapped Leadership book proposal. It was a predicted hurdle noted early on by my agent, Jessica, but one that's left us undeterred. There is something about this work that feels like beating a drum. It may take a while for others to catch the beat or even hear the music, but the drumming persists. I think that goes...

almost 3 years ago • 2 min read

To understand the whole of a system, you must examine it from its margins. Tweet This Hi there, The pace has been picking up and the community is expanding. In these recent weeks, I've been working on defining and refining the pillars upon which this work will stand and I am looking forward to sharing more. I, of course, stumble upon leadership lessons at every turn. Untapped Leadership, my book proposal, is out on submission to publishing houses with the support of my incredible agent,...

about 3 years ago • 2 min read