From Held to Holding

Backstroke & Breakthroughs – Post #20

Becoming a safe space for someone else didn’t just change the way I show up in my personal life it reshaped how I lead, mentor, and move in professional spaces like public media.

When that young girl in swim class looked at me and finally let go of her fear just long enough to float, I realized something: I’m not here just to do my job. I’m here to be the space where people feel possible.

That moment bled into everything I touched. Suddenly, my event planning wasn’t just logistics, it was protection. I wasn’t just managing large-scale luncheons or writing fundraising promos for public radio. I was building rooms, both digital and physical, where overlooked people could belong, shine, and be centered.

And that shift changed how I approached public media leadership, especially at WFYI.

I started coaching during live fundraising drives not just for success, but for confidence. I used my voice on-air not just to ask for donations, but to connect with people who’d never heard someone like me behind the mic. And I planned events, NBA All-Star luncheons, Olympic Trial celebrations, fireside chats with legends like Doris Kearns Goodwin and Marc Morial, with the quiet prayer that someone in the audience would see themselves in the room for the first time.

But here’s the hard truth: even as I led from the heart, the systems didn’t always reflect that same care.

Despite being the only person in all of public media to receive both the Public Media for All Award and be named Current’s Rising Star, I’ve had achievements go unrecognized by my own station. Despite being a certified DEI coach and facilitator, my skillset has been left untapped because “we don’t have the budget” often means “we didn’t value it to begin with.”

So, I shifted again..

This week’s takeaway:
Leadership isn’t about titles. It’s about presence. It’s about holding people steady when the system shakes. It’s about being the thing you needed when you were younger.

I lead differently because I was raised differently. Because my grandmother taught me that love and structure are not opposites. Growing up in a house full of brilliance taught me how to spot unfairness in its quietest forms. Because surviving a system designed to overlook you gives you a gift: vision others don’t have.

And that’s what I bring to every project, every team, every table.

Not just results.
But restoration.

Still holding space,
– J.R.