Hey, I'm Jennie
I help ambitious purpose-driven creative people and businesses who feel stretched, overwhelmed and unsupported craft and deliver a concrete two-year plan through personalised coaching, mentoring and strategic sessions.
For over a decade I dedicated myself to creating equitable pathways into music through the charity I founded in memory of my husband Abram.
In August 2023 my Guardian reviewed children's book Becoming Brave was published and I stepped down as CEO of the Abram Wilson charity to start from scratch (again!).
I'm a creative entrepreneurial type and have led a pretty nomadic life by most people's standards. Last I checked I'd lived in over 40 homes and three continents. Lately I've found myself with one foot in Bedford with my dog Misty and the other in Brussels with my partner Adam.
More about me...
I was too scared to follow my heart
I spent my whole life right up to my mid 20s wanting to be an actor. I loved being on stage. I loved performing and connecting with an audience more than anything in the world and I was really good at it. So what happened? I got scared, and at the time I didn't have the right support network to help me navigate a system that seemed intimidating and inaccessible. I put my dreams into a box and told myself I didn't need them anymore.
Then I met Abram and focused on his dreams instead
For a long time I felt very lost. I couldn't seem to find anything else that excited me or filled me up as much as performing did. Until one day I met a jazz trumpeter from New Orleans called Abram. I fell in love pretty much on the spot. He was everything I wanted to be and more: brave, passionate, creative and talented. To this day he's still one of the most extraordinary and inspiring musicians I've ever met.
But I was still scared. So I decided to focus on bringing Abram's big dreams to life. I soon became Abram's manager doing everything from acting as his booking agent and label to being his PA. Little did we know we were racing against time. Abram became ill during a 20 date tour and had to go to A&E. He died two weeks later from cancer on Saturday 9th June 2012. Life as I knew it ended for me that day and I had to begin again.
After Abram died I built a music charity in his name
I spent the next 11 years pouring my heart and soul into the Abram Wilson charity continuing some of the work we'd been doing together. You can find out more about it HERE.
I designed and delivered music education programmes for children and young people from Global Majority communities and/or from disadvantaged backgrounds; and a career development programme for up and coming musicians where the majority were women or identified as non-binary and at least 50% were from Global Majority communities and/or LGBTQIA+. The programme helped them to build sustainable careers through coaching, mentoring strategy sessions and masterclasses.
Raised over £1million and wrote a children's book
I raised over £1million and impacted the lives of thousands of young people and musicians. I met and worked with some incredible people. I was listed in WISE100, a national index recognising the top women in social enterprise and was a recipient of the WACL Talent Award. I even wrote a children's book about my experiences called Becoming Brave published by Little Tiger Press in August 2023 and reviewed by The Guardian.
In order to leave something behind you have to leave
I'm a creative entrepreneurial type. I'm at my happiest when I'm bringing people together, making connections and being in that space of imagination, creativity and possibility. After 11 years at the helm I realised I missed that start up entrepreneurial energy and recognised that the time had come for me to step down and begin again.
It felt scary (and a tiny bit exciting) but it always does when you need to be brave.
I took everything I'd learned and started something new
I decided my next step would be to focus on the aspects of my job that I'd really enjoyed and would align with my values. This included 1:1 coaching, mentoring and strategic sessions with creatives, supporting some incredibly inspiring people through a time of loss and uncertainty during the pandemic; the many incredible workshops for children and young people I designed and delivered with my team; the leadership and strategic work I got to do with my board of trustees; and the countless joyful live music events I produced where I got to engage with our supporters and share my story of love, loss, courage and hope.
I now help ambitious purpose-driven creative people and businesses who feel stretched, overwhelmed and unsupported craft and deliver a concrete two-year plan through personalised coaching, mentoring and strategic sessions.
