Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jen Rafferty.
Hi Dr. Jen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started my career as a middle school music teacher, and truly thought I would do that for the rest of my life. I loved working with kids and inspiring them to keep music as a part of their lives in meaningful ways. Later on, I presented at conferences nationally, I created great programming for my students, and I was even awarded Teacher of the Year. On the outside, it looked like I was killing it, but looking back, it was slowly killing me. I was often sick and my back was constantly going out. I didn’t recognize it as burnout at the time. Instead, I thought it was typical stress that was “normal”, and I was just getting old (even though I was only in my 30s!)
To top it off, my husband and I decided to get a divorce, and I moved out of my house with my two kids who were five and seven the same weekend the shut down in March of 2020. Everything seemed to change for me overnight, and I was forced to sit home figuring it all out (alone!) because of the isolation during the pandemic. However, in a surprising twist, it gave me the time to come to terms with what I was really feeling about my work, my divorce, my role as a mom, and what I wanted to do with my life moving forward.
So, in the fall of 2020, I decided to homeschool my kids and start my PhD in educational psychology. I took a deep dive into the research of emotional intelligence, mindset, and cognitive neuroscience which completely changed my life. And as I started to move through my emotional challenges, I realized that everyone needed this information, especially teachers who were feeling profound burnout at that time during the pandemic. I decided to resign from my teaching job in May, 2021 and start my company, Empowered Educator, from my dining room table.
18 months later, I was on the TEDx stage with my talk, Generational Change Begins with Empowered Teachers. 18 months after that, I was featured in Forbes magazine. And 18 months later, I landed a deal with Penguin Random House for my book, The Empowered Educator: 10 Lessons to Prevent Burnout, Reclaim Your Joy, and Unlock Your Teaching Potential. And I feel like I’m still just warming up.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If you’re doing anything worthwhile, challenges are always going to be a part of the journey. I think the biggest challenge has been myself! As a founder, it takes an absurd amount of grit, perseverance, and a touch of delusion to create something out of nothing. You have to believe in a vision that doesn’t exist yet more than your current reality. I think the biggest challenge has been navigating how to move forward towards the vision when things get difficult. There have been days where I’ve felt frustration, joy, overwhelm, gratitude and fear all before lunch! So, my vision for Empowered Educator has to stay constant and steady throughout the emotional shifts that I feel. I don’t think people talk enough about that.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I created practical and accessible training for teachers, school leaders, and greater school communities to reduce burnout in order to lay a healthy foundation for students to learn. As we’ve come to know, the well-being of a school is dependent on the well-being of its educators. And we all can see very clearly that so many of us are not well. At this point, Empowered Educator has engaged with thousands of educators and I’ve seen happier teachers, an increase in teacher retention, and fewer student discipline issues in classrooms as a result of this work.
I travel often and give keynotes and live workshops, and I’ve built several online programs that are both live and self-paced which make the work both accessible and continuous (instead of so many of those one-and-done trainings that are out there). I’m also really excited to bring my book, The Empowered Educator, into the world on August 4, 2026. This will allow these strategies and practices to be even more accessible for teachers.
Above all else, I am most proud of how I’ve built Empowered Educator. We are a mission and values driven organization, and we believe that the most generous thing teachers can do for their students is take care of themselves. Internally, we make decisions through the lens of our values of integrity, ease, learning, and connection. This is not just something we teach. This is who we are. We don’t just talk the talk. We walk the walk. And, as the founder and CEO, I get to lead by example. I think that’s what sets me, and this company apart. It’s so easy to share information, and it’s quite another to practice it: to prioritize your nervous system regulation in a difficult conversation; To make decisions from a place of alignment instead of obligation; To set and keep boundaries, especially when it feels hard. These are the skills we practice, and it’s exactly what we teach educators.
Teachers need a lifeline. And while more resources, respect, and raises are top of the list, what I know to be true is that organizations don’t change until people change. And, the only person you have any agency in changing is yourself. So, instead of pointing a figure outward, we give teachers the tools to start looking inward to reclaim their agency. This is how we change the landscape of education, one teacher at a time.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I am completely enamored with Nashville. The first time I went there, I was with my sister, and I was taken by all the joy in the air. Everyone always seemed to have a smile on their face, and music was everywhere. We even caught the first Music City Rodeo at the Bridgestone Arena, along with an amazing Tim McGraw concert! (We love you Tim!)
Also on that trip during a particularly hot day, my sister and I were window shopping and popped into The Spice and Tea Exchange for something to drink. I was surprised to see one of my former music students from New York behind the counter who happened to own the shop! It was beautiful a small-world moment that made the trip even more special. Truly, I cannot wait to go back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://empowerededucator.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenrafferty_
