hey thereI'm
Lauren Michelle Jackson -
CEO · Speaker · Visionary
I didn't just build a career. I built a calling. Whether I’m reshaping workplace culture, equipping leaders to rise with courage, or sparking national conversations on wellness, I create transformation that’s not just felt in the moment—but sustained for a lifetime.
Lauren Michelle Jackson
Before I was a CEO, before I was a therapist, before any of it — I was a little girl from the south side of Chicago with a microphone dream.
I studied Broadcast Journalism at Hampton University because I believed in the power of a story told well. I wanted to be the voice in the room that made people feel seen, informed, and moved to act.
The 2008 recession had other plans.
Like a lot of Black women in that season, I pivoted. I found my way into counseling — and discovered that the gift I thought was meant for a newsroom was actually meant for something deeper. The ability to hold space. To ask the right question.
To sit with someone in their hardest moment and help them find their way back to themselves.
Over the next 15 years, I built Cultivate Your Essence from the ground up — a multi-state clinical practice now serving Black women, girls, and organizations across Illinois and Georgia. I showed up on stages, in media rooms, and on national platforms. I became someone people called on when the conversation got hard.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that becoming — I realized I was still becoming too.
Today I stand at the intersection of everything I was built to do. The storyteller. The clinician. The strategist. The CEO. The speaker who walks into a room and shifts something in it.
This is not a pivot. This is an arrival.
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so
with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
- MAYA ANGELOU
The Becoming HER Framework™
Through the Becoming HER Framework™ — my proprietary methodology rooted in the principles of Healed, Evolved and Restored — I partner with high-achieving women, leaders, and organizations who are ready to stop surviving and start thriving.
For women navigating identity shifts, life transitions, and the quiet exhaustion of holding everything together — I create spaces where healing isn't just possible. It's expected.
For organizations and leaders ready to build cultures where people don't just show up — they show up whole — I bring both clinical depth and executive strategy to the table.
Whether I'm on stage, in a boardroom, behind a mic, or building what's next at Cultivate Your Essence —
my mission has always been the same:
To help people become who they were always meant to be.
That's Becoming HER. And it starts here.
About me
EDUCATION, CREDENTIALS, AND CERTIFICATIONS:
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Hampton University, Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism
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Argosy University, M.A. in Community Counseling
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Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois
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Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia
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Certified Domestic Violence Professional
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Certified Life Coach
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
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National Coalition of 100 Black Women - Northwest Georgia Chapter
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Black Women Professionals League
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Chi Iota Sigma Counseling Honors Society