Stephanie A. Jones, J.D., LL.M., M.P.H., is the Founder of GeekNerdWonk Charitable Foundation (“GNW”) (www.geeknerdwonk,org – under construction!)
Stephanie, raised in Los Angeles, began her training as multi-disciplinary social and political scientist, taking degrees from Yale (Sociology, with specialty in Political Science, cum laude) and Columbia (Masters of Public Heath, in Ethics and History of Public Health, in Socio-medical Science), as well as a doctorate (J.D., University of Cincinnati, College of Law, American Jurisprudence Award, Law Review) and a post-doctorate degree in law (LL.M) in Mental Health Policy.
A life long scholar, Stephanie went to medical school for a few years - abandoned over fury of health care waste, and institutionalized, socio-cultural, systemic conditions that guarantee health care disparities in marginalized and vulnerable populations. She’s studied graduate level Bioethics at the University of Dayon, Death Penalty with Cornell’s Law School in Paris, International Human Rights with Gonzaga’s law school in Florence. Graduate psychology studies at Columbia in Neuroscience, Stigma and Social Marketing complimented her training at Stanford’s Political Psychology Institute, and in Johns Hopkins’ Department of Psychiatry. She’s published in multiple venues, and works across the US and in Africa for marginalized, vulnerable and discriminated against populations, often doing work where multiple stigmatized statuses operate synergistically. She thinks of herself as an educator, researcher and writer.
The Passions and Possibilities Network Radio Show airs every Wednesday at 9am PST on Blog Talk Radio. Join us live by dialing in at (347) 205-9038 with your questions, insights, and comments. Thanks and Happy Passioneering!
Stephanie’s Passioneer Questionnaire:
SZO: What’s your definition of “passion”?
Passion is living one’s one unrepeatable life wrung dry.
SZO: What have been the key factors in your success and what one word best describes it?
The key factors in success are both the possession of and a reputation for the possession of unimpeachable integrity, over-generosity of time, talent, resources and work ethic; and a certain St. Bernard-ish slobbery enthusiasm for every conceivable person met or subject broached. And get up EARLY!
SZO: What has been your biggest challenge(s) in leaping into your passions, and how you have addressed them?
I belong to many of the marginalized groups for which I work, and it is my speaking openly about my overcoming and/or the managing of these challenges which motivates my work. I live with severe bipolar disorder and I am recovered from alcoholism, anorexia, and severe domestic violence. Most who possess such stigmatized statuses do not live in a time in which there exist finely tuned psychotropic medication, to which I am neurobiologically responsive and 100% medication compliant for the best medical care one can buy.
As an adult, after marriage, children, a divorce, and heterosexually dating, I happened to fall in love with a woman. Therefore, I live with what could be imposed upon me, were I to allow it, multiple, synergistically-operating stigmatized statuses.
Most who possess such stigmatized identities have not my sheer dumb luck of having been born as a white American Citizen, with the unearned gifts of private and Ivy league schools, and having had a debutante ball, hailing from a family dating back (in America) to the Colonial Wars. This social capital TRUMPS my would-be stigmatized statuses. These psychotropic drugs have enabled me to dance in the black of Aristotle’s “genius/madman” ledger, have enabled me to obtain a preposterously superb education, and enabled me to earn professional credibility and authority. It is my calling to speak out for and work on behalf of those who are not so blessed as I, who are too frightened to get help for the types of synergistically operating stigmas one might want to put on me.
SZO: Who or what inspired you to leap into your passion?
My mother, who is unconditional love, wisdom, and tenacity personified; and who taught me that one can indeed have one best friend for an entire lifetime.
Sir Winston Churchill, who, like me, suffered a mind besieged by bipolar disorder, at a time in which there was no medical help to assuage his pain, while insisting “Never, never, never give up.” And he never, never, never gave up.
SZO: Do you have a quote that you would like to share that speaks of you and your passion?
“Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny” – Tyron Edwards
“The first quality needed is audacity.” – Sir Winston Churchill.
SZO: What do you hope people would say about you when you’re gone?
“She left everything on the field.”
SZO: What three brief tips can you give to somebody making the leap into their passion?
1) You must be prepared to work harder than you can conceivably imagine. That means a 9-5 job to keep a roof over your head, and another 6 hours per day devoted to your true passion and/or volunteering, to whatever feels most authentic to you. If you do not work 14-16 hours a day you will never escape your 9-5 job, when the goal is to be so successful at your authentic job you can do IT alone for 14-16 hours a day.
2) There is no vacancy waiting for you. You have to claim your space. There is no room at the top just waiting for your particular brilliance, ready and willing to step to the side to enable your joining the hallowed ranks. Educate yourself, give of yourself, establish your credibility, and then march in and claim your space. Then work twice as hard to maintain your right to be there.
3) If you tell the truth. 100% of the time, you never have to remember anything you have ever said.
s pull up and they get out of the bus and ask “Can I take a picture of your iguana?” I said “for a dollar,” and they all started handing me dollars. That’s how I became the lizard man of Hollywood – that’s how I survived.
myself. I don’t know where rent is going to come from, I don’t have any health insurance, I don’t eat right, just like many I often sit in my crisis. But I have a choice: I can lay in my bed which I call “blanket time” and cry, or I can get up and take action and help someone else. And that’s what I choose to do. And in doing that, I’ve been flown to New York and Seattle; I’ve been to Phoenix, to Sacramento. And I’m a guy that doesn’t have an income! If you do the math, this shouldn’t be happening! I do look for work. I haven’t given up. In the meantime, I scream real loud about homelessness and poverty. During this trip housing programs have been started, feeding programs, kids who don’t have shoes to go to school now have NEW shoes. It’s been amazing. And the road trip is still only half way done!
r herself, and became the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard. Her story inspired Christopher Reeves to direct a movie about her life, The Brooke Ellison Story. Our phone interview took place on May 26th , and you can also hear her 7/1/09 radio interview on Blog Talk Radio:
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