We are pleased to announce our fall Member Spotlight on Jacqueline Murphy.
Full Name: Jacqueline Murphy
Current title and company: Events Manager, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Brief description of who you are professionally with concise accomplishments:
I am a program manager and event planner with tremendous passion for mission driven and meaningful work. I have a background working in four diverse roles, each in different industries. Working with a purpose and strong mission alignment is important to me, whether it was procuring communications systems for members of the U.S. military located in disadvantaged and remote locations, or shaping our future public policy makers, and now promoting the Wyss, an institute drawing from nature for inspiration to transform healthcare and the environment.
Why did you join TWT and what are you hoping to achieve as a member of the organization?
While working for the U.S. Air Force there were frequent transitions and moves among colleagues. “It’s a small Air Force world,” was a constant saying because drawing common Air Force connections between new people you meet is a frequent occurrence. I was lucky to draw an Air Force connection on my first day at Harvard Kennedy School when I was introduced to Dana Born. General Born is truly an amazing example of service and mentorship and I am honored that she recognized my leadership potential. Her recognition has been a strong motivator to my continued career development. General Born introduced me to Tomorrow’s Women Today in March 2016 and I am so grateful for this connection.
As I began to meet members of TWT I was so impressed with the network of accomplished professional women. Most of all, I was struck by the dedication of members striving to motivate and empower each other. This level of selflessness is rare, and I see it in all TWT members whom I have been privileged to meet.
What is one of your most proud professional moments and what are you most looking forward to professionally in the next five years?
I am proud of my career progression which I look at more-so as a journey. I have not been afraid to take risks and even step into a brand new career field.
After leaving my role as a civilian project manager for the Department of Defense, transitioning to the private sector was big change. One pattern I noted over time is that I had always enjoyed the event planning aspect of my roles. I was confident that I wanted to use my skills to move into event planning professionally.
My transition to a new profession began when a past colleague and I started our own event planning business. At the same time, I took on an event planning role at Harvard’s Kennedy School. I learned not to be afraid of making a career shift. I focused on learning as much as I could to ultimately achieve my goal of becoming a full-time event planning professional. Perhaps more importantly, I support a mission which I care deeply about. I am constantly learning new amazing things being accomplished at the Wyss, and I challenge myself to support and feature the work in creative ways.
Within the next five years I am excited to immerse myself in Wyss technologies and build a new and innovative event strategy to advance the Wyss mission. I would also like to empower colleagues where I can, in ways that helped me grow early in my career.
What do you do in your “free” time? Hobbies, Interests…
In my professional life I plan events and in my free time I plan more events! My business partner Biana and I started Bespoke Boston Weddings and Events. We love everything about weddings and there is nothing we enjoy more than helping couples bring their dream weddings to life.
Over the past two years we have worked to expand our network and our business. We were published twice by popular blogs in 2016. I also enjoy working out and trying new fitness trends and gyms. I currently love Barre classes which are also an important outlet for stress relief!
3 Core values:
Empowerment: I believe in pursuing work with a mission to empower others and in turn, gaining experiences and knowledge to develop my own passions.
Perseverance: I believe in trusting your intuition to strive for what motivates you. My advice is to never give in to an average career, and to keep working towards your goals.
Empathy: I believe in taking a step back and looking deeper into the motivations of others before drawing conclusions about their intentions.
Fun Fact/What makes You, you? I am very creative and I love to brainstorm. Idea generation and inventiveness are my strongest attributes. I come up with a lot of unique or even wild concepts but the ones that stick are the most memorable!