16 Nov Member Spotlight: Jackie Harder
Coaching and Consulting
jackie@key-dynamics.com | 305-942-3591 | key-dynamics.com
Jackie Harder traces her awakening to women’s issues to a book she read in 1970. “I have no idea what made me get The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan,” she recalled, “but it changed my life.” The book, published in 1963, came about when Friedan was writing a “where are they now” article about her fellow graduates from Smith College, one of the elite Seven Sisters women’s colleges. That’s when she uncovered “the problem that has no name.”
“These women – many of whom had advanced college degrees – chafed at the role they were supposed to find so fulfilling,” Jackie said. “Having dinner on the table, greeting hubby with cocktail in hand at the end of the day, cleaning, taking care of the kids, becoming sexy vixens in bed led to unhappiness, depression, alcoholism, drug use, and sometimes years of therapy to help them adjust to their ‘feminine role.’”
The resulting book launched the so-called the second wave of feminism. It resonated deeply with Jackie, who saw her own mother rebel against the ideal feminine role…and hated her for it. “My mom went back to work when my youngest sibling was 2. I was 14 and resented having to take on additional household responsibilities. I resented her for not looking like all the moms I saw in the magazines. She rarely wore dresses, pearls and heels and certainly not around the house,” Jackie said.
“I was as much a victim of the feminine mystique as so many older females. Seeing my own experience reflected in Friedan’s book made me passionate about wanting to help women who felt they had to change themselves to be what someone else thinks they should be.”
In 2003, Jackie incorporated Key Dynamics Coaching and Consulting, and became a credentialed coach to provide a safe space for women who felt stuck and unhappy, and who wanted to explore new opportunities. She coaches her clients on practical, real-life issues. “Coaching is very action-oriented and centered on creating goals and plans to get there,” Jackie said.
She also is an international business consultant with clients in India, Kenya, Namibia and the United States. She provides executive team coaching as well as helps companies with staffing, marketing, and training. As a travel marketing and media sales consultant, Jackie works with tourism businesses in South Florida on ways to best promote their companies in print and the digital space.
In 2016, she published her first book, The DIY Coaching Manual for Women: How to Transform Your Life in 12 Months.
Born and raised in Minnesota, the Key Largo resident has a degree in journalism from the University of Florida. She has been active in Business and Professional Women for many years, including Marathon, Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), and the Upper Keys Business Women’s organization, where she served as Vice President of Professional Development and was named the 2019 Woman of the Year.
She has held leadership positions in the local Rotary Club, United Way, and Key Largo Chamber of Commerce, among others.
www.Key-dynamics.com
Jackie@key-dynamics.com
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305-942-3591