Today we’d like to introduce you to Lharissa Jacobs.
Hi Lharissa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well, I am a Native Houstonian, the child of immigrants like so many people in Houston. My mother was from the Philippines and my father was a Holocaust survivor from Frankfurt, Germany. I grew up during a time when being biracial meant you were very different. I had to “find my tribe” as they say. For me, it was all about movement, dance, and gymnastics.
Movement has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I remember when my elementary school had Field Day, and I was trying to get as many blue ribbons as I could! The voice in my head kept saying, “Hang on a little longer! You can try harder!” Those were foundational thoughts for me in my life. I also wondered for as long as I can remember about how people can live happier and feel better.
As the child of parents who survived war trauma, I saw a lot of unhappiness in my family. I kept thinking, what if we try to be our best, what would be the perfect ingredient to a longer, happier life? How can we recover from life’s tremendous stressors and how do we set ourselves up for success? For me, that was eating healthier and moving more. I call it “the obsession” (jokingly). But seriously, I spend each day thinking – what else can we do for communities to be healthier and happier?
As I entered into my adult years, I worked and volunteered extensively in public schools. I led a large effort to raise funds for and oversee a Spark Park project at Cedar Brook Elementary. Seeing the impact of such a large and sustainable environmental change in a community was profound. In my next step, I joined the YMCA as a full-time director and took on a portfolio of chronic disease prevention programs (including diabetes prevention) at the YMCA of Greater Houston, and that shifted my mindset.
We learned about motivational interviewing, asking questions to facilitate people’s healthy behavior changes. Those prevention programs exist all across Houston today – it’s incredible to see! Eventually, I accepted the role of the Vice President of Health Strategies at the American Heart Association (AHA). At the AHA, I learned about the power of collective impact and sustainable change called systems-level change.
Now I’m thinking about that as I move forward in my work with my new non-profit organization, Fit Houston. As the Founder and Executive Director of Fit Houston, I lead a wellness movement that is based on all the things I have learned and am still learning about wellness. The most I ever learn is from the community. The community knows what is right for them, and our job is to support their journey.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think we all can get discouraged from how hard the work is, and how stressful life can be! Many of us in non-profit work put in very long hours. The problems of the world that we are trying to solve are deep. There are no easy answers. A couple of times I stagnated in my job and my journey. That was a strange thing for me because it is abstract, it’s a feeling.
You have to ask yourself: “what is going on here, what’s the next step?” The hardest part is that the answer lies within you – no one can tell you what comes next for you. That’s the work every leader must do. I also had a couple of supervisors early in my career who advised me to drop projects that I believed in. That was the worst challenge for me. You want to be a good employee, but you see something important that the community needs. One of the projects I had to drop was walking groups in the community.
And now that’s what I am working on, years later – a health campaign that is all about walking 30 minutes a day. #WALK30 grew out of a project that I was told to stop doing once in my career! Now that City of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has embraced the #WALK30 campaign, as well as the presidents of our large universities and CEOs from the Texas Medical Center, I think there may be a lesson in patience if you truly believe in something!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As the Founder and Executive Director for Fit Houston, I am driving local strategies to maximize equitable health and well-being in Houston and have spent the past two decades advocating for healthy communities. I’m just a person who believes in the health and great efforts of others. The wellness movement I am leading is about doing your best and feeling vibrant through physical activity. I’m most proud of the work of others in the community in being healthier!
A little more on the mission of Fit Houston:
Fit Houston is dedicated to increasing access to free outdoor spaces and programs for all Houstonians. Launched out of the Houston 2036 Task Force on Equity, Fit Houston envisions a city where every community is active, vibrant, and energetic. Fit Houston’s mission is to inspire hope and enhance the vitality of our bodies, minds, and communities through movement. Our core objective is to promote health equity and support active, healthy lifestyles.
If you want to know more about me, I think the Fit Houston mission explains it well! What sets me apart from others is how much time I spend in the community and how I string together what I see in this wellness movement. I also tend to put others first and am leaning toward what it is to be a servant leader and still make sure I get my outdoor time and spend quality time with my family.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think taking risks is not for everyone. I admit that the biggest risks have always paid off in my life and career. When I left the YMCA, I was working with a boss I adored and was respected and well-known in the organization. To leave for a new job in an organization (the American Heart Association) where I knew no one, knew nothing about the work, well that was super scary.
I honestly wound up working with people who were so well-versed in things I did not understand, it was intimidating. I quickly realized it’s not all about me, and that carried me through – no need to focus on yourself – you can lift up others around you. Through hard work and even studying on weekends to catch up on the science of the AHA brand, I led the region’s top team for our work and achievements.
Most of my success was due to the hard work of others, so my advice is to never forget to tell the truth about how you got to the top of that mountain. It’s usually with the work of others, and your job as a leader is to encourage them. None of us gets to that big hairy goal on our own. But again, on risk-taking, to leave the safety of my employment at the AHA and start my non-profit organization is the riskiest thing I have done in my career. And it is scary.
The benefit is that you can live life on your terms and move faster, even if some days you are moving twice as long and hard as you did in your last job – it’s like you’re back in first grade Field Day – you can do this, you’ve got this, hang on harder, run a little faster, go for the blue ribbon!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fithouston.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fithouston1/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fithouston1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fit-houston/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/fithouston1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fithouston
Image Credits
Jose Monterrosa and Imagina Communications
