The story behind the stories.
Born in Greece but raised in France and Japan, I grew up between languages — listening for the things people meant but didn't quite say. Those early years gave me a nuanced perspective on the subtext of communication, the underlying energy and dynamics of the words we exchange.
After graduating from Northwestern University, I settled in the Los Angeles area, where I raised my sons and taught in a variety of school settings. Teaching became its own education: thousands of small conversations, each one a chance to listen a little more closely.
In 2019, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It would become a catalyst for enormous change — a new path of self-discovery and transformation, and eventually, the writing you'll find here.
A classroom can hold an entire life.
My last year of teaching began at John Glenn High School — a tough, gritty, underperforming school that turned out to hold more courage than any place I've known. I arrived that fall carrying a diagnosis I could barely say out loud. The students and staff became my unlikely source of strength.
The conversations from that year — especially one that began when a quiet student pulled a chair up to my desk — became the heart of my memoir, CONVERSATE.
to engage in conversation — not the polite kind, but the kind where both people leave changed.
It's the word my students used, and it says something the dictionary version doesn't. Conversation can be had. Conversating is something you do — leaning in, pulling up a chair. That word became the title of my memoir, and the name of this community.
Jenny speaks with schools, book clubs, women's groups, and anyone willing to pull up a chair.
For speaking, media, and book club visits, she would love to hear from you.
