My name is Jennifer White.

You know that stage kids go through where they can't stop asking why? Well (and ask anyone who knows me) I just never outgrew that.

I've always enjoyed exploring those big and deep questions about the purpose of life and the meaning of it all. And I've always been fascinated by human nature, and nature in general, and how everything is ultimately interconnected and intertwined.  I was hungry to understand how our bodies worked, why people did what they did, and why the world was the way it was.

And, I have always felt called to serve and be of use. Even as a child I wondered what I could possibly do to help people in the world be happier and healthier, and though my varied interests have molded me into a bit of an academic and professional mutt, it was that early thread which has connected it all together.  As I’ve studied philosophy and physics, somatic psychology, permaculture, and whole systems education, it was all with an eye towards having a positive impact on peoples' lives and in the world. I am, it seems (and quite unfashionably so,) much more of a generalist than a specialist.  (Unless you can count what my father always called "humanics" as a specialty.)

I also adore the process of learning something new, analyzing its many parts, synthesizing that into a cohesive whole, and figuring out how to teach that particular thing to others.  In many of the jobs I have had I was an explorer and a translator of sorts.  I'd venture into some new territory, try to understand as much as I could about the terrain and customs, and then come back home to share what I discovered.

To that end I've written technical manuals for complicated hard-to-pronounce optical equipment and traveled around the country teaching traffic accident reconstruction to cops and engineers.  (Yes, that's really a thing.) I directed a national think tank of leaders committed to "achieving and honoring simple, just and sustainable ways of life" and co-founded a non-profit that empowered individuals and businesses to reduce their environmental impact.

For over a decade I was the volunteer trainer and community educator for an AIDS project and in that role I spent time in corporations, halfway houses, high schools, and prisons (just as a visitor.) I've been a massage therapist and a psychotherapist and have co-created several community organizations to promote everything from local music to carbon-reduced lifestyles. In more recent years at a small college in New England, as a professor and their director of sustainability & innovation, I developed programs and strategies at the intersection of personal wellbeing, social justice, economic stability, and ecological balance.

Oh, and all the while, for more than 20 years, my partner and I have performed as an acoustic duo and offered professional audio production services via our solar-powered home studio. As a voice artist I specialize in collaborations with organizations that have demonstrated social and environmental missions and have recorded voice overs for individual content creators as well as globally-known brands. Take a peek here if you're curious about any of that: www.sferesandwhite.com.

The bottom line is that I can't seem to stop myself (which means of course that I really don't want to.) But, that's good news for you.  I've got the map in my hand and my bags are packed and sitting by the door, and I'm constantly on the lookout for something new that might help us leverage positive global change in our own lives and in the world around us. I'm happy to keep heading out over the horizon to tromp around, and will be sure to give you a full report of what I unearthed when I get back. All in all I am on that joyful and boundless quest "for work that is real." I hope you'll join me.