About Jana Brown
Jana Brown, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at eHealth and a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) Board of Directors, appeared on the organization's "Little Big Chat" podcast on September 17, 2024. During the conversation, Brown discussed her passion for the BBBSA mission, which she described as "providing opportunities to youth to ensure that you have the opportunity to grow up and live your dreams." She defined mentorship as "helping others to clarify their thinking about what it is they want, how they will achieve it, and what it's going to take to get there," adding that it involves helping individuals "create their own path" and define success for themselves.
Brown emphasized the importance of having a mentor "no matter where you are," whether starting out in school or in a leadership role. She noted that mentors help "guide and direct your path" by asking questions to clarify one's thinking. Brown also shared that she has had the same mentor for over 20 years, who "saw something in me that I did not see in myself" and helped groom her for her role as a chief human resources officer by providing access to learning and opportunities to build her skills and capabilities.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Jana Brown's recent appearances.
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Transcript (13 segments)
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Travis Need0:13
All right, good morning everyone. I'm Travis Need, and I hope everyone is having a terrific day. I'm here with Jana Brown. So Jana, I have a few questions for you.
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Travis Need0:22
Share why you are passionate about the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
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Jana Brown0:27
Because of you. Because of you and wanting to see you grow up and be on this side of the chair one day. The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters is all about providing opportunities to youth to ensure that you have the opportunity to grow up and live your dreams. And to see you live your dreams would be a dream come true for me.
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Travis Need0:56
Great answer, Jana. Thank you. Next question: In your own words, can you define mentorship and share what it means to you?
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Jana Brown1:03
So mentorship means a lot to me. In my own words, it is helping others to clarify their thinking about what it is they want, how they will achieve it, and what it's going to take to get there. So it is helping them to create their own path, not in someone else's words, but in their own words. Helping them to define what success means for them and then to ask the right questions to again help them to go on a path to achieve it.
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Travis Need1:47
Okay, great answer. Next question: Why do you think it is important for youth to have a mentor?
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Jana Brown1:54
It's important to have a mentor no matter where you are, whether you are on that side of the chair starting out, still in school, or on my side of the chair in the role that I play in my organization. And I'm also still in school. But having mentors again helps to guide and direct your path. They ask you questions to clarify your own thinking about your path and how you're going to get there.
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Travis Need2:29
Okay, great answer. Thank you. One more question: Have you ever had a mentor that has influenced you, and what impact did they have on your life and career?
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Jana Brown2:41
Yes. So I have the same mentor that I've had for over 20 years. And this gentleman saw something in me that I did not see in myself. And he is the very reason I'm sitting in this chair today and play the role that I play in my organization. In my organization, I'm a Chief Human Resources Officer, and that was the role that he was in. And he actually helped to groom me, helped me to gain access to certain learning and opportunities to help build my skills and build my capabilities so that ultimately I could learn how to be a head of HR. So again, he just saw something in me that I did not see in myself, and boy, I'm very glad he did.
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Travis Need3:48
Okay, so there you have it. Thank you, Jana.
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Jana Brown3:53
Thank you.
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Travis Need3:53
And there you have it.
