Welcome to THE BALANCE PROJECT: a series of relevant and refreshingly candid interviews featuring inspiring and accomplished women talking about balance. I’ve always been curious about how women I admire manage the tragically glorified “doing it all” craze. So I asked them. As I suspected, no one really does “it all.” Everyone’s making sacrifices somewhere. And that should make us all feel a little better. I hope the conversation will be steered toward that reality rather than toward the flawed and dangerous assumption that we should try—or even want to try—to perfectly do “it all.”

By the way, looking for THE BALANCE PROJECT novel that was inspired by these interviews? It’s here.

No. 122: Jordana Holovach, Branding Consultant

Age: 45
Where I live:
 Harrison, NY
Job: Branding & Marketing Consultant/Former Director of Jacob’s Cure
Kids:
 Jacob (19), Remi (7), Hailey (6)

IMG_5623Have you changed jobs or adjusted anything in your career to have more balance?
I sure have! I recently dissolved Jacob’s Cure, an organization I founded when my son was born with Canavan disease, a rare neurological genetic disorder that affects nearly 500 children worldwide. My decision to dissolve Jacob’s Cure was because we had become too big. Our success became too hard to manage, and I realized I could be equally successful by serving as a consultant instead of running an organization that was drowning me in the day-to-day management.

I recently founded Jholovach Consulting and could not be happier. As a consultant for non-profits and companies who seek assistance with branding, relevant event marketing, planning and production, donor/customer cultivation, strategic relationship connections, public relations, and social media campaigns and connectivity, I can work on various initiatives in which I can make an impact.

Do you think having “it all” is realistic or overrated and why?
I think having it all is by personal definition. I think having it all means being realistic that there is an ebb and flow. Sacrifices will have to be made at one time or another and letting go of the ideal that everything has to be perfect is critical. Having a child with Canavan disease really gives a very meaningful perspective on this. Health, family, friends, and doing what you love is what defines it for me.

What part of “balance” can you just not seem to figure out?
Getting my kids out the door in the morning. No matter how early I get up, I always seem to walk out the door 5 minutes late. I can live with it, but I can’t lie, it is a thorn in my side!

What part of “balance” are you getting better at?
Getting my kids out the door! Haha! I used to run 10 minutes late!

Do you have a favorite time management tool, hack, or other strategy you use that helps you achieve balance that you would recommend to others?
Recognizing that you can’t fit that “one last thing” in is very liberating and takes the stress out of time management. As far as a tool, I can’t live without my outlook calendar. If it is not in my calendar it just does not happen.

What was the best advice you ever heard on balance? 
From a mentor/co-worker? 
“Be patient, first isn’t always the best.”
From your mother? “You are nobody’s schlep!”
From your spouse/partner? 
“Listen well…especially in meetings. Try not to be the first person to speak.”
From your kids? “Maybe you should take a nap?”

If you had one extra hour in each day and you couldn’t work or be with your family, how would you spend that hour?
I would get a massage.

What do you wish you’d known when you were 20?
Never leave public relations.

What do you hope to know by time you’re 60?
My kids are happy and healthy and there is an FDA approved treatment for Canavan disease.

What part of your home life do you wish you could outsource?
Costco!!!!

Whose job do you wish you had?
I would love to run the non-profit department at one of the top talent agencies.

Whose job are you glad you don’t have?
Elementary school teacher’s.

Favorite books?
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

What are you reading right now?
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

Biggest vices…
Activity?
 Mahjong.
Food? Seriously, where do I start?!?!
Website? 
Facebook & My Habit.

How many hours do you generally sleep at night during the week?
According to my husband…9-10.  I think I get a solid 6.

What do you read every morning?
theSkimm and Facebook News Feed.

Complete the following sentences:
I think I: love hard and dream big.
I wish I: could turn back time.
My kids: 
are the loves of my life.

Do you have a personal motto or favorite saying?
Everyone’s plate is full; it’s all relative. What I mean is this: Over the years, people (with all good intentions) would always say things to me like, “Your plate is so full, I could never compare mine.” Or people would tell me things they are dealing with but would also say, “I am not comparing my plate to yours because yours is so full.”  I realized that no matter how big or small, what each person is dealing with at that moment feels like a very full plate.

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IMG_4566About Jordana:
JS_BusinessCard_Front_FINAL
Jordana Holovach is a branding specialist with an expertise in public relations, marketing, and experiential event production. Her experience began in the non-profit arena when her first child, Jacob, was diagnosed with Canavan disease, a rare fatal genetic brain disorder. Prior to Jacob’s birth, Jordana was a publicist at two of New York’s top consumer public relations firms where she worked exclusively on pharmaceutical and beauty accounts.

From 2000-2014, Jordana was Director of Jacob’s Cure, the non-profit organization she founded because of the great need to fund research and raise awareness for Canavan disease. By maximizing her industry relationships from coast to coast and developing strategies to promote awareness for this unknown orphan disease, Jordana was able to put Jacob’s Cure on the map alongside more recognizable organizations and successfully produce and execute campaigns that raised 10 million dollars from both private donations and government funding.

This heightened awareness assisted Jordana in accessing influential board appointees, supporters, and critical partnerships with various companies and corporations. From biotech research collaborations to consumer product partnerships, to a genetic disease exhibit at the New York Museum of Natural History in which Canavan disease was featured, Jordana sought out and implemented impactful partnerships and campaigns that further elevated the Jacob’s Cure brand.

By increasing visibility of Jacob’s Cure and Canavan disease, Jordana was able to move mountains on Capitol Hill. She garnered key legislative support and built critical relationships at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This persistence and her congressional testimony over the years would lead to over three million dollars in federal funding for Canavan research and the approval of two Canavan gene-therapy trials.
Now, as a consultant for non-profits and companies who seek assistance with branding, relevant event marketing, planning and production, donor/customer cultivation, strategic relationship connections, public relations, and social media campaigns and connectivity, Jordana looks forward to working on various initiatives in which she can make an impact.

Jordana is a Board Member at Blythedale Children’s Hospital and the Harrison Educational Foundation. She lives in Harrison, NY with her husband, Gareth, and two daughters, Remi and Hailey who are 7 and 5. Jacob is 19 and also lives in Harrison.

Find out more about Jordana:
www.jholovach.com
Facebook: jordana.holovach
Twitter: @jacobscuremom
Instagram: @remihailey

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WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT WORK-LIFE BALANCE? CHECK OUT MY NOVEL THE BALANCE PROJECT!

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