Praise for Joia Nuri’s Leadership
& Public Speaking Coaching

Joia has worked with my Democracy Summer program for four years now, leading more than 100 college and high school students formed into small groups in intensive workshops on effective public speaking, communications, and persuasion strategies. Although our Democracy Summer Fellows start out by thinking they want to have seminars on policy matters like climate change and the health care system, they always end up raving about Joia’s dazzling and carefully designed program on learning and developing effective communication skills. Joia’s dynamic and interactive teaching techniques help each young person successfully cultivate his or her own voice, vision, passion, humor, and confidence. She’s an amazing teacher, coach, and colleague!

From the very first session with Joia, I felt safe and supported. She has a remarkable ability to create a warm and compassionate space where I could be myself and explore my thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment. With her guidance and encouragement, I was able to look at myself through my own eyes, acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses, and develop mechanisms that help me regulate my emotions and navigate difficult situations.

Joia's coaching style is both empowering and practical. She helped me set realistic goals and break them down into manageable steps, which gave me a sense of direction and purpose. Her insights and perspectives challenged me to think outside of the box and consider new ways of approaching problems. She also provided me with a range of tools and techniques that I could use to build resilience, manage stress, and improve my overall well-being.

I am writing to highly recommend @Joia Jefferson Nuri as an executive coach and leadership development expert. Over the past 9 months, Joia has been my coach, and I can confidently say she is the real deal! Joia's deep knowledge, vast experiences, and passionate approach to authentic leadership have been nothing short of transformational for me. Her ability to help me identify and calm my inner critic has ignited a new energy in me, allowing me to bring my full authentic self forward and be confident in my abilities as a leader and as a woman.

What sets Joia apart from other coaches is her ability to meet her clients where they are and quickly assess complex situations. She creates a safe and supportive environment for her clients, providing honest and constructive feedback that helps them grow and improve while celebrating their successes along the way. As a black woman, Joia has helped me embrace my own shine and feel confident in my abilities. She has been instrumental in helping me overcome my tendency to dim my inner light to make others feel safe.

If you are looking for a coach who will take your game to the next level, Joia is the TRUTH! Her approach to coaching and leadership development is life-changing, and I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Joia is masterful at seeing through the obstacles, helping me get unstuck, and aiding me to clarify and set plans for the next phase of my life, personally and professionally. As a result, I refined and defined goals for my career and future life with a high ROI. She is truly unmatched and a blessing. 🌺

Joia Jefferson Nuri is an exceptional executive and career coach who helps her clients reach their full potential and achieve their goals. With Joia’s help, I am making great progress in living my best life and taking my career to the next level. I am learning to conquer my inner critic, which in the past impacted my success. I finally achieved my dream of launching my own consulting business this year. I started working with Joia last November and landed my first client two months later. I highly recommend Joia for anyone looking to take their career or business to the next level.

I write very few recommendations, yet I am thrilled to endorse Joia Jefferson, and I encourage virtually anyone to engage with her. Why? Working with her has been one of the most transformative and essential career decisions ever. Joia and I connected right off the bat. Joia is an excellent coach, making you feel that you are her biggest priority right from the start. She employs an empathetic approach to help you face your barriers to growth. Everything from our one-to-ones to the type of guidance I needed was wholly catered to my individual needs. She has a delightful personality who challenges you to do internal work. She quickly assessed my career goals, conditions, and aspirations, preparing me to be a better first-time C-Suite executive. From our down-to-earth conversations, I learned self-care, growth, and development tools I would have never considered. She is an absolute pleasure to work with, and I could meet with her indefinitely and get so much value out of every single session.

Intentional. Soul Stirring. Empathic. These are words that come to mind when I reflect on my experience with Joia. She immediately help me identify my inner critic, lessen the volume on the voice and gave me practical daily tactics. She was able to bring forth the "me" that is is everything you see on the outside that I now feel on the inside. Working with Joia has strengthen my executive presence and ensures "my voice is heard at the table". Are you in a leadership position and want to move from the zone of excellence to the zone of genius? If you answer yes to any part of the question, Joia is the person to talk to.

As a new CEO, I was introduced to Joia and within 15 minutes I knew she was the right coach as I transition into this role. Joia provided tools and techniques, asked in-depth questions to stretch my knowledge and provided space for self-reflection. Joia is knowledgeable and helps focus on your whole self, not simply a position. I highly recommend Joia and look forward to working with her in the near future.

I was initially introduced to Joia through a professional development workshop on public speaking. Her presentation was amazing as she modeled skills we all wished we had. I knew immediately that I wanted to work with her. Joia is knowledgeable and an excellent coach. I started with public speaking classes last year via Zoom. Complete your warmups, and yes, they are effective. She was very attentive, and her feedback was honest and direct, which worked well with my personality. After completing my public speaking classes, I took her elocution classes, improving my confidence. She helped me practice my big presentation a week before, which was extremely helpful. She made suggestions that I would have never considered. I was well prepared for my presentation. I learned quickly that if you can perform for Joia, you can take on any audience. Joia’s classes are priceless.

I  have been lucky enough to have worked with Joia in every capacity imaginable for decades. She is a mentor, colleague, and inspiration. When I let Joia know my goal was to tell my #metoo story in a TEDx Talk and help empower people to take action against their abusers, she got moving. She identified TEDx themes that spoke to my vision. And she pushed, cajoled, and supported me every step of the way. She found a TEDx Women's Talk (TEDxAlpharettaWomen) whose organizers recognized the value of what I had to say. She helped me hone my script, patiently rehearsed with me, and ultimately -- since we are old friends -- came to Atlanta to cheer me on. She was my rock throughout, and I could not recommend her more highly. If you are looking for that 'it' factor for your speech, a connector who knows how to get it done, an experienced orator who will help you shine, you need only look to Joia Jefferson Nuri. She is a star, and I am beyond grateful for her.

As the newly elected President of the Links of Greater Washington, DC, I knew my first task was to build my leadership into an efficient team. I worked with Joia Nuri as my executive leadership coach and knew she had the skills to accomplish the mission. I could not have asked for more. Joia conducted exercises that created intimacy and trust between my team members. And her PowerPoint presentation on building a strategy for growth was followed up with tasks to prove we understand.  It has given us a road map to achieving our biggest goals. Joia’s work helping us battle our inner critic and shattering false upper limits gave us the strength to see an unlimited future of service.

Joia is masterful at seeing through the obstacles helping me get unstuck, and aiding me to clarify and set plans for the next phase of my life personally and professionally. As a result, I refined and defined goals for my career and future life with a high ROI. She is truly unmatched and a blessing.