My nomination: Encourager

My first nomination for the Encourager category is the lovely Jill Langhus-Griffin. 

I had the opportunity to "meet" Jill on World Pulse through a generous comment she left behind on one of my early articles around Saahas, the app I was coding while an Impact Leader with World Pulse in 2017. At first, what struck me was this unconditional generosity and love she sent my way, and it hit me like a beautiful wave of peaceful calm amidst what was a confusing time. She gave me the strength I needed to push forth and to brave the odds, and create that piece of technology that my mind was willing to build, though my knowledge seemed limited.

Since then, Jill and I had the opportunity to interact on World Pulse, and slowly, on Facebook. Her generosity truly knows no bounds, because between responding to my posts on World Pulse and constantly sending me love and encouragement online, she is also constantly building these powerful roads of support for many, many women around the world. I’m sure if you run a search on World Pulse with her name, you’ll find her comments of encouragement for nearly every post on the platform. I don’t know how she does it, truly, to be able to read and to respond – NOT JUST REACT, MIND YOU – so substantively on each post, and to do with love, it’s not easy.

To me, Jill is the dictionary definition of encourager. If World Pulse created space for sisters to be encouragers, life built Jill as a personification of that very iconic emotion. She is unconditional, filled with generosity, and ever so giving. Jill is truly invested in lifting up everyone around her, listens with empathy and without judgment, is incredibly trustworthy, and is passionate, beyond doubt, about making a difference. If Jill wins this, you can hear the loudest applause from my room.