Prescott High School counselor and Inspired Freedom founder Jessica Stickel believes leadership starts with courage, connection and the willingness to see what is possible
For Jessica Stickel, helping others discover what is possible is more than a career. It is a philosophy that has shaped her own life.
As a school counselor at Prescott High School and founder of Inspired Freedom Coaching and Speaking, Jessica works with students, individuals and groups to build confidence, gain clarity and move beyond the barriers that may be holding them back.
“I love seeing people reach their full potential,” she said. “I give students and clients the opportunity to explore, discover and become who they truly are.”
That passion is rooted in Jessica’s own story. Growing up, she learned early to look for possibilities instead of problems and to transform difficult circumstances into motivation. Her own school counselor, and being in student council, became an important influence, giving her a safe place to talk and dream, along with practical steps and leadership skills for making those dreams happen.
Jessica went on to earn her counseling degree and later became certified as a life coach. She describes the two disciplines simply: “My counseling degree taught me how to help people recover, and my coaching training taught me how to help people discover.”
Finding Home in Prescott
Prescott was not originally part of Jessica’s long-term plan.
Before starting a family, she and her husband spent a year traveling across the country. One of their rotations brought them to Prescott, where Jessica was offered a long-term substitute position as a school counselor at Prescott High School.
The community immediately felt like a fit.
After their year of traveling, the couple returned to their home state of Wisconsin, but it did not take long to realize Prescott had captured their hearts. They returned to Arizona with their two-month-old baby and have called the area home ever since.
Today, Jessica embraces what she calls a “both/and” life. She is a wife to Andy and mother of 3 active boys; Avery, Hudson, & Easton with one more boy on the way coming this September. She is proud to have those roles while also continuing to pursue adventure, professional growth and meaningful work in the community.
That balance is also among her proudest accomplishments.
Jessica grew up in circumstances where college, travel and marriage were not modeled for her. Her parents struggled to cope with life through drugs and alcohol, and Jessica made an intentional choice to build something different.
She went to college, traveled, created supportive relationships, built a family and developed a career centered around helping others recognize new possibilities for their own lives.
“I chose to cope differently and reached out and created supportive networks, ultimately allowing me to have a new vision of what was possible,” she said.
Leadership That Creates
When Jessica thinks about strong women leaders, she uses one word to remember the qualities she values most: CREATE.
For her, the acronym represents Courage, Resilience, Emotional Intelligence, Adaptability, Transparency and Energy.
Courage means being willing to make decisions, have clear conversations and establish boundaries. Resilience allows leaders to move through challenges, setbacks and doubt. Emotional intelligence means regulating their own emotions while working to understand others.
Adaptability is essential because change is inevitable, while transparency requires enough confidence and self-awareness to be honest and vulnerable. Finally, Jessica believes positive energy and enthusiasm can create momentum that keeps people and projects moving forward.
Her own leadership has evolved as she has learned that not everyone sees challenges through the same lens.
“Looking through only my lens of possibility or how to navigate a problem created lack in connection with teams,” she said. “I’ve learned that with family and work, people see and approach things differently.”
That realization has taught her the importance of boundaries, communication and meeting people where they are.
Creating Connection and Confidence
Whether Jessica is working with students at Prescott High School, leading girls’ groups, speaking to an audience or coaching a client, she hopes people walk away recognizing something they can control or change.
She especially loves witnessing what she calls an “aha moment.”
“Our thoughts always precede our actions, so when we think about things differently, we do and see things differently,” she said.
Participants in her groups and coaching sessions often tell her they leave with a stronger sense of clarity, self-worth and confidence.
Jessica believes Prescott provides an ideal environment for that kind of connection.
“In Prescott, everyone is one handshake away from each other,” she said. “People in Prescott root for each other.”
Through her work in the school district, parenting groups and various community circles, she has found opportunities to continually connect with people who are willing to share resources, encouragement and ideas.
Her advice to women pursuing their own leadership or entrepreneurial goals reflects that experience.
“Never stop investing in your personal development, since you take yourself wherever you go,” she said. “Put yourself out there and network to find answers to your questions, set goals and a timeline, and stay open to where God takes you.”
Choosing Joy
Jessica’s next projects bring many of her ideas about mindset and intentional living together.
She has created a JOY Journal and Wellness Calendar, tools designed to help people intentionally activate more joy, happiness, gratitude and freedom in their everyday lives. She hopes to make them available through platforms such as Amazon as well as local shops.
She also wants to return to creating content for her YouTube channel, Mindset Shift, with the goal of eventually expanding it into a podcast.
“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change,” she said.
Jessica’s own life is proof that she is willing to embrace change and adventure. She has walked across hot coals at a Tony Robbins conference, hiked the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim and once moved to Hawaii after saving just one paycheck, living and working there for six months before backpacking through the islands.
Those adventures also taught her something unexpected: as much as she loves spontaneity, she thrives with structure.
Daily disciplines and a strong foundation give her the freedom to be adventurous, present and inspired without feeling weighed down by worry.
Perhaps that is the heart of Jessica’s approach to leadership, too. Freedom does not necessarily mean living without boundaries or plans. Sometimes it means intentionally creating the foundation that allows you to dream bigger, recognize possibilities and fully enjoy the life you are building.
For Jessica, that means continuing to learn, connect, lead and help others discover that they are capable of building something different, too.