BOUNDARYLESS LEADERSHIP PODCAST

Episode 3.

Adapting Your Thinking and Being the Change

with Jessica Cork

  • jessica cork
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In this episode, Nozomi and Jessica discuss:

  • The history of YKK and how it has become a worldwide success.
  • Taking risks at the crossroads of your life.
  • Networking and connecting with those in your community.
  • Making changes now to be the change you want to see regarding issues you’re passionate about.

Key Takeaways:

  • As industries change, it is important to see how you can pivot and continue to make an amazing impact with the changing world.
  • Even when you don’t know where you are going next, keep moving forward. You never know what roads are going to open just for you.
  • The changing landscape of the workforce over the last couple years has required flexibility of companies, even for those that it does not come naturally to.
  • Change is now coming from the stakeholders – customers, employees, and community.

“Network and get to know people within your community because you just never know where the next opportunity will come from.” — Jessica Cork

“I discovered over time, it matters less about whether an organization is nonprofit, or corporate or government, but really, what is the culture of that organization? And what are the values of that organization? And is it an organization that fits your own personal values.” — Jessica Cork

“When I say leader, I don’t mean you have to have a title – you don’t have to be the president, or VP, or director, or manager, but as a leader of your own life, in taking full responsibility of your life.” — Nozomi Morgan

About Jessica Cork

As Vice President of Community Engagement and Corporate Communications at YKK Corporation of America, Jessica has responsibility for all aspects of corporate communications - creating, developing and executing the internal and external communications strategy - for the YKK Americas Group, which spans from Canada to Chile. This includes message development, owned and digital content creation, media relations, and employee engagement with a focus on defining and activating corporate character and providing leadership on values and culture.

She is also responsible for community engagement - communicating the YKK societal value story, corporate purpose, and ESG/sustainability goals to key stakeholders, as well as developing, implementing, and showcasing YKK America Group’s corporate donations and community relations strategy. She also leads the government affairs strategy - driving consistent messaging and engagement with local, regional and national elected officials and community leaders, community organizations, think tanks, and advocacy groups.

Jessica is fluent in Japanese and has more than two decades of experience working in Japanese organizations. She has B.A. in Japanese Language and Literature from the University of Massachusetts, and an M.A. in Advanced Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield in the U.K. Prior to joining YKK, she worked for 11 years as the Adviser for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta and spent 3 years working as a Coordinator for International Relations in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

Jessica currently serves as Chair of The Japan-America Society of Georgia and the Secretary of the Governing Board of International Charter Academy of Georgia, Georgia’s first Japanese-English dual language immersion charter school. She is a member of the Communication Committee of The Georgia Council on Economic Education. She has four children, all of whom have attended Japanese-English bilingual immersion schools in the Atlanta area and has traveled to 25 countries around the world.

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