Get to know Jenn
Hi there! I’m Jennifer Ayako Lee (she/her) and I’m passionate about supporting BIPOC and other marginalized folks to live embodied, authentic and liberated lives.
I’m a Yonsei descendant of Japanese-Americans who were unjustly mass incarcerated by the U.S. government during WWII simply for having the “face of the enemy.” Growing up no one in my family talked about what happened. Silence and assimilation kept us “safe” but left lasting imprints of intergenerational trauma. Part of my healing journey includes divesting from my “model minority” conditioning and learning how to use my voice and take a stand.
I believe in the strength of vulnerability.
I believe in the healing powers of compassion, creativity, humor, deep listening, presence, nature, body wisdom and slowing down.
I believe that so much of the world’s violence, oppression, greed and delusion are rooted in collective cycles of unresolved trauma and that no one is free until we all are free.
I believe in anti-carceral approaches to mental health care.
I love working with creative, heart-centered folks who want to live their most authentic life and make a meaningful difference in the world.
My coaching style is playful, gentle and intuitive. There’s room for laughter and tears and everything in between.
I started coaching in 2003 (before iPhones and Zoom 😮😆!)
I’m an INFP, an Enneagram 4 with a 3 wing, a Wood Tiger, and a Leo sun, Pisces moon, Capricorn rising.
My healing journey
In my younger years I did all the things a “good Asian girl” was supposed to do… stayed out of trouble, got good grades (well, not in math and thus single-handedly proving the “all Asians are good at math” stereotype wrong! Haha!), went to good schools, got good corporate jobs, earned a good salary, and was a good worker who put in long hours and diligently climbed the corporate ladder for more than a decade.
In other words, I unknowingly assimilated into dominant White culture in a futile search for love and acceptance outside myself (thankfully, I later learned to have self-compassion so I don’t beat myself up about this!).
The fancy title, 6-figure income and corner office weren’t cutting it. Fed up with feeling unfulfilled and unseen, I finally escaped Corporate America in 2006 and focused on growing the creative business of my dreams. I wrote two books, spoke at conferences Internationally, hit coveted moola milestones, and coached amazing entrepreneurs from around the world.
Yet, I got so caught up in my relentless ambition (read: unconscious conditioning) that I recreated the “corporate ladder” in my entrepreneurial life and neglected my health, well-being, and personal goals. In 2013, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and despite the fatigue, brain fog and joint pain, still I pressed on. Around 2016, I began making shifts to reclaim my life and recalibrate my work. I had to let my ego fall away and be with the incredible discomfort of a crumbling identity that was no longer serving me (um, thank goodness for my meditation practice!).
I started seeing a somatic therapist in 2017 after my dad died to help me navigate grief and the old family dynamics that re-surfaced and magnified during the intensity of hospice. Since then I’ve continued to work on healing my attachment and developmental trauma as well as intergenerational, racialized, cultural and spiritual trauma. Additionally, my husband and I have been doing couples work based in non-violent communication since 2018.
In 2019, I started my decolonization journey with anti-oppression and liberation coach Weeze Doran. I began stripping away the vestiges of my “model minority” upbringing and internalized racism. Since then, I’ve been unpacking and healing trauma inherited from my family’s incarceration at the WWII Amache and Poston concentration camps and understanding how assimilation was a survival strategy. I’ve also been reconnecting with the gifts of my lineage and the resilience of my ancestors.
Once I really started seeing how my racial/gender identity and inherited trauma had played a role all along, I’ve been able to find new levels of freedom, clarity, and courage to be fully ME. That’s why I’m offering trauma-informed somatic coaching centering BIPOC, especially folks of Asian descent, to share the tools, strategies, and practices that have helped me on my journey so far and to help you find your own way that’s unique to you.
– Authenticity
– Creativity
– Connection
– Expression
– Justice
– Integrity
– Presence
– Liberation
– Learning
– Beauty
– Ease
– Playfulness
I love letting my aggressions out in BODYCOMBAT and moving freely through conscious dance.
I love deep, soulful conversations AND laughing my ass off with friends.
I love poke and Pocky (iykyk, btw shoyu and strawberry, respectively).
I love washi tape and stickers, especially cute and clever ones with nostalgic nods to my cultural heritage.
I love cuddling and kayaking with Tofu, our super kawaii Shih Tzu rescue.
I missed my high school graduation ceremony because I was competing at the National Speech and Debate tournament (in Dramatic Interpretation) so my beloved Speech Team surprised me with a thoughtful and intimate poolside graduation party instead.
My husband and I were college sweethearts who worked together at the campus paper.
I was the first IG user to tag a post with #selfie. My selfie was featured in Buzzfeed and in the German Museum of Technology.
My mom and I share the same middle name and birthday.
Want to know more?
What certifications and degrees does Jenn hold?
I received my Certified Professional Co-Active Coach credential in 2004 (started my training in 2003) and I graduated from The Co-Active Training Institute’s Leadership Program in 2004.
I’m a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach (2023)
I’m TIST Certified (Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment with Janina Fisher, internal parts work, 2025)
I started Somatic Experiencing training in 2024 and have completed through the Intermediate level (anticipated graduation from Advanced level in April 2026).
I’m also a Certified Expressive Arts Teacher through Wild Heart Intuitive Painting (2009), a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher (2019-2021) and a Certified Yoga Teacher (2007).
I have a B.A. in Communication Studies, Mass Media from UCLA and an M.A. in Communication Management from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism from USC.
What other trainings?
In addition to the certifications listed above, here are some highlights of my education through the years:
2007 Qualified in Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator
2008 Inside Team coach training with Cynthia Loy Darst (internal parts work)
2016 Open Heart Meditation Teacher Certification with Susan Piver
2019 Working Towards Woke Shades Edition for BIPOC (anti-racism/anti-oppression education) with Weeze Doran and Trudi Lebron
2019-2020 and 2021 ReClaim decolonization masterminds for BIWOC with Weeze Doran
2020 Decolonizing NVC for BIPOC with Meendachi
2021-2022 Introductory and Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Training courses with David Treleaven
2022 Somatic Attachment Therapy Certification through The Embody Lab
2022 Reiki training level 1 and 2 with Rianna Stellburg
2023 Embodied Conflict Resolution Certification with Kai Cheng Thom
2023 Certificate in Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies Levels 1-3 with Linda Thai
2023 Foundations in Somatic Abolition for BoC with Resmaa Menakem
2023 Queer Competency Training through Embody Emerge
2024 Hawaiʻi People’s Fund Giving Project (5-month intensive including Hawaiian history, community and social justice movements, race/class critical analysis, decolonizing philanthropy and fundshifting)
2024 Kintsugi: Healing and Repair of Japanese American Community Trauma from WWII with Tsuru for Solidarity
2025 Internal Family Systems for Trauma-Sensitive Practitioners with David Treleaven and Govinda Bader
2025 Pono Settler course with Elijah Kalā McShane
2025 enrolled in Level 1 of NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model) professional certificate program
Who are Jenn’s influences: coaches, mentors and teachers?
My lineages, teachers and mentors who have influenced me over the decades include but are not limited to the following. Some folks I have worked with directly or taken live classes or self-studies with and others inspire me across space and time. I am grateful for their teachings.
Coaches: Peter Fong (High School Speech Coach), Melanie Dewberry-Jones, Marcy Nelson-Garrison, Andrea J. Lee, Weeze Doran, Achara Tarfa (IFS), Nikki Blak, Ali Miller (NVC) and Ana Verzone (altered states guide)
Trauma educators: Efu Nyaki (Somatic Experiencing), Resmaa Menakem, Karine Bell, Linda Thai, Kai Cheng Thom (Embodied Conflict Resolution), Janina Fisher and Rui Cang (TIST) and from the Global Trauma Institute: Achara Tarfa, Kimberley Weeks and Julia Pishko,
Buddhism and meditation/mindfulness: Chenxing Han (Roots and Refuge Retreat), David Treleaven (TSM), and within the Vipassana meditation tradition I have studied with Dawn Mauricio, Leslie Booker, Sebene Selassie, La Sarmiento, Kate Johnson and Yong Oh.
Embodiment and movement: Valerie Chafograk (Movement Liberation), Sally Chang (Evergreen Taiji Academy), Larry Shultz (It’s Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga), Laura Toyofuku-Aki (Project Koa Yoga)
Creativity: Chris Zydel (Wild Heart Intuitive Painting), Melanie Lan (Case for Making online watercolor classes), Lisa Bardot (Art Makers Club, Procreate)
Abolition and decolonizing mental health: adrienne maree brown, Prentis Hemphill, Dr. Jennifer Mullan, Care (Erotics of Liberation), Project LETS
Hawaiian history, culture, ʻāina and ea: Micky Huihui (and HPF oʻhana), Keone Emeliano (HILT), Elijah Kalā McShane (Awakened Aloha), Haunani-Kay Trask (From a Native Daughter)
Japanese-American community leader: Satsuki Ina, co-founder of Tsuru for Solidarity and Kinstugi and pioneering healer for Nikkei survivors of WWII incarceration camps.
Living legend: Mayumi Oda, Hawaiʻi Island based Japanese artist, author and activist
Inspirational ancestors: bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs
What books did Jenn write?
Several years ago when I was mainly coaching creative entrepreneurs I wrote two (fun and visual!) business books. The first was The Right-Brain Business Plan (2011) which helped tens of thousands of people around the world launch and grow their business and the second was Building Your Business the Right-Brain Way (2014), a follow-up to the first book. You can learn more about them at rightbrainbusinessplan.com and find additional resources for creative business.
What did Jenn do prior to working for herself?
Before pursuing my own passions full-time, I consulted for ten years at Fortune 500 companies such as Gap Inc. and Accenture, helping leaders and organizations manage change. As a director of executive development for Gap Inc., I led onboarding and coaching programs for leaders at the level of vice president and up. I grew my coaching business in my spare time and took the leap from corporate America in 2006.
What are Jenn’s social locations?
I identify as a Yonsei (4th generation) Japanese/Chinese-American and Asian-American (East Asian). I’m a cisgendered, heterosexual married woman in mid-life with no kids (proud dog mom here!). I have educational, class and language privilege. I identify as spiritual (not religious) with Buddhist leanings. I’m currently able bodied with size privilege and I have an invisible, mostly managed autoimmune disease. I’m a settler on Kanaka Maoli ʻāina (on Hawaiʻi Island).
