Jennifer Fernjack

Jennifer Fernjack is an author, keynote speaker and podcast host. From in person workshops and symposiums, to virtual meetings and conferences, her messages of hope and emotional grit have been heard across the U.S. and by people from places such as Australia, Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the Philippines. Examples of such audiences include people from hospitals, universities, non-profits, corporations, fundraising events and more.

Jennifer has a BA degree from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Her  personal story of emotional grit stems from a surprising health scare in 2016 where she learned things in everyday life such as music, gratitude, laughter, pets, random acts of kindness and facing fears can actually lower stress hormones and influence "feel good" chemicals of the brain. She also developed an enhanced appreciation of caregivers, after learning they can suffer from things such as emotional labor, compassion fatigue, moral injury and vicarious trauma. 

Her corresponding book titled, "Greater Than: The Power and Strength of Emotional Grit," includes additional real life stories, such as a firefighter who served at Ground Zero on 9/11, a physician who survived being attacked by bears and ways his friends helped save him, one of the amateur hockey players who faced the Soviets during the 1980 Olympic "Miracle on Ice" game and then went on to score the winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland and more. 

Jennifer was interviewed about the book on the Minneapolis NBC News affiliate KARE11 in 2021 and in 2022, she shared the stories and science behind it at the International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (ISPNO) in Hamburg, Germany. The experience afforded her the ability to interact with healthcare providers from all over the world, including neuroscientists, neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists and nurse practitioners. In doing so, the aim was to help reduce sedation rates of patients, improve the experience of caregivers and potentially lower the liability of hospitals. In 2024, she was interviewed about it by Emmy-Award winning journalist Kate Delaney on her show America Tonight.

Jennifer's book also applies to people outside the healthcare industry and is available in countries such as Australia, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United States and more.