Meet Jenny Magic, Gene Barnwell Waugh Mentor Award Winner

By Andrea K. Citrin Gardner

On April 12, Jenny Magic will be honored at the annual WCA Banner Brunch with a Gene Barnwell Waugh Mentor Award, which recognizes Austin-area communicators who have demonstrated a commitment to mentorship, positively impacting other communicators and the field of communications.

Jenny Magic is a principal and the VP of Content Strategy at SiteGoals, a digital agency in Austin that specializes in complex responsive WordPress websites, UX and adaptive content solutions. She is also the co-founder of MobilizeHer, a global initiative for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) that with the support of United Nations and the British Airways UnGrounded effort, seeks to advise, advocate and accelerate women in STEM careers.

Jenny spends much of her time speaking and teaching. She hosts the 800+ member #AustinContent Meetup, has delivered workshops to clients like Prudential and Acxiom, led official Mentor Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2014 and is presenting workshops at the 2014 MoDevUX conference and Content Marketing World 2014. Follow her adventures at @JennyLMagic.

We took a few minutes out of Jenny’s busy day to ask her a few questions about her involvement with WCA and about being a mentor.

WCA: What brought you to our organization and how has membership been helpful to you?

Jenny: I had heard of WCA back when I lived in Austin in 2001 – 2004 but I wasn’t actively involved. While living in San Diego, I learned how valuable and rewarding it was to serve on organizational boards (I was president-elect of the National Association of Women Business Owners, San Diego when I moved). When we were planning a move back to Texas from San Diego in 2011, I saw online that WCA board elections happened in March. While we weren’t moving until April, I emailed Julie Tereshchuk (then incoming president) and did a Skype interview. I was on the board before I lived in Austin. Since then it’s been a home for me professionally and personally. These women are my go-to network of brilliance for advice, support, referrals and suggestions. Many of my best personal friends were ladies I sat beside at a WCA lunch before I even knew them.

WCA: You’ve been involved in WCA as VP of Development and as a Get Smart speaker? You do so many things with the organization; why mentor?

Jenny: I can’t not mentor. Sharing my journey and lessons learned helps me find perspective and growth – the fact that it benefits others is a wonderful bonus.

WCA: What does an average day at SiteGoals look like and how does mentoring fit into that day?

Jenny: We’re a small agency with a highly specialized staff, so we frequently work with outside vendors and freelancers on our projects. As a result, I often get to have a lot of conversations with people in this space who may be wanting to grow their freelance biz, go back to corporate work, partner more closely with agencies like ours, etc. So in the course of regular business, I find lots of opportunities to help people think through what they really want and how to get there. I don’t think about it as “mentoring” at the time, but my nature is to help people find just the right fit – it makes everyone happier!

WCA: In your career, you specialize in helping your clients uncover key messages. As a mentor, how do you help your mentees uncover their potential?

Jenny: I think we usually know what we want, we just sometimes have a hard time listening to ourselves, having the confidence, or trusting in the future. All I really do is listen, and feed back what I hear, sometimes with a pep talk or a story from my meandering path, so they know what the reality of their dream could look like.

WCA: What has mentoring allowed you to share with the community and also, how has mentoring benefitted you personally?

Jenny: I think one of the things we all suffer from is feeling like everyone around us has their act together and we’re the only one trying to figure it out. My favorite thing about mentoring is just being honest and authentic and letting people see that you have to take risks, be willing to fail, etc., if you want to make big strides. And if you don’t, that’s ok too – big strides aren’t the only way to get somewhere great.

WCA: What advice do you give to your mentees who want to make a difference in their industry?

Jenny: If you want to make a difference in your industry, make a difference to the people who matter in that industry. Find a way to be useful, informative, funny, or helpful to someone who you respect or admire. They appreciate the help, remember the impact, and often offer their support.

WCA: What is the best advice you would give to mentees about joining and participating in WCA?

Jenny: Volunteer! It takes only a tiny bit of time (many hands make work light!) and the rewards are 10- or 100-fold. It’s how you become useful to people who matter in your field and it’s a TON of fun.

WCA: Is there anything else you’d like to share that we may have missed?

Jenny: Use your WCA membership–it’s a safety net of support to learn, to help and to grow. There are few places we can be vulnerable – asking hard questions, and showing that we’re still learning – and WCA has always been one of those places for me.

Don’t miss your chance to congratulate Jenny at the April 12, 2013 Banner Brunch. Buy tickets and learn more at www.bannerbrunch.com.