Jay Shepley
Director of Communications
Jay Shepley (he/him) is a strategic communications and marketing leader with more than a decade of experience shaping narratives, building brands, and advancing the visibility and impact of mission-driven organizations. As the first Director of Communications for Generation Hope, Jay leads the organization’s communications strategy and brings deep experience across strategic communications, digital marketing, earned media, brand leadership, executive communications, content strategy, community engagement, and emerging technology.
In his role, Jay leads the overarching strategy to strengthen Generation Hope’s visibility and influence nationally, regionally, and locally, ensuring that its mission, programs, research, and impact reach the audiences positioned to advance its work. A central tenet of his leadership is ensuring that parenting students are not simply represented in the organization’s storytelling, but that their voices and lived experiences are centered, honored, and heard.
After graduating from Indiana University in 2006 with a BA in Communications and Culture, Jay began his career in film and television production, working on fifteen feature films and dozens of fiction and nonfiction television productions. He transitioned to the nonprofit sector in 2012, bringing the discipline and craft of professional storytelling to organizations working at the intersection of some of the most consequential social issues of our time. His work has spanned global women’s rights and empowerment, racial justice, public health, poverty alleviation, leadership acceleration, education, and environmental justice.
Jay’s hobbies include photography and videography, cooking, and getting beat on the basketball court by his son, Jackson. Jay’s wife, Owethu, hails from South Africa. Together, they dream of financing a new building for her family’s K–12 agricultural school, helping prepare a new generation of Zulu children to build generational wealth and reclaim food sovereignty in the post-apartheid era. Jay and his family are proud residents of Washington, D.C.
Quote:
“The ultimate expression of generosity is not in giving of what you have but in giving of who you are.” — Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole
Why I chose this quote:
I chose this quote from Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole because it expresses a philosophy of service and philanthropy that motivates the listener toward the deep engagement we need to find within ourselves to create a path of liberation and undo injustice.
When I think of Generation Hope, I am inspired by the victories achieved for striving families when networks of people mobilize as authentic individuals toward a collective vision.
Student parents give all of who they are so they can pursue a better path for their children. But to do so, especially if they are people of color, they often must break through seemingly insurmountable barriers. Dr. Cole’s quote expresses what is required to achieve the bold vision we seek, to help uplift student parents and foster systems change in higher education.