About Jennifer Wisdom

I am a psychologist, consultant, and speaker who helps leaders and organizations navigate complexity, pressure, and change—so work gets done without burnout, breakdowns in trust, or the quiet loss of capable leadership.

For more than 25 years, I have worked in complex healthcare, government, military, nonprofit, and academic environments where authority, accountability, and systems design matter deeply. My work bridges psychology, public health, and organizational practice, with a focus on how leaders make decisions, absorb pressure, and sustain performance over time.

Professional Background

My professional path has spanned military service, clinical psychology, public health, academia, and consulting—experiences that shaped how I understand leadership inside real systems.

I began my career in the U.S. military as a photojournalist, working in Europe, Southwest Asia, and the western United States. That experience offered an early education in how organizations function under pressure, how narratives are shaped, and how authority operates in high-stakes environments.

I later earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from George Washington University and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Oregon Health & Science University. My clinical and research training deepened my interest in intervening “upstream”—improving systems rather than simply responding when they fail.

Following graduate training, I pursued post-doctoral work in health services research and spent nearly two decades in academic and applied roles focused on behavioral health service delivery, organizational design, and leadership in complex care environments. During this time, I worked extensively at the intersection of leadership, policy, quality, and implementation—where good intentions often collide with institutional realities.

After nearly 20 years in academia and global work, I founded Wisdom Consulting to focus on applied leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and sustainable change.

Current Work

Through Wisdom Consulting, I advise leaders and organizations facing high-stakes demands, organizational change, and leadership challenges. My work focuses on:

✔️ Leadership under pressure

✔️ Organizational diagnosis and intervention

✔️ Execution, decision-making, and accountability

✔️ Mentoring and leadership development across the lifespan

I am particularly interested in how leaders are shaped by the systems they serve—and how organizations can better support leadership capacity rather than quietly exhausting it.

Selected Organizations

I have worked with leaders and teams in complex organizations, including:

  • ✔️ U.S. Veterans Health Administration

    ✔️ Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard University

    ✔️ Instituto Nacional do Câncer (Rio de Janeiro)

    ✔️ Instituto Nacional de Salud (Lima)

  • ✔️ University of Michigan

    ✔️ Columbia University

    ✔️ Johns Hopkins University

    ✔️ George Washington University

  • ✔️ Africa Population Health Research Center

    ✔️ Association of American Medical Colleges

    ✔️ CODA Inc.

Credentials & Affiliations

I am a board-certified business and organizational consulting psychologist and affiliated faculty at the Portland State University–Oregon Health & Science University School of Public Health and the Oregon Health & Science University Department of General Internal Medicine. Academic CV available upon request.

I am a member of the American Psychological Association and the Society of Psychologists in Leadership (past president). I am also a Distinguished Toastmaster.

Wisdom Consulting is a Veteran-Owned Small Business, a nationally certified LGBT Business Enterprise, and a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise.

Beyond the Office

My professional work has been shaped by a deep curiosity about people, systems, and how we function under unfamiliar conditions. Travel and adventure have been one way I continue to build perspective and stay comfortable with uncertainty.

My work and travels have taken me to 36 countries and 48 U.S. states. Along the way, I rappelled off cliffs in Germany, surfed on four continents, hiked Iceland and Guatemalan volcanoes, flown around the world, run marathons and triathlons, went skydiving once (once was enough!), played with a lion cub in South Africa and—memorably—was pecked by a penguin in Antarctica.

These experiences remind me that leadership, like exploration, requires preparation, humility, adaptability, and respect for forces larger than oneself.