Meet Jenni
Meet Jenni
Professional Life & Career Coach
CPC, ELI-MP
In 2007 I made the trek to Los Angeles to pursue acting in film and TV, but quickly found myself working in other areas of the business as well – starting with casting, and landing in TV marketing at NBC. I found that I thrived in this industry, worked in roles in production and brand creative, helped to launch a new cable station, segued to TV development, worked on a lot of reality shows, went off to produce my own doc web series about people across the country making their communities a better place to live, and then came back to marketing, producing audio content and original talent shoots. A crazy trajectory, right?
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Throughout my career, if I set my sights on a new path, I was usually able to make it happen. Which is why I operate from a place of “there is no reason you CAN’T do whatever it is you really want to do.” But here's the other thing: I also got fired. Twice. From jobs I was working really hard at. I had to learn how to adjust, be resilient, and turn uncertainty into opportunity -- and most importantly, to figure out what I really wanted.
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I always knew I had a bigger purpose. All along, I kept searching for the role that would actually fulfill me, use all my skills, and help me contribute to making the world a better place. After a long personal journey, and throwing back to my time in psychology and youth leadership development, I found coaching. And I have to tell you, I’ve never before felt this “in the flow” about what I’m doing. To me, this is the key to helping my clients find personal and professional fulfillment: finding what it is they really want, how that aligns with their truest self, and then figuring out the road to make it happen.
About Me
Hi, I’m Jenni Fontana. There’s a reason I help people that are in career and life transitions – because I have gone through many, many career changes myself over the years. Along the way, I learned a whole lot about myself – about who I really am, and what I want to do in this lifetime. I’m so excited that now I get to help my clients figure out the same.
I originally hail from Chicago, IL and I will never, ever, ever stop being a Cubs fan. I studied psychology and theatre at Drake University in Iowa before moving into Chicago to pursue acting. For 10 years I did a whole lot of theatre, had my picture in the paper more times than I can count, and worked in real estate to pay the bills.
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Why Route 66?
Well for starters, my journey took me from Chicago to Los Angeles. Literally, my life went along Route 66.
But it’s a lot more than that. When Route 66 was first created in 1926, it symbolized freedom, mobility, and a chance to embark on a better life. It allowed hundreds of thousands of people to migrate west to escape the hardships of the Dust Bowl. It represented a renewed spirit of optimism that was sweeping the country after a global war and the Great Depression. For all these reasons and more, Route 66 became known as the “road to opportunity.”
And Route 66 was different than other highways of its day: it connected hundreds of small communities in Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas to Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Why is that important? Because just like Route 66, life doesn’t always go in a straight line. It may take us places we never expected. And we may discover that our favorite places are those we didn’t even know existed when we set out on the road.
At Route 66 Coaching, we understand that it’s not just about the destination. It’s about the journey along the way.