S9E12: Catching up with Confidence with Deme Jackson

Deme Jackson had the receipts: an HBCU grad, a decade advising C-suite leaders, a nonprofit founder. And still, after repeated layoffs and real workplace trauma, her confidence had fallen behind her competence. In this episode, she and Laura name a gap so many high-achieving Black women live in: you can have done all the work and still not feel like the woman your résumé describes. Deme shares how a toxic corporate experience chipped away at a confidence she once took for granted, how a trusted coach reminded her she did not need to relearn confidence but catch up to it, and how community, visibility, and radical self-work helped her rebuild. She also opens up about founding the Lotus Club and turning her own healing into a lifeline for other Black women navigating workplace trauma.

In this episode:

The difference between self-esteem and self-confidence, and why layoffs and toxic workplaces damage both

How a trusted mirror in community helped Deme catch up to the confidence that never actually left

Closing the gap between skill and confidence, and what it means to be bold before you fully feel ready, her Bloom Boldly season

About Deme

Deme Jackson is a communications executive, strategist, and entrepreneur whose career began on a production set. She spent her early career in film and television production before pivoting into strategic communications, where she has spent over a decade advising C-suite leaders and leading crisis communications for notable brands including the City of Dallas, Motel 6, Chili's, and Drybar.

In addition to serving as a Public Information Officer for one of the top 10 municipalities in the country, she founded F.U.E.L., the city's first Young Professionals Employee Resource Group. That experience, paired with her own encounters with being overlooked and undervalued as a Black woman in the workplace, led her to found The Lotus Club, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting Black women navigating workplace trauma through healing, empowerment, and community.

Deme also founded Deme & Co., a boutique communications consultancy serving executives, entrepreneurs, and public figures. She is a 2025 recipient of the Pearl C. Anderson Rising Star Award and a proud Clark Atlanta University alumna. Outside of work, she's an avid cook and collector of African American cookbooks, a hobby that reflects her love of storytelling and preserving culture through food.

Connect with Deme

Website: http://www.thelotusclub.co

Instagram: @bloomwithtlc, @astoldbydeme