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ALONIA JERNIGAN
President & CEO, The Effective Communicator
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It’s a good thing to
be able to wear many hats, but it’s even better to wear
them well. Such is an accurate description of Alonia
Jernigan, consummate communications professional and
President & CEO of The Effective Communicator, an
Atlanta-based, full service corporate communications and
professional development company. For more than two
decades, Jernigan has used her awesome gift of
communications to garner a distinct reputation as an
excellent writer, captivating speaker and challenging
teacher/trainer.
A native of Atlanta,
Alonia Parks Jernigan is a product of the Atlanta Public
Schools system, having graduated salutatorian from Bass
High School in the Little Five Points community in 1985.
An astute, amiable and well-rounded student, Alonia was
voted Most Intellectual and Homecoming Queen by her
peers. Capitalizing on her writing skills (which she had
honed since age five) she was among the first recipients
of the Mayor’s Scholar award, an honor that yielded a
scholarship for excellence in essay writing. Her college
of choice was Spelman College, and she graduated in 1989
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
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Upon leaving the
gates of Spelman, Jernigan reluctantly launched her
career at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce as a floater.
She says, “I was so young and so naïve then. I almost
turned the job down because I figured my parents had
made too many sacrifices for me to graduate from Spelman
only to make copies and run inter-office errands,” she
says. Nonetheless, the ever-determined Jernigan remained
steadfast and used the entry-level opportunity as a
stepping stone. Within three months, she was promoted to
Executive Assistant in the Chamber’s Housing Resource
Center, wherein she was able to convince her boss of her
writing skills. “Carl’s (Hartrampf) open-mindedness and
willingness to allow me to begin a departmental
newsletter opened the door for every step I took in my
career from that point on,” says Jernigan.
Subsequently, Jernigan worked for United Way’s VIP
Initiative, Fulton County Housing Authority, The
Champion Newspaper, Paragon Public Relations and Clark
Atlanta University. Each position allowed her to further
develop her writing, people and organizational skills.
In 1997, she gathered all the knowledge gained over the
years and answered a call from God to begin a Christian
magazine called IMANI. The publication, which she
published with her husband, ran for seven years and
received national acclaim, including a letter of
commendation in 2002 from President George W. Bush’s
Office of Faith Based Initiatives. The letter came after
the edition entitled “911: America Comes Back to God.”
Jernigan ceased publication of IMANI in 2004, but not
before gaining even more recognition. She is the 2003
recipient of the Spelman College Alumnae Achievement
Award in Media and Communications, and V-103 FM/WAOK AM
lauded her with a community service award the same year.
Additionally, she was honored by the Atlanta Business
League as one of the Top 100 Women of Influence in 2003
and 2004. In 2002, IMANI was awarded the Media Award
from the Concerned Black Clergy, and in 2001, the
publication was presented with the Journalism Leadership
Award by the United States Pastors Association.
Jernigan’s proudest professional moment came in 2008
when she was nominated Most Outstanding Journalist by
the Electronic Urban Report. This is an honor she shares
with Susan Taylor (formerly of ESSENCE Magazine) and
romance novelist Zane. In addition to IMANI Magazine,
her writings have also been published in Who’s Who in
Black Atlanta, Who’s Who in Black Birmingham,
Birmingham Woman, Trend to Trend Magazine, among others.
Also in 2008, she emerged victorious in the “Success
Against the Odds” category from the Atlanta Business
League’s signature event, Super Tuesday.
Today, Jernigan sits at the helm of The Effective
Communicator, where she employs her unique experiences
and abilities to help bring out the best in others. In
addition to being an outstanding writer, she is also
known to bring as much power to the microphone as she
does the pen. She is licensed and ordained as a minister
of the Gospel, has nearly ten years’ experience as a
Christian Education director, and she has served as
Youth Pastor of Greater Bethany Baptist Church since
2004. She has earned credits towards a master’s degree
in Biblical Studies and Theology from Luther Rice
Seminary.
An accomplished author, Jernigan has penned: Pink Pearls
of Power: Daily Gems of Inspiration for the Journey of
Life; Pressing, Not Stressing! A Compilation of
Spiritually Motivating Articles and Sermonettes; and The
Ten Commandments of Effective Business. In 2007, she
created The Dream Institute, Inc., a nonprofit
organization dedicated to helping youth enhance their
writing and public speaking skills. She is looking
forward to releasing her life’s story, The Pursuit of
Destiny: Making “Yes, I Can” a Personal Reality, in the
spring of 2009.
Jernigan has been married to James Jernigan, also a
licensed and ordained minister, since February 16, 1991.
They are the proud parents of three distinctly different
yet wonderful children: James Jernigan, Jr. (15), Kori
Alexis (13) and Emmanuel Alonzo (3). Jernigan is also
credited with helping raise her niece, Laquita Harrison,
from ages 11 through 19.
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