Author Eleanor Jacobs Bio

Photo by Tony Metaxas

"Eleanor Jacobs is a remarkable woman."
Anne Lamott, author of BIRD BY BIRD

Growing up poor in inner city St. Louis, Eleanor Jacobs had no idea that one day she would be one of San Francisco's most respected female executives and the author of a popular self-help book.

Eleanor's pathway to that eventual success was marked by early childhood tragedy and adversity, though. When Eleanor was a baby, her mother died. Difficult times followed for her cab driver father. Fortunately, Eleanor's
paternal grandmother stepped in to help

raise her and her sister. With homespun wisdom, the seamstress and domestic worker gave the sisters riches that couldn't be tallied on a balance sheet -- a loving home, strong work ethic and a dedication to community that had them baking biscuits for hungry neighbor children.

No one in Eleanor's family had ever attended college, but she set her mind to that goal. She entered the prestigious Jesuit college, St. Louis University, but, like her friends, she married young, had a baby and dropped out of school, working at a minimum wage job at the public library. She recalls vividly one fateful day when, at age twenty-seven, her life changed forever. Unhappy, divorced, with a broken-down car, no money and stuck in a dead-end job, Eleanor had herself a good cry. Then she picked up a self-help book she had bought for a quarter at a garage sale. That book taught her to set goals for herself, and to listen to the inspiration from her own heart.

"No longer did I feel at the mercy of circumstance or fate," she recalls. "I realized I could mold and shape circumstances to my desires. Soon I was back on the campus of that college as a night student."

Trying to stretch her meager salary and "keep body and soul together," Eleanor earned her bachelor's degree in social work and was hired by the Mental Health Center for the State of Missouri. In 1975, she earned her master's in social work.

Eleanor moved to San Francisco in 1976 and accepted a counselor's position with Family Services of San Francisco County. Over the next seven years she specialized in dealing with developmentally disabled adults and children and was promoted to the administrative position responsible for fundraising and management.

Her next three positions were as executive director of San Mateo County's Catholic Social Services, the YWCA of San Francisco, and the city's Westside Community Mental Health Center. She was named "Professional Woman of the Year" in 1989 by the San Francisco Association of Business and Professional Women.

In 1993, Eleanor became coordinator of the San Francisco Mayor's Office for the Homeless. During her two-year tenure, she balanced the intensity of this job — and her personal and family life — by writing a guidebook that combined what she'd learned about positive thinking, practical spirituality and goal setting.

In 1995, Eleanor was offered a dream job. She became the first female president and CEO of the United Way of Santa Clara County, a $23 million nonprofit agency with fifty employees. Two years later, the San Francisco Business Times recognized her as one of the "50 Most Influential Businesswomen in the Bay Area." That same year she was named "Most Influential Woman in the San Francisco Bay Area" by Business Journal.

Eleanor continued to pursue her goal of sharing what she'd learned about realizing one's dreams. She reached that goal when Kodansha America published her TEN PEARLS OF WISDOM - Achieving Your Goals & Capturing Your Dreams (ISBN 1-56836-255-2) in 1998.

"The ten pearls are ten steps I developed over the years to achieve each and every goal, large or small, that I set for myself. They help readers discover within themselves the strength, resiliency and ability to find the happiness, success and well being everyone craves."

Eleanor was on top of the world. Then, in April 1999, she was abruptly fired from her job.

"‘Charity CEO Ousted' the headlines screamed, not only in my local paper but in publications across the country and on Internet sites all over the world. I could almost hear my hard-won achievements gurgle down the drain, taking with them the professional skills, expertise and credibility I had worked hard to build up. I was devastated!" Eleanor recalls. "My family was devastated!

"My inner voice scolded me, ‘Practice what you preach!' That's when I 'rerealized' how using the TEN PEARLS OF WISDOM does work to turn lives around -- mine included! I not only survived getting fired, I found a new job I truly loved."

That job was director of operations for Wu Yee Children's Services, San Francisco's largest nonprofit, child care center-based agency, where a staff of 100 serves six centers across the city. Since then, Eleanor has left the position for more time with her family and to devote more energy to her writing. One of her projects is a spin-off of her highly successful TEN PEARLS OF WISDOM, which was featured in Essence magazine's June 2000 issue.

Warm, charming and encouraging, Eleanor is not only a skilled executive and talented author, she is a gifted public speaker as well. To inquire about booking her for a speaking engagement click here: ejacobs999@aol.com .