She’s known to most simply as “Dr. Jan” –   At 80 years young, she is an inspiring woman with a beautiful smile, a compassionate spirit, and a genuine inspiration to all her know her. She is an international speaker, award winning author, relationship coach, host of Relationship Matters TV and has been a member of PWN for over 4 years. On a more personal note, she has been married to Keith for 12 years and Mom to an adult son, Kevin.

Dr. Jan came from humble beginnings, growing up in Chicago’s in Altgeld Gardens where playing school was always a favorite pastime. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Hooker-Fortman replied, “a teacher of course”.  She realized that childhood dream when she became a Special Education teacher for Chicago Public Schools where she taught for 30 years. After graduating from G.W. Carver High School she attended Chicago State University, National Louis University and Nova Southeastern University reaching another goal of receiving her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration.

After those years of teaching the students, she was asked to “teach the teachers” and she moved to a training role. “That’s how I learned to be a public speaker. I was a little nervous about it, so I joined Toastmasters to hone my skills and be better prepared”, stated Dr. Jan. Her time in Toastmasters led her to achieve the honor of Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). This award represents the highest level of educational achievement that can be gained in Toastmasters. Although holding this high honor, she admits to, “still getting a little nervous before speaking in public.”

When asked where her “fire” comes from and what truly inspires her she replied without hesitation, “My drive to stay active and my passion and purpose to motivate and inspire others.” That passion and purpose is what led her to form her company and what she currently does in JHFortman & Associates, as a Relationship Communication Coach. She has a focus on Mother/Daughter relationships, a focus that was driven from a personal journey with her own Mother. “Being the only girl, I always had a wonderful relationship with my Mother growing up, then something changed and it was just discourse. I thought I was the only one that was going through this until I talked to a girlfriend and found I wasn’t alone.” Deciding to survey women across the country and discovering this was a common problem for a lot of daughters, resulted in Dr. Jan’s first book, “The Secrets To How Not To Throw Momma From The Train” (2016). When people started asking her to come and talk about her book and her concepts (for free), that’s when she discovered that this could be a career and off she went!

Her greatest reward in her career is knowing she has made a difference in someone life. When asked what the worst part is of what she does she replied, “When I can’t help someone resolve their relationship issues and problems, that’s the worst.” Her heart truly lies with people healing their relationships. She added, “when I’m speaking in front of a group, and it feels like I’m just not connecting with them that’s another disappointing moment for me.”

What is her advice to other women entrepreneurs? “Whatever you perceive, you can achieve! NEVER let them tell you to sit down and always, always follow your dream! If you do those things, you will be successful!” When asked how she’d like to be remembered she responded by saying simply, “That I changed someone’s life and that I made a lasting impact.” Well looking at Dr. Jan’s journey to date I think it can be perceived that she has achieved those things.

On a lighter note, I asked her to share something that no one knows about her. She chuckled and said, “you mean that you can print”, then followed up by revealing she is a die-hard Prince and Queen fan. Frankly, she has great taste in entertainment!

This conversation wouldn’t be complete without including Dr. Jan’s most recent acclaim. In May she won the title of Ms. Illinois Senior America 2022. “My girlfriend told me about the pageant and encouraged me to enter. It took me a month to finally decided to do it and I could hardly believe that I Won!” In September, she will compete for the title of Ms. Senior America in Hershey, PA and I’m sure all of our PWN members will be wishing her much success.

Her final words of wisdom to our PWN members – “Follow your dreams. Find and follow your purpose and do it with passion!” All one need do is to look at Dr. Janice Hooker-Fortmans journey as a teacher and mentor, and an example of beauty, elegance, grace, and intelligence to know she lives that mission every day. Thank you, Dr. Jan, for sharing this conversation with us. You can find and follow her at drjanicespeaks.com