Interview Video
Watch the Joni D. GoodMan Interview
Guest Information
Joni D. Goodman is a Houston-based leadership catalyst, international speaker, and author of the award-winning book Repel: Breakthrough to a Better You. With more than 25 years of experience in leadership development, training, and coaching, Joni helps people move from fear to freedom and from impostor syndrome to empowerment, especially women navigating career transitions, burnout, and the desire for more authentic connection.
Originally from Indiana, Joni’s path began in biochemistry, but her passion for working with people pulled her from the lab into the world of learning, facilitation, and leadership development. She built her career in the healthcare space, blending science-minded clarity with a coach’s heart for human growth. A recovering perfectionist who understands performance-based worth firsthand, Joni openly shares how vulnerability work and personal development helped her break the cycle of anxiety and “hustling for approval,” and step into a life led by purpose instead of pressure.
Her signature framework was inspired by a bold charity challenge: rappelling 15 stories down a building in the rain, an experience that became the foundation for her five-step method for courageous, values-driven growth: Reflect, Relate, Reason, Recognize, and Rejoice. Through her keynote, workshops, and coaching, Joni teaches others how to regulate their nervous system, build self-trust, strengthen connection, and create breakthroughs again and again.
Joni is also a certified Dare to Lead facilitator, trained by Dr. Brené Brown, and the founder of the Encounter You Luxury Women’s Experience, a powerful year-long, hybrid community designed to support women in STEM leadership through deep growth, sisterhood, and lasting transformation. Known for her grounded presence and encouraging style, Joni’s message is both bold and empowering: never say never, keep breaking through, and remember you are worthy of more than one breakthrough.
Testimonial
Joni GoodMan
In this inspiring interview, Joni D. Goodman—international speaker 🌍, leadership catalyst 💼, and award-winning author of Rappel: Break Through To A Better You 📘—opens up about the hidden struggle behind her success. For years, she lived with performance-based worthiness, constantly striving and achieving, yet feeling disconnected from her true identity.
Her life shifted when she said yes to a charity fundraiser that terrified her—rappelling 15 stories down the side of a hotel 🧗♀️. That single act of courage became the foundation of her book Rappel and a five-step framework for courageous, values-driven growth. Today, Joni empowers women in STEM 🔬, leaders in transition, and professionals facing burnout to move from fear to freedom 🕊️ and from self-doubt to confidence 💪—proving that real breakthrough begins with one brave yes ✨.
Question & Answer
Who is Joni D. Goodman and what is she known for?
Joni D. Goodman is a leadership catalyst, speaker, and author of the award-winning book “Repel: Breakthrough to a Better You.” With 25+ years in leadership development and coaching, she helps people move from fear to freedom and from impostor syndrome to empowerment.
What inspired Joni to create the “Repel” framework?
The framework was inspired by a real-life charity event where Joni repelled 15 stories down a building. That experience became the foundation for her five-step, values-driven growth framework: Reflect, Relate, Reason, Recognize, Rejoice.
How did Joni go from biochemistry to entrepreneurship and leadership development?
Joni earned a degree in biochemistry, but discovered her passion was working with people, especially through training and presentations. She shifted into corporate training and leadership development, then launched her business in 2016 (later rebranding to JDG Advisors) after moving to Houston.
What did Joni learn about worthiness and burnout from her personal journey?
She shared that she became exhausted from hustling for her worth, believing performance would earn love, acceptance, and success. That pressure led to anxiety and feeling like she was “running from her own life,” which pushed her to seek support through therapy and personal development.
What is “Encounter You” and who is it designed for?
Encounter You is Joni’s flagship program for women in STEM leadership, created as a safe, supportive space for growth. It’s a hybrid, year-long cohort experience (with a key in-person retreat in Round Top, Texas) designed to help women own who they are, navigate life’s peaks and valleys, and build community without judgment.
