Cha Jones

Cha shares her REAL life stories of overcoming a childhood learning disability, walking through fear, starting over after losing her home, and building a business only to have to begin from absolutely nothing. Her strong faith and positive attitude doesn't allow her to quit. Her stories are laced with many bruises, but one thing for sure, she has never been broken. She continues with the challenge to never give up, but her turning point comes after she relies that her "dream job" isn't answering her heart's desires.

After being downsized, Cha moved to Charlotte, NC, where one day she sat on her couch and simple stated aloud, "I want to travel the world." Within two days she received an email from a recruiter asking her to come teach in South Korea, but with the only reference to Korea being the popular 70's television show MASH, she swiftly stroked the delete button and trashed the only option to seeing the world, so she thought. Stories continue with lessons in of overcoming fear, stepping out of other people's boxes, listening to the voice in your own heart, and being willing to redefine your journey.

In closing, the audience can't help but to be on their feet cheering for the victor that lives inside of them, with tears in their eyes, they are ready to do something different. Cha doesn't just leave people with stories, she inspires change.

Cha Jones is an author, speaker, intercultural practitioner, global traveler, and transformational experience designer whose work explores what happens when women permit themselves to live beyond the lives they were taught to want.

A lifelong traveler and former expatriate, Cha has lived internationally and traveled to more than 40 countries, experiences that have profoundly shaped both her personal philosophy and professional work. Her career has spanned international education, intercultural communication, leadership development, travel, women's programming, events, and community building.

Her interest in the relationship between place and identity began as a graduate student at SIT Graduate Institute, where she conducted research on the experiences of African American women living abroad. Her research examined cultural adaptation, identity, belonging, perceptions, and the ways living in another country can shift how women understand themselves and the world around them.

That academic inquiry eventually became a much larger body of work.

Today, Cha calls this work The Migration of Self: A Framework for How Place Transforms Identity. The concept expands the idea of migration beyond geography. Cha explores the internal migrations that happen when we encounter new cultures, environments, communities, relationships, careers, and possibilities—and begin to question who we have been and who we are becoming.

She is the author of Living Is the Destination, a book about intentional living, reinvention, and refusing to put your life on hold while waiting for the next chapter to begin. She is also the author of Soft Landing, a transformational Black travel romance exploring travel, identity, connection, and the possibility of beginning again.

Cha brings a unique combination of research, lived experience, storytelling, humor, cultural insight, and practical wisdom to the stage. Her talks invite audiences to think differently about the lives they are creating rather than simply motivating them to work harder within lives that may no longer fit.

Her speaking topics include:

The Migration of Self: How Place Transforms Identity
Living Is the Destination: Stop Waiting for Your Life to Begin
The Second Half Is Not a Waiting Room: Reinvention in Midlife
The Power of Leaving: What Changing Your Environment Can Teach You About Yourself
The Geography of Becoming: Place, Identity, and Possibility
The Transformational Traveler: How Travel Can Change the Way We See Ourselves and the World
Writing Yourself Into the Life You Want
Building a Life You Don't Need to Escape From

Whether she's speaking to women navigating a major life transition, students exploring identity and global citizenship, professionals considering what's next, or audiences interested in travel and cultural experiences, Cha creates conversations that are honest, thought-provoking, and deeply human.

At the heart of her work is one question:
Who are you becoming—and what would happen if you permitted yourself to live accordingly?

Cha doesn't believe reinvention requires throwing your entire life away. Sometimes it begins with a new question. A new place. A new perspective. Or simply the courage to admit that the life that once fit no longer does.

Her work is an invitation to stop waiting to arrive—and start living where you are.

YouTube: <a href="https://www.gigsalad.com/external/redirect/aHR0cDovL3d3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbS9AY2hham9uZXM%3D">www.youtube.com/@chajones</a>

Rider Information: Willing to travel nationally and internationally if flying more than 4 hours needs travel first class. Must have ground transportation and hotel accommodations when traveling 60 miles from home. Preferred hotel is Hilton, Hyatt, or Starwood brand.

Cha Jones (Speaker) wants to add value with every opportunity. Whether it's training, speaking, or coaching...

Standard Room / A V Requirements
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1. LCD Projector & Screen
2. Flip Chart with Paper Markers
(For audiences of less than 100)
3. A Wireless Lavalier Mic
4. 1/8 Audio Input Jack (Headphone Jack) so Cha can patch into House System
5. Two bottles of room temperature water
6. Six foot skirted product table in a high traffic area
7. A point of contact from your organization for logistics