When it comes to storytelling, Nora Jacques, founder and CEO of Ethos Interactive, carried it with her from childhood. Her mother trusted Nora to the book aisle back when grocery stores were safe, for hours while she shopped.
She got lost in stories from across cultures and paradigms that illuminated her mind. Then, not long after, Jacques began writing the stories – stories that animated toys and figments of her imagination. She wrote skits, pantomimes, poems, plays, and short stories. Her creativity was unleashed at a very young age.
Her leadership abilities rose up under heat. When she saw injustice, she partnered with her high school to launch a Peer Diversity training program. When she wanted to bring more cultured arts into her community, she launched a gospel choir.
Jacques was always able to see a need and develop a community around the solutions she hoped to see.
Nora Jacques is a devoted wife and mother. Her journey towards entrepreneurship began in response to her desire to be more present and available to her young family.
She quickly realized that with a little intention, she could use her writing, marketing and strategy skills as well as her passions and strengths to help other people, while meeting her own community’s needs.
She began to share the message of entrepreneurship and ingenuity in workshops and classes around the District of Columbia, leading a class called “Lifestyle Design”.
In 2016, Nora developed a grassroots approach to storytelling by immersing herself in the culture of the communities she served. She soon began to explore her own biological roots in the District along with the impacts of systemic injustice: abuse, addiction, poverty, and generational brokenness.
Jacques was adopted as an infant, so she went back to her biological mother to ask questions around her birth. She realized that her environment had afforded her many opportunities that others didn’t have.
Nora volunteered at a series of nonprofit organizations in the District that addressed poverty, abuse and injustice. She taught at the Calvary Women’s Services which offered educational workshops to women experiencing homelessness. These classes were the seeds for this storytelling movement.
In 2018, Nora wrote her autobiography, Soul Cry, to share the generational challenges of abuse, addiction, and overcoming poverty she’d inherited by nature. In the book, Jacques digs into her family history, while extracting similarities and challenges that traveled through her bloodline.
Jacques spent nearly 15 years co-leading Jax Media Design Group, a digital marketing consultancy focused on marketing strategy and user experience design. She realized that her specialty was helping brands align their brand identity and story with their customer experience.
However, the call of passion led Jacques to uplift the stories of the organizations and brands who are committed to social change, as well as those who have overcome injustice, stereotypes, and other disadvantages as entrepreneurs.
Nora launched Ethos Interactive in the Summer of 2024 with a vision to uplift and inspire community storytelling and social movements.