Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennie Sikes.
Hi Jennie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey has unfolded along two paths that eventually became one.
For more than 20 years, I have built a career in talent acquisition, helping people navigate career decisions, professional transitions, and new opportunities. Today, I serve as Director of Recruiting where I lead recruiting strategy within the federal contracting industry.
Alongside my corporate career, I was experiencing a personal and spiritual awakening that began around 2012. I became increasingly drawn to understanding intuition, energy, healing, and the deeper purpose behind life’s transitions. What began as my own search for answers grew into years of study and training in astrology, tarot, Reiki, hypnosis, guided imagery, past-life regression, and other holistic practices.
My experiences with grief and loss also led me to become a certified end-of-life doula. That work helped me recognize that many of life’s most meaningful moments happen in the space between what was and what comes next.
Eventually, these pieces came together through Ascending Dawn Doula, LLC. Today, I support people navigating spiritual awakenings, career changes, grief, personal transformation, and questions of purpose. I also created the Rise & Align Lounge, a community where people can explore spiritual tools, strengthen their intuition, and learn to trust themselves in a grounded and supportive environment.
Looking back, I can see that none of these paths were separate. Recruiting taught me how to recognize potential in others, while my spiritual work taught me how to help people recognize it within themselves. My work today is ultimately about helping people unpack their purpose, reclaim their story, and rise into greater alignment with who they are becoming.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not always been a smooth road, but each challenge has helped shape the work I do today.
One of my greatest struggles has been learning how to honor all the different parts of who I am. For many years, my corporate career and spiritual work felt like two separate worlds. Building the confidence to speak openly about intuition, energy healing, hypnosis, and other holistic practices required me to move beyond the fear of being misunderstood or judged.
I have also had to balance a demanding leadership career, entrepreneurship, family responsibilities, and my own personal growth. Like many women, I became very skilled at supporting everyone around me while sometimes placing my own needs last. Learning to establish boundaries, trust my inner guidance, and allow myself to evolve has been an ongoing process.
Grief and significant life transitions have also played a meaningful role in my journey. While those experiences have been painful, they deepened my compassion and strengthened my calling to support others through uncertainty, loss, and transformation.
Building Ascending Dawn has required patience, courage, and a willingness to grow before I felt completely ready. I have learned that progress is rarely linear, and clarity often comes through taking the next step rather than waiting until the entire path is visible. The challenges have ultimately taught me to trust myself, remain grounded, and recognize that the seasons of uncertainty often prepare us for what comes next.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Ascending Dawn Doula, LLC is a holistic practice dedicated to helping people navigate personal transformation, spiritual exploration, career changes, grief, and other meaningful life transitions.
I specialize in creating grounded, compassionate spaces where people can slow down, reconnect with themselves, and gain greater clarity about where they are and where they are being called next. My services include intuitive readings, birth chart readings, Reiki and energy balancing, chakra work, guided imagery, hypnosis, past-life regression, QHHT, Spiritual Energy Healing, career consulting, and end-of-life support.
What sets Ascending Dawn Doula, LLC apart is the integration of practical experience with intuitive and spiritual guidance. I bring more than 20 years of experience in recruiting, leadership, and career development into my holistic work. This allows me to support the whole person, whether someone is exploring their purpose, considering a career change, moving through grief, developing their intuition, or experiencing a spiritual awakening.
My approach is not about telling people what to believe or positioning myself as the person with all the answers. I help clients explore the tools, recognize their own patterns, and strengthen trust in their inner guidance. The goal is empowerment, not dependency.
I am especially proud of the Rise & Align Lounge, the community I created to make spiritual learning more accessible, approachable, and connected. Members can explore topics such as intuition, astrology, tarot, energy hygiene, chakras, hypnosis, shadow work, and personal development within a supportive community. Through classes, live gatherings, challenges, guest practitioners, and shared conversations, people can learn at their own pace while connecting with others on similar journeys.
At the heart of the Ascending Dawn brand is the belief that transformation does not require us to become someone entirely new. Often, it asks us to remember who we are beneath the expectations, fear, and conditioning we have accumulated along the way.
Everything I offer reflects the same purpose: helping people unpack their purpose, reclaim their story, and rise into alignment.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love most about the broader DC metro area is the balance between energy, opportunity, community, and personal space.
You can wake up one morning, head into DC, discover the newest pizza place, enjoy Chicago-style pizza and a beer, and strike up conversations with the server and other customers. Before you know it, someone hears three words of a ’90s song and the whole group is singing along. Then, you can return home, nestle into your sacred space, and enjoy a calm evening away from the hustle and bustle.
The next day, you can jump into Teams meetings and candidate calls, exchanging ideas and having meaningful, intellectually stimulating conversations, then step away for a lunchtime kickboxing class. By the end of the workday, especially if it happens to be Taco Tuesday, you can make dinner at home or visit a favorite local spot. Either way, you can enjoy a sense of community while still having space that feels entirely your own.
We are also fortunate to be within reach of so much. By Friday, after putting in more than 40 hours of fulfilling work, you can escape to the beach, head toward the mountains, or spend the day on a long hike.
What I like least is that the pace and pressure of the region can sometimes make people feel rushed, guarded, or less than friendly. Not every interaction is pleasant. However, I try to remember that we rarely know what someone else is carrying. I can share the space, offer kindness, say a quiet prayer, or send a little positive energy their way. Sometimes a small moment of grace is enough to lighten someone’s load, including our own.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ascendingdawndoula.com
- Instagram: @ascendingdawndoula
- Facebook: @ascendingdawndoula
- Other: https://linktr.ee/ascendingdawn
