Naturopath. Speaker. Author. Crone.

Meet Jennifer Jefferies

I’m Jen. I failed high school English. I’ve since written 16 books.

I flatlined for the first time in the late 1980s, decades before burnout had a name, a hashtag, or a TEDx talk. What broke it open wasn’t a second collapse of my own, it was a reckoning: watching woman after woman in midlife do everything she’d always done, everything that used to work, and get nowhere. Thirty years of naturopathy experience later, I understood what had actually happened to me then, and what’s happening to the women I work with now: it isn’t burnout. It’s identity exhaustion, the bone-deep tired of holding on to a version of yourself the world stopped needing before you noticed.

I’m a realist, not a guru. I swear when it lands better than the polite version. I trust the clinical evidence and energetics in equal measure, because thirty years in this work has taught me the old wisdom and the science usually end up saying the same thing.

This was never a comeback story. It’s a rebuild. More than once.

What I do today

My work lives at the intersection of health, hormones, and nervous system repair – because you can’t change your life if your body’s still in survival mode.

These days, I focus on three main missions:

The Present Day Wise Woman™: my work to bring the wise elder woman back. The West wrote her off as invisible right when she should be running the room, and we’re all paying for it. I’m rebuilding the case for the Crone, not as a symbol but as a position of power, through writing, speaking, and a community of women done waiting for permission.

Beyond Burnout, speaking and storytelling: I speak on stages worldwide, and increasingly the conversation isn’t about stress management. It’s about identity exhaustion, the real driver underneath the burnout, the overwhelm, and the quiet resentment. Science-backed tools, zero fluff, and enough plain talk that a room full of high achievers finally feels like someone’s telling them the truth.

The Rise Strong Method™: my signature 12-week program for high-achieving women 40+. It doesn’t just reset your nervous system, it rebuilds the identity underneath it, using the same clinical tools I use on stage: NeuroFuel, NeuroRest, NeuroLift, and BAM, what you do, not what you affirm.

How I got here

The truth is, my first collapse wasn’t the one people usually hear about. It happened in the late 1980s, long before wellness culture had a language for any of this. I rebuilt through naturopathy, kept building for three plus decades, wrote 16 books, spoke on stages from the World Bank to international health summits, and helped thousands of women get their energy back.

When I was 28, I gave my mother a Cronehood card for her 50th birthday and watched her be horrified. She thought I was calling her an old hag. I’d spent years studying the exact opposite, that getting older was something to celebrate, not survive, and her reaction showed me how deep the damage went. That’s what lit the fire. That was the first time I asked out loud why we treat ageing like a diagnosis.

But the real turning point wasn’t the burnout at all. It was early 2025, the day I decided I was done treating the physical and emotional symptoms of burnout as the whole story, and ready to take a stand for the thing that holds capable women back: the exhausting, invisible work of holding an identity that no longer fits.

The unfiltered bits

Failed high school English. Wrote 16 books anyway.
I’ll say “f*ck the stress” on the same page as my TEDx talk. I’m not precious about which version of me shows up.
Energetics and aromatherapy sit next to thirty years of naturopathic work in my toolkit. I don’t apologise for either.
I co-founded Surf Witches Boardriders in 2019 with 2 other women. We’re 3,000+ strong now. I learned to surf as an adult; this isn’t a childhood sport I’m coasting on.
My wife Alice and I rock and roll and jive, still beginners, learning in our 60’s. Wellness shows up across all elements of life.
Chief Wisdom Officer of this whole operation is Miss Darcy, a cocker spaniel with two moms.

I buy the rainbow

I’ve chased rainbows since I was a kid watching Pollyanna. I still spot them in the surf more often than seems statistically fair. To me a rainbow is the purest form of energy there is: the whole spectrum, showing up at once, refusing to be just one colour.

The day I came out, I promised myself I’d never hide a part of me again. Not the clinical rigour, not the crystals, not the swearing, not the flag. I hold it high and proudly now, because I need the women I work with to know you are safe to be fully seen here, whatever that means for you.

As featured in

Jen’s work and voice have been featured across trusted media platforms and wellness communities, both in Australia and internationally.

What I believe

Stress is not the enemy – staying stuck in the stress loop is.

Ageing is not a decline – it’s a call to rise.

Elderhood isn’t the end – it’s a position of power.

Burnout is a symptom. Identity exhaustion is usually the cause underneath it.

You don’t need another hack. You need the truth about what’s costing you your energy, and the tools to get it back.

We don’t need more hacks. We need more honesty, more rhythm, and more nervous system repair.

Beyond the work

When I’m not coaching or speaking, you’ll find me in nature, surfing, or giving back through philanthropy and mentorship.

I believe in living what I teach: showing up fully, resting deeply, and giving generously. I support initiatives that prioritise education, wellbeing, and women’s empowerment – and I walk the talk through action, not just intention.