Some leaders command attention. Others create trust.
Janelle Hopkins has always done the latter.

When we worked together at Girls Who Code, it wasn’t for long — but it was enough to leave a lasting imprint. Not because of hierarchy or title, but because of how she moved through work: with thoughtfulness, quiet humor, and an ability to steady a room without trying to control it.

Today, Janelle is the Director of Marketing at Girls Who Code, bringing more than a decade of experience across nonprofit leadership, trade publishing, and media organizations whose work has reached tens of millions of people. Her career spans award-winning campaigns, multi-channel strategy, and moments of transition that required both precision and patience.

But this conversation isn’t about résumé highlights.
It’s about voice — how it forms, how it changes, and how leadership matures when ego falls away.

Janelle reflects on a period early in her time at Girls Who Code when responsibility arrived faster than clarity. A senior leader exited unexpectedly, timelines stretched, and the team was left navigating uncertainty longer than anyone anticipated. It was stressful. It was imperfect. And it was formative. In those months, she learned what it meant to hold space for others while still figuring things out herself — a skill no job description ever fully prepares you for.

One of the defining moments she names isn’t a campaign launch or milestone, but an interview. Not because of what was said, but because of what felt different. She describes recognizing authenticity — the difference between rehearsed leadership language and genuine investment in people. The questions mattered. The curiosity mattered. And that distinction stayed with her.

Throughout the episode, Janelle returns to a core belief: leadership isn’t static. It can’t be pulled from a book or applied universally. People need different things — different feedback, different pacing, different kinds of support. The work of a leader is not to flatten those differences, but to respond to them without resentment.

She speaks openly about learning to ask better questions — not “How’s it going?” but “What are you noticing?” — and how that shift changes everything. When people are treated as thinkers rather than outputs, better work follows. Ownership deepens. Trust grows.

When the conversation turns to referrals, Janelle is precise. She distinguishes clearly between passing along information and vouching for someone’s character. She doesn’t overextend her name, and she doesn’t romanticize loyalty. Integrity, she explains, means being honest — even when it’s uncomfortable — and sometimes letting people learn lessons on their own timeline.

She shares a moment many of us recognize: ignoring a warning because staying still felt worse than risking disappointment. The job didn’t work out. But the experience did. Growth doesn’t always come from good decisions — sometimes it comes from necessary ones.

Outside of work, Janelle lights up talking about stories — especially those centered on women reassessing their lives, questioning inherited scripts, and imagining new futures. Books, music, and culture serve as mirrors, not distractions. She’s drawn to work that feels considered in a world increasingly optimized for speed.

And she’s candid about what drains her. The endless relationship discourse. The manufactured outrage. The conversations that go nowhere but keep us busy. She names it plainly: there is so much more worth our attention.

As always, we close with play. The HR phrase game — Offer Extended, We’ll Keep You on File, Regret to Inform — becomes a reflection of her values. Her answers are practical, funny, and grounded in lived experience. She’s not interested in hustle theater or performative professionalism. She’s interested in what’s real.

The episode ends where it began: with mutual gratitude.

Watching the way Janelle shows up, it’s easy to understand why teams feel safer, sharper, and more capable around her. She leads without spectacle. She speaks with intention. She pays attention — and that attention changes rooms.

What stays with me is her steadiness. The kind that doesn’t announce itself, but endures. The kind that allows others to trust their own voice a little more.

Referred is about connection, legacy, and the quiet ways we shape each other over time. Janelle Hopkins reminds us that leadership doesn’t have to be loud to be lasting — and that consistency, care, and clarity are still powerful forces.

I’m Dupé Ajayi, and this is Referred.
Share this with someone whose leadership helped you become who you are.
As always — you are capable of big things.