CareerVolt’s Co-Founders, Jessica Lerch and Sheila Cherry, are researchers/scientists, entrepreneurs, consultants, and writers who have worked extensively with academic and professional researchers to help them implement and maintain robust, funded, and impactful research programs.

Both Jessica and Sheila earned their PhDs from Case Western Reserve University in the mid 2000s and went on to postdoctoral training. Their career paths then diverged–Jessica became an assistant professor with a federally-funded research program, while Sheila started her first company to provide editing and writing support to other researchers.

Yet, with these transitions, they both experienced similar challenges of needing to perform many diverse roles for which their research training left them little preparation, along with a sense of isolation and overwhelm that sometimes made it difficult to unearth their enthusiasm for the work they had loved. They also recognized that many of their colleagues and clients were experiencing the same challenges, in their early careers—and even after they began to attain their career goals.

In 2019, Jessica and Sheila joined forces to launch CareerVolt to help busy academics and research professionals to gain or refine skills and implement strategies that would allow them to accelerate their careers and research programs—by acquiring funding; publishing their work; and managing their time, personnel, and resources—without feeling isolated and overwhelmed. Through CareerVolt, Jessica and Sheila continue to share knowledge, skills, and strategies that have worked for their many clients around the world, as well as for themselves.