Origins
Hello
My name is Jen Riley, and I am the Founder and President of The Great Godmothers, Inc.
I am a woman of faith, wife to my wonderful husband Jim, and proud mother of two sons and one daughter-in-law. Life has not always been easy, but with God as my navigator and constant companion, I have walked through seasons of challenge into growth, restoration, and renewed purpose.
Professionally, I am a healthcare executive, business owner, and nonprofit leader. I am the President and Principal Consultant of a healthcare administration and consulting firm, where I partner with medical organizations to strengthen operations, improve financial performance, and lead high-performing teams. While my primary business focus is healthcare consulting, coaching has always been an integrated part of how I lead — developing leaders, mentoring teams, and guiding executives through complex growth seasons.
For the past five years, I have also served as an Executive Leadership Coach — both formally through independent coaching engagements and organically within my executive leadership and people management roles. I have coached high-capacity leaders and emerging professionals to clarify vision, strengthen decision-making, build accountability, and lead with confidence and integrity.
My coaching foundation is grounded in the principles and framework taught by Andrew Neitlich and the Centers for Executive Leadership. This training equips me with structured tools for growth, mindset transformation, and disciplined execution — principles that now deeply inform my work through The Great Godmothers.
This background uniquely prepares me to help women become strong, emotionally healthy Godmothers — and to faithfully serve as a Godmother myself. Coaching is not simply a skill set for me; it is part of how I listen, guide, and walk alongside others.
I also serve on the Board of Directors for my homeowners association in New Hampshire and remain deeply committed to building strong, values-driven communities.
When I am not leading or mentoring, you will find me spending time with my family, skiing, cruising, or swimming at the lake. Most of all, I love helping others see the potential God has placed inside them — and equipping them with the structure and support to grow in faith, confidence, and hope.
The Great Godmothers was born from both my personal journey and God’s calling on my heart: to create a Christ-centered support system where women and children can experience healing, accountability, and transformation. I believe deeply that through Christ, all things are possible — and no story is beyond redemption.
The Origin of The Great Godmothers
The Great Godmothers was born out of simple acts of love and a growing realization that women need more than temporary help — they need lasting relationships.
It began when Jen joined a small group at Connect Church called Women on a Mission, later renamed 💜 Hope Dealers 💜, led by the late Randa Frye and Dre Hopkins (current leader). Their mission was to bring hope, joy, and the Word of God to women living at the Shadows women’s shelter in Ashland, MA.
Once a month, they showed up with snacks, laughter, and a game of Catchphrase to break the ice. They shared testimonies of how God had moved in their own lives and created a space where women felt seen, valued, and welcomed.
Every Sunday, AnnMarie faithfully drove by the Shadows shelter to offer women a ride to church. Many expressed interest but hesitated. Occasionally, one or two would take that step of faith — and when they did, something beautiful happened.
Those women began to flourish.
They found community outside the shelter walls. They built relationships. They experienced worship, belonging, and hope. Week after week, they continued to come to church and stay connected.
But another pattern soon became painfully clear.
When women left the shelter and moved into rooming houses or apartments, they lost the structure and protection the shelter provided. Though they now had housing, they no longer had access to abundant donated food, transportation, or a house mother on site. They had to navigate work, food pantries, and daily survival on their own.
Many entered environments surrounded by others struggling with addiction, trauma, and brokenness. Some were assaulted. Some had their belongings stolen. Most felt isolated and alone.
Without healthy family relationships or examples of love, many women fell back into old cycles — drugs, alcohol, and toxic relationships. While the system helped provide housing and resources, it could not heal deeper wounds: mental health struggles, generational trauma, and the absence of loving guidance.
This realization was deeply personal for Jen.
Years earlier, she herself had walked through a season of homelessness with her young son after leaving her first husband. With her parents’ home under renovation, she and her three-year-old stayed with friends until she eventually returned to a painful situation simply because there was nowhere else to go. When her parents’ home was ready, she stayed with them for three months until she could find an apartment she shared with another single mother.
She was blessed with family and community to lean on — and that made all the difference.
“I can’t imagine going through that season without support,” she reflects. “And I can’t imagine what it feels like for women who don’t have that.”
Over time, God made her calling clear: to help women and children find stability, dignity, and hope — and to show them that healing and transformation are possible through Christ.
She realized that women don’t just need a program.
They need community.
They need guidance.
They need a motherly love they may have never known before — offering both truth and grace.
The name The Great Godmothers was chosen intentionally.
G.R.E.A.T. stands for:
Growing – spiritually and emotionally in Christ
Reflecting – on past experiences with honesty and grace
Equipping – women with life skills, faith, and confidence
Acting – on truth and taking responsibility for their future
Thriving – not just surviving, but living with purpose and hope
Godmothers are not caseworkers or rescuers. They are loving guides and spiritual coaches who model what healthy, Christ-centered relationships look like. Whether older or younger, Godmothers walk beside women on their journey, teaching them that God and the Holy Spirit can strengthen them and lead them toward a better life.
Jen began to imagine a different future:
A world where every woman in crisis has a strong Christian mentor to lean on.
A world where every circumstance can be turned into a gift and an opportunity.
A world where no woman has to walk alone.
The Great Godmothers exists to break generational cycles of brokenness by creating faithful, supportive relationships rooted in Christ. We are not called to rescue — only Jesus can do that. But we are called to love, to walk beside, and to remind women that all things are possible through Christ who gives us strength. (Philippians 4:13)