Lessons in Grace: Jessica Pidgeon ‘89 Finds Her Voice—and the Courage To Share it

Extending grace is a lesson that Jessica Pidgeon ‘89 learned because of Shakespeare and giggles in the middle of a Govs English class—and a teacher who let her be herself. A lot has happened since then, but Pidgeon says that defining moment has helped her navigate life’s ups and, more importantly, downs.

“Mr. Wann was an incredibly forgiving teacher who truly understood that every individual was their own human being and that blanket rules don’t always apply,” Pidgeon says of English teacher Paul Wann P’94, who also currently serves as the Arts Department chair and still teaches theater and English at Govs. “During class, I had a tendency to burst into giggles—sometimes due to nerves—and the fact that he accepted it as part of my personality instead of making it punitive was astounding to me.”

Pidgeon is clearly moved when she shares this story and another from class. “For one assignment, we were supposed to recite Shakespeare in front of classmates, and I started panicking because I was terrified of public speaking. After class, I explained this to Mr. Wann, and he suggested that I recite the poem right then and there, with just the two of us. That was the kind of grace that he offered. He made it okay for me to be afraid.”

Fortunately for Pidgeon, that wasn’t an uncommon experience as a student. In fact, she says, “That one story encapsulates my whole experience with the Govs faculty and staff. High school can be tough, and they were incredible mentors, not just in the academics they taught but also as an emotional support system.”

The latter was particularly important for Pidgeon, who admits that she has struggled with self-confidence and self-love even after graduating from Govs, attending college, and launching a career. “Govs was transformational for me. The perspectives that teachers provided gave me the grace to be able to wrap my head around the challenges of life over the years, and eventually persevere and see things differently. It was the foundation for me being able to find my voice.”

Resilience is something that has informed both her personal and professional journeys. When she returned to the U.S. in 2009 after living abroad to accommodate her former husband’s career, for example, Pidgeon recognized the need to become financially independent in order to leave an unhealthy marriage and support her two sons. 

Soon after, her twin sister Jennifer Walsh ‘89 introduced her to a career opportunity in “the channel” industry, a network of entities—including service and technology providers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers—that work together to help deliver products and services to customers.

Pidgeon started working in the channel in 2013 after moving back stateside and was recruited by Acumatica in January 2020, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning software platform. She is currently the director of partner programs. 

“My role in the channel ecosystem focuses on program management, particularly partner programs,” Pidgeon explains. “Program management includes building and modifying programs, the operations, the communication, the legal aspects, and measuring the success of each program. It’s a lot, but it’s very fulfilling.”

Pidgeon specifically helps create documents outlining the terms and conditions of how Acumatica will engage with resellers to ensure compliance and success. She works closely with the legal team and collaborates with the IT team to design dashboards that provide visibility on partner performance and drive the direction of the business. 

“I regularly measure partner programs using data modeling and data analytics to show whether a partner is doing well, and if they are not, identifying potential causes of failures to recommend changes in their business model that could positively impact outcomes,” Pidgeon says.

Her success has consistently earned her CRN® Women of the Channel Awards—four to be exact—to recognize her expertise, vision, and advocacy within the IT channel. The change in her reaction to winning each consecutive year is proof of her personal growth. 

I had to want to see what others saw in me, and that required changing my inner monologue.

“When I joined Acumatica, I promised myself one thing: Be bold—because fear is not an excuse to hide in the shadows of what you are capable of,” Pidgeon says. “I thought it would be less exciting and ‘old hat’ to win the second, third, and fourth CRN® award; but that has not been the case. I went from feeling shock and awe that this little girl from Ipswich, Massachusetts, was good enough to win anything or be recognized to feeling like I deserved it. I had to want to see what others saw in me, and that required changing my inner monologue.” 

In what seems like a natural progression of her journey, Pidgeon recently used an interview with CRN® to publicly share her personal story of navigating unhealthy relationships.

“This is the face of abuse; emotional scars can run deep, and it makes me even more proud of what I’ve accomplished professionally in spite of it all,” Pidgeon says. “If my story can help tackle the stigma of domestic abuse and help young people identify red flags early to avoid setting up a bad pattern for relationships, I’m ready to do that. I want them to hear the things that nobody talks about.”

It’s a message she aims to share in both the written and spoken word as she works on a book and explores opportunities for keynote speaking—something that would make her former English teacher proud and that ties back to what he taught her as a student at Govs.

“It’s the judgment-free zone that liberates you and lets you be who you are,” Pidgeon says. “To have that kind of freedom and forgiveness to do what you need to do—and to know that there’s always somebody there ready and willing to support you no matter what—is the biggest gift you can receive.”