Meet Gabriel Burke

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gabriel Burke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gabriel below.

Hi Gabriel, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

My first experience being ‘the only one’ in many rooms was as an Army Veteran. I was the only Black soldier in my National Guard unit. The military brings together people from every conceivable background, and in that environment, you learn very quickly that your effectiveness isn’t based on what you look like, but on your competence, your discipline, and your commitment to the shared mission. It taught me to find common ground in a shared objective and to build respect through skill and reliability. That was my foundation.

As I moved into the professional world, I learned that being the ‘only one’ often means you have a perspective that no one else in the room possesses. My effectiveness comes from learning to be a translator, both figuratively and literally.

On a professional level, I’m “bilingual”—I’m fluent in the language of clinical social work and the language of corporate HR. When I’m in a boardroom, I don’t just talk about feelings; I translate the concept of trauma into the language of profitability, team cohesion, and employee retention.

This isn’t just a metaphor for me; it’s a literal practice. I am also bilingual in English and Portuguese. Learning Portuguese was a personal journey of healing and reshaping my own identity, but it taught me what it’s like to be the one in the room who is different, who has to listen more carefully, and who has to work harder to build a bridge of understanding.

So, when I walk into a room where I am the “only one,” I bring that same mindset. My job is to be the translator and the bridge. Whether that means translating a clinical insight into a business solution or having the unique ability to connect with a Portuguese-speaking team member that leadership has overlooked, my effectiveness comes from my ability to connect across different worlds.

Ultimately, my most powerful tool is my trauma-informed lens. It allows me to look at any room, regardless of its makeup, and see the shared human dynamics at play: the need for psychological safety, the fear of failure, the desire for connection. Instead of focusing on how I am different, I focus on the universal patterns of human behavior. This allows me to connect authentically. I’ve learned to reframe being the ‘only one’ not as a disadvantage, but as an opportunity to be the one person who can offer a truly unique insight that can unlock a problem for everyone.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My company is Jump The Broom LLC.  Jump The Broom LLC is a trauma-informed empowerment studio that provides Psychotherapy, Continuing Education, LISW Supervision, and HR Consulting. Our work fosters healing, equity, and sustainability across both communities and workplaces. We believe that intentional investment in people leads to stronger systems, healthier relationships, and more just outcomes in the pursuit of mental health and business equity. We are licensed to provide therapy services in Ohio, Texas, and Florida.

Jump The Broom LLC is an ode to African American resilience, transformation, and liberation. During the era of American slavery, marriages between enslaved African Americans were not legally recognized. A civil contract required the consent of free persons—something our ancestors were denied. So instead, they created their own ritual of dignity and love: they jumped the broom to honor their union and signify a New Beginning.

That same spirit lives on in everything we do. At Jump The Broom LLC, I apply this legacy to therapy, continuing education, recovery, supervision, consulting, and creative expression. Whether someone seeks healing, professional growth, organizational change, or community transformation—my studio is here to walk with them through the threshold of what’s next. Together, we jump the broom—again and again—not just as a nod to our past, but as a practice of stepping boldly into the future. Let’s collaborate and Jump The Broom together…to New Beginnings!

What’s most exciting right now is that this is the official launch season for Jump The Broom LLC. I recently transitioned to running the studio full-time, and we’re expanding our reach as a multi-state provider, now officially authorized to do business in Ohio and Florida, with Texas soon to follow. We’ve also just launched our Continuing Education division, with a series of live, virtual webinars scheduled for this fall for both HR professionals (SHRM) and social workers (NASW) on topics ranging from Trauma-Informed Leadership to professional resilience, all for continuing education credit for SHRM HR Professionals and Clinicians to maintain their licenses and certifications.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The most impactful skill in my journey has been learning to become ‘figuratively bilingual.’ I realized early on that the clinical world of social work and the corporate world of HR speak completely different languages. My success is built on my ability to be a translator. Being able to walk into a boardroom and reframe a deep clinical concept like ‘trauma’ into the language of business outcomes—like employee retention and profitability—is a superpower. It allows me to bring my social work values of healing and equity into rooms where they are desperately needed but often misunderstood.

My advice is to actively learn the ‘language’ of an adjacent field. If you’re a clinician, take a basic business or marketing course. If you’re in HR, read books on psychology. Step outside your professional silo. True innovation doesn’t happen by digging deeper into what you already know; it happens when you build a bridge between your expertise and someone else’s.

But I’ve found that the external skills are only half the battle. The other, more important piece is the internal mindset you have to cultivate. I also learned that 10% of people will love you no matter what, 10% will hate you no matter what, and the other 80% simply do not care to even think about you. There are people out here who literally hate me because I am Black. I cannot change that. Therefore, I love me, I choose me, I accept myself. I gravitate toward people who see me, value me, and appreciate me. I have chosen my tribe.

When you choose yourself and embrace yourself, you will never lose.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me came in two very different forms. From my mother, who raised me as a single parent, the most impactful gift was her presence and resilience. She provided a consistent foundation of love and stability, no matter how difficult the circumstances. She modeled what it means to show up every single day, to be dependable, and to invest everything you have in someone’s potential. The safety and consistency I now strive to create for my own clients is a direct reflection of the foundation she built for me.

My father’s impact was different. He struggled with alcoholism and narcissism, which I’ve come to understand as illnesses that prevented him from being the parent he could have been. For a long time, his absence was a source of pain.

But through my own journey of healing and my training as a therapist, I learned to reframe that experience. The most impactful thing he did for me was entirely unintentional. He gave me two profound gifts:

First, his struggles fueled my passion for understanding trauma and healing, which is now the foundation of my life’s work.

Second, he provided me with the clearest possible blueprint of how not to conduct myself as a man, a professional, and a member of my community.

I am genuinely grateful for both lessons. My mother taught me what to do, and my father showed me what to avoid. They are both a part of the bedrock of who I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jumpthebroomllc.net/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jtbllc614/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jtbllc614