Cole Jackson

Crystal Faulkner

2019 Dance With Your Heart Celebrity

Cole Jackson
Founder, MedMentor of Greater Cincinnati
Charity: MedMentor of Greater Cincinnati
Pro Partner: Desiree' Mainous
Cole Jackson is a Cincinnati native, mentor, and child health advocate who has spent his entire adult life helping local patients thrive in the face of adversity. 

Cole has worked in the James Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for nearly ten years. During his teenage years, he used to tell his mom that he could see himself working at Children’s Hospital one day because he knew his way around the hospital so well. See, at 13 years old, Cole was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. With various medication changes and procedures throughout the next four years, Cole reluctantly gave up his hopes and dreams of playing high school sports. He was forced to sit on the sidelines of life due to the physical and emotional pain he was experiencing. Unfortunately for Cole, there was no patient advocate or mentor to help him thrive in the face of his adversity. 

After a major health scare in 2007, Cole decided it was time to give up his victim mentality. He realized that he could help others with Crohn’s disease, especially youth, by sharing the story of his emotional journey with Crohn’s disease. This would eventually free him from the shame and discontent he had bottled up for nearly seven years. 

Over the past 12 years, Cole has dedicated his entire life to empowering patients to believe anything is possible. His hope is that patients are never defined by their condition but use it to show the world how strong and courageous they are. 

“My life mission is about being the person I wish I had when I was a kid struggling to love myself while helping other patients become the person they wish they had, as well.” So, in 2017, Cole founded MedMentor of Greater Cincinnati. MedMentor is a mentoring program that positively impacts the lives of youth with chronic disease through meaningful, mentoring relationships with adults facing the same medical condition. “This is my gift to humanity; and my hope is that every child who participates in MedMentor is blessed to recognize and serve their gifts to the world.”

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