PRISCILLA J. MURPHY
Priscilla J. Murphy is not just a leader in wellness` she is redefining what it means to thrive at the intersection of ambition, emotional intelligence and sustainable success.
Founder and CEO of Nylex Educational & Counselling Services Inc., Ms. Murphy is a dual-licensed therapist and registered nurse whose career spans over two decades of trailblazing work across healthcare, education and executive leadership. She is a champion for women and underrepresented voices, passionately advocating for emotional resilience, mental clarity and holistic leadership as non-negotiable essentials for career progression and competitive edge.
Her transition into mental health counselling in 1999 was more than a career move, it was a revolution. Priscilla challenged outdated models of success that celebrated burnout and instead built a career cantered on empowering leaders to scale with wellness, not without it. From Fortune 500 boardrooms to national wellness forums, her dynamic presentations on mindfulness, workplace civility and her signature “Check-up from the Neck Up” framework have transformed thousands of lives and organisational cultures.
A sought-after strategist and keynote speaker for brands like 3M, QVC, AIDS Delaware and Health Advocate, Priscilla fuses data-driven insight with soul-centred leadership. Her impact extends to national policy through contributions to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and governance leadership on the National Board of Certified Counsellors’ Examination Sensitivity and Bias Review Committee.
As a former National President of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., Priscilla expanded partnerships with institutions like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the American Red Cross, weaving a legacy of service into her leadership journey. Her academic credentials—including dual Master’s degrees in Clinical Counselling and Education and a BSN from Widener University are matched only by her lived wisdom.
Today, Priscilla J. Murphy stands at the forefront of a leadership evolution; one where high-performance women are encouraged to lead with precision, passion and a profound sense of purpose without sacrificing their wellbeing.
If you're ready to lead differently, more powerfully and more sustainably, she's the expert you've been waiting for.
All information and links were correct at the date of original publication on
25 Jun 2025
You’ve championed emotional resilience as a leadership strategy. What inspired you to position wellness as a competitive advantage, not just a personal benefit?
My own journey through healthcare and executive leadership taught me that burnout isn’t a badge of honor—it’s a barrier to impact. It keeps you on a hamster wheel with no end in sight. In my counseling practice and my conversation with women in leadership around the country, I can see how high-performing women were silently struggling, equating exhaustion with excellence. I knew then that emotional resilience couldn’t be optional; it had to be a core leadership strategy. It was imperative as a nurse and therapist to seek a holistic approach to one’s wellness. Wellness fuels clarity, creativity, and sustainable performance—and when leaders model that, it becomes a cultural advantage, not just a personal one.
In a world obsessed with hustle culture, how can professional women integrate “data intelligence” into their leadership journey to achieve more without burning out?
In today’s hustle-driven world, professional women can harness data intelligence as a strategic tool to work smarter—not harder. By leveraging analytics and insights, they can make informed decisions, streamline processes, and identify what truly drives results. Data intelligence empowers women to prioritize high-impact activities, delegate effectively, and set boundaries grounded in evidence, not guilt. When integrated into leadership, it shifts the focus from constant motion to meaningful progress—allowing women to lead with clarity, confidence, and sustainability, rather than exhaustion.
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What role does emotional self-awareness play in driving career progression and executive-level decision-making?
Emotional self-awareness is foundational—because you can’t manage what you don’t recognize. The most effective executives I’ve worked with, across both profit and non-profit sectors, share one powerful trait: the ability to regulate their emotions, decode team dynamics, and remain grounded under pressure. They achieve this through intentional moments of self-reflection.
It’s a quiet strength—the kind that fuels bold decisions, builds trust, and nurtures high-performing cultures. It’s the discipline of being still, allowing your thoughts to rise and settle without judgment. From that stillness comes clarity, resilience, and the presence to lead with purpose.
You talk about the importance of a "Check-up from the Neck Up." Can you share what that reflection process looks like and why it’s critical for modern leadership?
A “Check-up from the Neck Up” is a structured moment of reflection that combines mindfulness, emotional awareness, and strategic foresight. It invites leaders to pause and ask: What am I feeling? Why? How is this showing up in my leadership today?
Too often, leaders focus on diagnosing external challenges without scanning their own internal state. This mental reset is not a luxury, it’s essential. It helps prevent reactive leadership and fosters intentional, values-driven decision-making.
A Check-up from the Neck Up is a commitment to monitoring your mental and emotional well-being. In today’s climate, where our capabilities are constantly questioned and where gender bias still exists—we must stand firm in our self-awareness and strength. We cannot allow anyone to dismiss our leadership simply because we are women. Our clarity, resilience, and sense of purpose must start within.
From your work with Fortune 500 companies to national policy initiatives, what leadership gaps do you see when it comes to balancing success and self-care and how do we close them?
The most glaring gap is the failure to operationalize self-care. Putting you and your mental well-being first. Leaders talk about wellness but don’t embed it into their infrastructure—things like workload audits, psychological safety, and wellness programs. We close the gap by shifting from reactive wellness programming to proactive leadership development that requires emotional intelligence, rest, and resilience as metrics of success.
How has your dual background in healthcare and counselling shaped your unique approach to guiding women leaders today?
Healthcare gave me the science; counseling gave me the soul. Together, they taught me that leadership is a journey of both head and heart. I approach women’s leadership development holistically—where brain chemistry meets boardroom strategy. I teach women to decode burnout like a clinician, respond like a strategist, and lead like a visionary. This integrated approach has allowed me to help women find balance in their personal lives while making a profound, visionary impact in the boardroom.
What’s one powerful, actionable step women can take this year to use emotional data, workplace intelligence and wellness strategies to catapult their leadership success?
Start with a weekly emotional audit. Every Friday, take 5-10 minutes to log your emotional highs and lows, the triggers behind them, and how they impacted your leadership. This small act builds data-driven self-awareness and reveals patterns you can strategically shift. Leadership isn’t just about performance, it’s about precision. And that starts with knowing yourself deeply and leading from that truth.
If you would like to find out more about the work of Priscilla Murphy
visit: https://www.acheckupfromtheneckup.com
or https://www.linkedin.com/in/priscillamurphy/