GE #6: Jessica Boling on Life Abroad & in Politics, Relationships as Self-Care, and Impermanence

Jessica is a beautiful blend of a hard-working professional who knows when it's time to truly listen to her Person. While she's currently juggling a few potential and independently generated professional paths, she has put in her time in the political sphere over the last decade. She is as down-to-earth as it gets while having a vast set of inspiring life experiences. On top of that, she chooses to bring a radically honest, yet objective sense to our discussion, and what a treat it was to have a talk with her.

In this episode, Jessica shares what it's actually like working in politics, from making split-second decisions to learning to lose gracefully. We also discuss how her childhood influenced her desire to travel, the importance of relationship building, the hows and whys of her decision to embark on a 10-day silent retreat, and so much more.

*Disclaimer* Although Jessica has a political background, this isn't a politically-based episode by any means. We spend some time understanding her work in the space and the internal framework she's built having spent years influencing and impacting certain aspects of the political landscape. And that was born out of my curiosity for her and the naive perceptions I have on the vastness of the political world. 

On Jessica:

Jessica Boling was recently the director of community engagement for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Milwaukee 2020 host committee. In the role, she had an opportunity to bring various Asian communities in Milwaukee together for the Democratic National Convention. Unfortunately, the pandemic cut this experience short but created a new one where Jess became the AAPI Outreach Director for the successful Biden Campaign. In this time, she developed and implemented statewide strategies to reach over 90,000 AAPI voters to help swing Wisconsin Biden's way.  

Jessica has also held other community engagement roles at firms like P3 Development Group, Better Business Bureau, and Silicon Pastures - which is known for its angel investing network. And prior to her work in the United States, Jess taught English in South Korea, learned French in order to live in accord with Cambodian Culture, and as a child, housed foreign exchange students from at least six different countries. 

She has graduated from Seattle University with a Bachelor of Science in International Development before going on to earn her Master’s in Social Work, Community Organizing, and Policy and Administration from Boston College.

Connect with Jessica:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-boling-86a80037/

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