We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeanne Rawdin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeanne, what’s the most important think you’ve done for your children?
You can never know as a parent what “sticks” with any particular child given the myriad of life lessons and nuggets of wisdom and advice you might present to them. So I guess time will tell. You do your best and lead by example (most of the time, anyway) and be there for when they reach out to you. I think the most important thing I’ve done as a parent to my three kids is to teach them about giving. That includes the importance of volunteering and why it’s always better to give than receive because it comes back to you tenfold. That’s a tough one to learn when you’re young, but it becomes more and more apparent as you get older. In line with those beliefs, I’ve taught them to be authentic and have integrity. The rest is up to them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a professional writer and editor, I’ve identified certain universal truths along the way about what makes good content. Number one, it’s all about storytelling. Whether you’re getting across a set of facts, explaining how something works, doing a business review, or of course profiling someone, the story is the thread that’s woven throughout to resonate with the reader. Every good story has emotion and vulnerability. It has an impact and a lesson. The key is to talk about universal human traits in a personal way. The challenges? Yep, we can bring up the Me Too Movement but thankfully I survived it. What choice did we have? More broadly, any challenging experience makes you stronger most of the time. I try to dwell on the positive. In these COVID times, the challenges are trying to remain balanced when so much uncertainty hangs in the air over all of us. I do relish the simplicity of these times, however — like a summer breeze blowing through a non-office window, walking my dog at lunchtime and taking long walks with my daughter.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Haha! My choices would be quite limited during this pandemic, wouldn’t they? I would order a charcuterie plate and do a beach picnic on well-spaced-apart beach chairs. Week-long trips are not on the agenda right now. But in a pre-COVID fantasy world, I would take them stand-up paddle boarding, to the meditation gardens in Encinitas, for some authentic Mexican in Pacific Beach, and maybe an outdoor movie if I could find one.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The Go-Giver by Bob Burg is my latest go-to book. It’s shifted my thinking in so many ways about how I approach my work and my life.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.