Today we’d like to introduce you to Jo Booth.
Hi Jo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Let’s see if I can make this brief yet somewhat interesting – I think it’s human nature to assume your story isn’t any more significant than the next person so this should be fun 🙂
I grew up in an Air Force family, which means when someone asks me where I’m from, my response is usually “Nowhere.” We moved every three years or so, the most formidable of mine being spent in Germany. I learned to adapt and blend in while getting a unique worldly vantage point that I naturally did not appreciate until much later in life.
I took the long way around college, going to Auburn University in Alabama and graduating 7 years after starting with a hiatus that can be categorized simply as WTF Am I Doing With My Life. At the moment, I considered this to be a failure of sorts as I watched my friends start their ‘real lives’ but as is the benefit of looking back, I needed the life experience of being lost and buying gas with a Ziplock bag of quarters. #characterbuilding
I moved to Washington, D.C. the day after I graduated, with hopes and dreams and a framed Criminal Justice degree. Because bills, I realized I needed a big girl job and took an entry-level position at a private communications company with a *gasp* salary that I thought meant I had made it, and I was doing big things. The salary was $35k.
To avoid glazed-over eyes, I worked in D.C. for about 5 years until experiencing my first layoff. As soul-crushing as that felt at the time, to be cliche it was a blessing in disguise, and I lucked out getting a job at a small start-up in Encinitas through a random LinkedIn application.
Geography aside, moving across the country changed everything. Waking up excited about my day was something that I had lost, and I now see that as a personal goal. California didn’t just teach me its PCH way of doing business, it taught me who I was and to lean in on myself and rewarded me with a surfing addiction, a Baja mutt, and a circle of inspirational people that have trusted me with their friendships and their passions.
While chasing waves in Nicaragua two years ago, I met the founders of the awesome travel adventure company Room To Roam. Fast forward to today after some saltwater board meetings, and I am so stoked to be working with them as the Director of Sales. For me, there is no hard sell here. I wanted to combine surfing and wellness with broadening my global horizon and to do it with a crew that wasn’t trying to displace the local culture and uniqueness but instead was embracing it and becoming a part of that landscape. There’s never a dull moment with a team of this caliber and genuine dedication to these countries and their customers’ experiences.
Anyone that has lived in San Diego for more than a year can attest to how small the communities you are a part of can be. Through Room to Roam, I was lucky enough to meet Alex Peterson, a military veteran who founded the nonprofit New Bearing. Using his own story as his mission, Alex is dedicating his time to building a community of purpose and positivity for veterans as they rejoin civilian life. Through retreats, community involvement, and harboring a safe space for mental health discussions and support, New Bearing is leading by example. I was truly honored to join their Board this year and urge anyone, veteran or first responder, to reach out or keep us on their radar as we work to grow our footprint in the community.
No two days are the same, and I wouldn’t change a thing, yew 🙂
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not smooth; I think I’m a human pothole sometimes.
I’ve been laid off three times now over the course of my varied professional careers – never a good feeling, and really does take your confidence level for a fun spin. The silver lining is it put into perspective job versus passion, which has paved the way for where I am today, and I know I can pick myself up and start over. Life is way too short to live to work for someone else’s dreams – my time is my worth, and I am careful with where I spend it.
I’m surrounded by people that are living their truths, as hard as that can be, and they motivate me to use every day for something worthwhile and not just cashing a paycheck.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Honestly, I think I’m known for fangirling for my friends following their dreams. Through work and community, I’ve met amazing people that are paving their own destinies so fearlessly that it’s impossible for me not to hype them. Professionally, my background is in customer success, sales, and project management so it’s a natural win-win for me to be a human advertisement for passionate groups like Room To Roam, New Bearing, Kateboards, Changing Tides, Her Waves, Do Good Surf Club, Sunday Farvo, and Girls Who Wanna Surf.
Room To Roam is a breath of fresh air – they’ve given me this amazing opportunity to combine my professional skillset in leadership and sales with a mission I can stand behind. With operations in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Bali, Room To Roam understands its business niche without sacrificing quality or negatively impacting these beautiful areas. Our world keeps getting smaller, and there’s a level of integrity in how RTR operates that speaks deeply to me and to the people that choose to travel with them.
New Bearing also spoke to me on a very real level. Growing up in the military world and having multiple friends that chose that path professionally, I have seen firsthand the effects that it can take on the mental health of a veteran, and it’s no secret that there is still a stigma attached to being honest about addressing those personal struggles. I commend Alex and New Bearing for opening their mission to first responders as well as veterans. There are definitely parallels in the trauma a professional can experience in both of those worlds. I was a volunteer firefighter in college, and back then, the EMTs and career firefighters didn’t have a community to turn to. What New Bearing is doing is so important to people that pledge their lives to others.
I’m proud of the personal challenges I take on to get outside my comfort zone. I didn’t grow up surfing like these groms out here, and any adult learner will probably nod along with me, saying that there is a fun layer of anxiety in trying to learn any new physical activity after 30, let alone an ocean-based one. Skateboarding is another venture I decided to attempt after my 20s, and through both surfing and skating, I have been met with nothing but support and genuine cheerleading. It’s scary to be the worst at something and to put yourself in a social situation where you feel like the odd person out (high school lockers come to mind), but I put on a semi-brave face and decided to send it. If I hadn’t, I know my life would not be where it is today – vulnerability and openness has a way of bringing unexpected possibility into your life.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love that San Diego is a combination of different sub-cultures with their own vibes and community. Mention OB and North Park in the same conversation, and you’re describing two very different areas. From a personal standpoint, I love that San Diego has become a home for me – growing up in the transient military environment, I was wired to get antsy in one place after a certain amount of time. It sounds corny, but San Diego gave me roots and wings, and I love it for this beautiful journey it’s given me.
On the flip side, you can’t mention San Diego to anyone without them mentioning the weather and the cost of living. Yes, we have amazing weather (not so much this winter), but for all of the coastal sun-soaked pictures we post on Instagram, it’s not an easily affordable place to call home. I know this isn’t unique to California, but there seems to be a shift in the sense of struggle for what you could qualify as the ‘average’ San Diegan to try and make a place for themselves or their families here without sacrifice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://room-roam.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roomtoroam.experiences/ & https://www.instagram.com/new_bearing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roomtoroam.experiences
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-booth-89540353/
- Other: https://www.newbearing.org/
Image Credits
Bri Chew
