Despite being once in the thick valley of alcoholism, Jessica Williams has reached many incredible peeks throughout her life. But even so, she is still on the journey to becoming the person she was always meant to be.

In this conversation, Jessica and I explore the detrimental impact of bullying, including her sad yearning for death as a child; the role popularity and ensuing “power” played in Jessica’s high school metamorphosis into a bully herself; and the lack of escapism and emotional safety children today have to deal with as a result of our “always on and with you” digital world.

Next, we dive into the thick of Jessica’s alcoholism, including the extremely dangerous alcoholic-incentivized reward system she put in place in college in exchange for a 4.0 GPA; the role promotions and other outward successes played in fueling her discrete “functioning alcoholic” status for years; her journey to sobriety in Jan. 2020, including the multiple rock bottoms she had to hit along the way; and discuss the very sad struggle she and many others face regarding disclosing at the risk of backlash.

Then, we talk about Jessica’s tough experiences as a female of color in the workplace; discuss her social impact work through Hidden Gem Career Coaching, a company on the mission to help women of color find upward mobility in their careers; and discuss the immense value of belonging, and tangible steps privileged leaders and organizations can take today to create a true sense of belonging in the workplace.

Disclaimer: Not Your Average GOAT is produced and edited by Teisha Gillespie with music by Anton Vlasov and Serge Quadrado. All content is copyrighted and should not be reproduced, recreated or reused without explicit permission. Please visit NotYourAverageGOAT.org/Contact for questions.