Episode 70

Falling Into Ditches & Other Leadership Strategies

In this episode, Emily shares her greatest professional bloopers. From the now infamous "welcome to be here" podcast flub to rambling about ditches on the House of Representatives Floor. She reveals how these cringe-worthy moments accidentally became her superpower. Spoiler: The secret to building community isn’t being perfect, it’s being real (even when that means laughing at yourself). A hilarious and heartfelt reminder that our mess is what makes us human.

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About the Podcast

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The Um, Sir Podcast
Where civic education meets sass, and democracy gets a much-needed reality check. One hot take at a time.

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About your host

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Emily Wicks

Emily is a lifelong Washingtonian who somehow turned a career in politics, consulting, and community wrangling into podcast chaos. She’s a former State Representative for Washington’s 38th District, founder of Bossy LLC, and now spends her days herding civic leaders as Executive Director of the Washington Institute for a Democratic Future.

A proud WSU grad (Go Cougs, sorry Dawgs), Emily lives in Everett with her spouse, James “Bubba”, and their black lab, Charlie, who is probably the most well-behaved member of the household. When she’s not behind the mic, you’ll find her binging good TV, catching a Mariners game, or exploring Pacific Northwest trails—and probably turning it all into a story for the pod.