In this episode of The Outspoken Podcast, host Shana Cosgrove talks to Jennifer Banwart, U.S. Senate Candidate for North Carolina. Jennifer talks about what it’s like running for Senate and what all compelled her to get into politics. She also touches on her college experience and the bold personal decision she made to build herself a valuable foundation. Additionally, we get to hear about Jennifer’s experience with the NSA, her decision to leave the government, and how she went from living a private life to being up front in the public eye.

QUOTES

• “Intelligence is messy. People have to be comfortable with that if they’re going to thrive in it.” – Jennifer Banwart [46:53]
• “You can see that if you start to do things in a certain way, other people will start to do things a certain way and eventually you’re changing the world. And you have to believe that that is true. It’s possible.” – Jennifer Banwart [67:34]
• “I’ve always tried to be kind, as much as I could. And sometimes my kindness has been mistaken for weakness and I’m not afraid to come out and show it when I need to. But I’ve always tried to come from a place of remembering my manners, respecting other people, being humble and believing that there’s something bigger than me, but be firm. Be pragmatic, but be firm.”– Jennifer Banwart [71:45]

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:04] Intro
• [03:09] Shana and Jennifer
• [06:25] Working for and Leaving the Government
• [08:36] Family Meetings and Listening
• [11:03] Growing Up and Family
• [16:54] Early Interest in Politics
• [18:34] Deciding on College
• [21:25] American University
• [24:17] Nyla Technology Solutions
• [24:50] Energy and Bob Dole’s Campaign
• [27:57] Transferring to Whitman
• [32:04] Work After College
• [35:16] Student Debt
• [35:54] Meeting Recruiters and Deciding
• [37:24] Marriage and Having Children
• [38:17] Interviewing at NSA and CIA
• [39:10] Jennifer’s Career at NSA
• [44:40] National Counterterrorism Center
• [46:59] Jennifer’s Christmas Card
• [48:01] Running for Senate
• [52:13] Moderate Republican
• [54:27] It’s Possible
• [59:40] Overview of Jennifer’s Campaign
• [67:47] Private Life to Public Eye
• [70:48] Wrap Up Questions
• [77:57] Outro

RESOURCES

• U.S. Department of Defense
• Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor
• Laboratory for Analytic Sciences
• NC State University
• Casio
• Family Ties
• Sesame Street
• The Electric Company
• Ronald Reagan
• Joffrey Ballet
• NYU
• American University
• Newt Gingrich
• Bob Dole
• Urban Outfitters
• DC Insider
• Whitman College
• Python
• SQL
• Olive Garden
• CIA
• NSA
• National Counterterrorism Center
• Michael Leiter
• Senator Burr
• Federal Election Commission
• Nelson Mandela
• Tim Ferriss
• Ted Cruz
• Václav Havel

RELEVANT LINKS

• Jennifer Banwart on LinkedIn
• Jennifer Banwart on Twitter
• Jennifer Banwart on Instagram
• Jennifer Banwart on Facebook
• Jen Banwart for U.S. Senate
• Nyla Technology Solutions