Emily Rasowsky runs the Women in Technology Campaign, just opened a brand new boutique DC gym, teaches yoga, and goes running across the city. This is all OUTSIDE of her full time career as a digital customer experience strategist. Safe to say, this Jewish Person of the Week is inspiring everyone around her to seize the day and become go-getters of life. Read on.
Emily: I grew up living in New York and Las Vegas, and had a lot of family on the East Coast. I came here for college, and got a job at a digital agency right out of school and stayed here ever since.
Emily: Vegas has a huge school district and tons of people live there. The strip itself is one large, concentrated part of town, every other place feels like a normal suburb. The major differences are: 1) You get exposed to things way earlier. Our biggest multiplexes were in casinos. The grocery store has a section to gamble. To go to Nordstrom’s, you have to drive by the World’s Largest Sex Shop. 2) Service industry jobs are huge so their career ambitions are different than in DC. It’s a warped world. but can also feel pretty normal. I do prefer the East Cost. It feeds me more. People are very driven here. Everyone has a purpose. People are interesting and doing interesting stuff for the world.
Emily: I really like fitness. I’m a yoga teacher. So some of the best days for me are when I have time to do something active. I’d like to wake up and go for a long run throughout the city and stop by the Georgetown waterfront, and run “The Exorcist” steps.
Then, I’d grab brunch with my friends and go to an art gallery. I used to love going to the National Gallery of Art when I worked near there. If you sit in the Impressionist Painting Exhibit and find a docent and just listen to the docent’s stories, you’ll hear some crazy stories about wild times [of the artists]. It’s hilarious. The paintings are also so inspiring.
At night, I’d go to a nice dinner at Kyirisan in Shaw. It’s so good. It’s French-Asian fusion. They have some of the best pastries of the entire city. It’s such a a hidden gem.
Emily: In high school I hurt my knee running. So, I got into yoga as a form of physical therapy for that. I got a job at a yoga studio in high school, and then while in college at GW I became a certified yoga teacher. I started teaching at college and have been teaching at Yoga District ever since. I find it really stress relieving and therapeutic.
Emily: I do a lot of really random stuff. Right now, I’m helping open up a fitness studio called Pulse. It’s kind of like Soul Cycle with a Versa-climber. You do it to music and you’re climbing at a 70-degree angle. You’re almost crawling at a vertical. It’s the most efficient workout for your body. It’s only a 30-minute workout and you burn the same amount of calories that you do in a 45-minute spin class. (*NOTE: GatherDC readers can get a FREE Pulse class with code EMILY at sign up.*)
Emily striking a pose for Pulse *Use code EMILY for a free class*
Emily: Outside of work (as a digital marketing strategist), I run the Women in Tech Campaign. We identity and connect women in tech and tech adjacent roles across the globe. We provide them with a networking community and do strengths-based assessments to help people optimize themselves. We also work directly with organizations to help them identity people within their teams, and figure out how to to group and pair the right people with the right projects. If you’re only looking at people’s strengths and not their age, race, or gender, you’ll be able to see more impact and build inclusivity.
Emily: Come to one of our quarterly strengths-based workshop, and then just get involved like you would with any other community. There are no strings attached. The goal is to be able to speak to each other in the words of strengths and community. Check it out on our website or on Facebook or Twitter.
Emily: I’m really hyperactive. I have a lot of high-functioning anxiety and I get very energized by people and by community. I’m least happy when I’m just chilling at home and watching Netflix. That’s why yoga is such a blessing. It allows me to turn my brain off and have that space to relax.
Emily: Yom Kippur. It brings my family together in a way that they normally don’t, and is a moment to stop and reflect. Before the New Year, I do a lot of self-exploration and vision-boarding. To me, that’s so important. How beautiful is it that in the Jewish tradition, the most important time of the year is about self-reflection and growth?
Emily: It’s welcoming and fun!
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