Meet Jessica Gottdank

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Gottdank a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

It took me a long time to realize I was a leader.
I’ve always been very organized and I really like the feeling of getting things done. I see any project, any dream, and even issues in the world around me as puzzle pieces that need to be put together. And often, you need a group to make bigger things happen.

But it turns out that I’m also an introvert. Social conversation doesn’t come naturally to me – don’t get me started on eye contact! So leading others wasn’t intuitive or something I sought out.

It kept happening again and again though – in academic groups, music groups, volunteering, with friends, and even in my engineer-turned-project-manager career. Along the way my confidence has grown because people keep looking to me for that leadership, and I’ve learned techniques and social skills to help bring everyone together.

My love for music and in particular a cappella singing is a major part of my life. And because I like making things happen, I lead a few projects in this space. Bringing people together to create and enjoy art, and being a leader to bring my community together gives me so much purpose in this world.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I have two current endeavors I want to share today!

#1
I’m the Executive Producer of the Los Angeles A Cappella Festival, put on by nonprofit Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA). I actually attended my first CASA festival in Boston over a decade ago, and as a singer it completely changed my world. The A Cappella community is relatively small, but everyone is so wonderfully welcoming and talented. There is something special about vocal music both in creating it and enjoying it. The human element, the emotional connection, the camaraderie, and even the vibrations of singing and the meaning of words really elevates the music.

LAAF is half about learning (classes/networking) and half about performing. We bring professional talent from around the US, sometimes the world, to perform and educate, in addition to bringing a couple dozen groups to learn and have opportunities to perform. My all-volunteer production team is just getting together to start planning our 2025 festival, tentatively Feb 14-16, 2025 in El Segundo. I personally invite anyone interested in a cappella music to attend to meet professionals, other groups, and join our a cappella community!

If you want to support a cappella music in southern California, I also invite you to donate to CASA and specify the donation is for LAAF scholarships. We do our best to bring in top talent and put on a professional festival for the best attendee experience, but our budget is balanced by ticket prices that can make it difficult for groups from underserved communities to attend. The A Cappella 4 All scholarship provides more opportunity for groups who may not otherwise be able to afford a weekend ticket.

I hope to help grow CASA so that we can put on even bigger festivals in the US, to maybe someday compare those they have in Europe.

The friendships made in a cappella groups last decades. The group skills … the discipline needed to be in a group… the creativity
and what’s best of all, is a cappella is made with just your voice. No special instruments, no technology, nothing to drag to a performance is really needed for most a cappella.

#2
When I moved back to San Diego in 2015, I looked around and found some a cappella groups within our university system, but hardly any post-college groups that I could join.

So I founded a group of my own. And while it is tricky to start by looking for singers via Craigslist and Facebook, it worked out. So well that we even competed in the annual Harmony Sweepstakes and I took home the prize for Best Arrangement!

But members come and go as life changes (it’s hard to sing together when people move away!), and the pandemic forced us to be on hold for a time, but we’re still together and evolving our music and how we share it with the world.

We recently discovered we are all video game nerds in addition to singers, so we’re working on songs from Zelda and posting them as short, catchy little videos. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube @voxyjams and even TikTok now @voxyjamsofficial

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1) My art is best done in a group, so being a leader was critical in bringing people together to make it happen!
2) A strong musical background is of course key for most music groups… while I can’t play the piano well, I have a strong musical ear and good music theory knowledge in addition to vocal technique.
3) Communication is such a critical skill on any journey. It is the hardest thing to be good at, but improving your communication skills is always worth the effort. And it translates to every aspect of your life.

My advice for anyone wanting to pursue art or a personal project – just start! Most of your progress is controlled by putting in the time, learning, pivoting, and figuring out how to achieve your goals. And being a music industry professional has less to do with your artistic skill and more to do with your business skills. Also see my favorite book below for more tips on how to get yourself in action.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Tiny Habits is an amazing book I recommend for all to read. Whether you are trying to improve your own life or trying to get OTHERS to accomplish a specific task, the framework provided in the book will help you break down barriers and implement positive changes. It gives you more power than you realized you had.

My top tip from the book is to understand that any action happens because:
-you were able to do the action
-you were motivated to do the action
-and a trigger happened to spur the action
Considering these three aspects is key to this behavior model (it isn’t necessarily one or the other). For example, a lot of people think that they just need to be “more motivated” to go to the gym. But what if you just needed it to be easier to go? You could lay out your workout clothes the night before, so that you don’t need to think first thing in the morning. And once you’re wearing the clothes, you might as well go, right?

The other big tip is to start tiny. Instead of working out for 1 hour everyday, make your goal 10 minutes. You can work out for 10 minutes, right? And if you feel like doing more – do more – but if not, you met your goal and kept your habit.

Seriously, read the book. It will change your approach to everything and you’ll be pleased with the results.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

John Hancock Photography

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,