Today we’d like to introduce you to Juwan Blocker.
Juwan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story really started when I was about 13 years old growing up in Prince George’s County. At that age, I didn’t really see myself as a leader. For a while, I didn’t even know that my voice mattered or believe that I could make a real difference, especially being so young.
Spoken word poetry was really what opened that door for me. Poetry gave me an opportunity to express myself and tell my own story. It taught me very early that if you don’t identify and define your own narrative, society will define it for you. Once I started understanding the power of my voice, I realized that I could use it for more than poetry. I could use it to speak up for myself, advocate for other people and bring attention to issues that mattered to my community.
That same advocacy, speaking up and learning how to use my voice naturally led me into politics at a very young age.
I started getting involved in issues that directly impacted young people. I advocated around lowering the voting age in Hyattsville, fought to preserve programs in our schools and helped advocate for funding for AP exams. Eventually, I became the Student Member of the Prince George’s County Board of Education, where I had the opportunity to represent more than 130,000 students. Then at 20 years old, I took another leap and ran for the Board of Education myself.
From there, I continued working in government, politics and public affairs. While I was attending Bowie State University, I started working in state government and eventually went on to work in legislative affairs, lobbying and public affairs. I had the opportunity to work on issues that impacted people and communities across Maryland, including advocating for millions of dollars in funding to help expand access to meals for children.
But my journey has definitely not been a straight line, and I think that is probably one of the most important parts of my story.
Along the way, I joined the Army National Guard, experienced different career transitions and had moments where I really had to question what success looked like for me. At one point, I went from making more than $80,000 a year to working as a host at Outback Steakhouse. That was a very humbling season of my life, but it was also a season where my faith was being strengthened and I was learning that who I am cannot be defined by a salary or a job title.
Later, I entered the police academy thinking that was going to be the next chapter of my life. I made it 19 weeks into the academy before having to leave after not passing EVOC. That was another moment where the plan I had for myself didn’t work out the way I thought it would.
It forced me to really ask myself, who is Juwan Blocker without the title?
For so much of my life, I had attached pieces of my identity to what I was doing. Politics, public affairs, lobbying, the military and then the police academy. I had to learn that those were all parts of my story, but none of them alone defined who I was or what my purpose was.
That season ultimately helped lead me to where I am today. I am now the co founder of The Blocker Collective alongside my wife, Chakeia, and the co founder and host of The Meet Up Podcast. Through the podcast, speaking and the work we are building, I want to have real conversations about leadership, faith, purpose, mental health, career transitions and what happens when life doesn’t go according to the plan you had for yourself.
When I look back over my life, the common thread has always been using my voice.
At 13, it was spoken word poetry. Then it became advocacy. Advocacy led me into politics and public service. My career gave me opportunities to use my voice to advocate for communities and causes. Now I am using that same voice through podcasting, speaking, leadership and community impact.
So in a lot of ways, I am still doing what I learned to do as that 13 year old kid. I am telling my story, using my voice and hopefully helping other people realize that their voice matters too.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it definitely has not been a smooth road. There have been a lot of moments throughout my journey where things did not go according to the plan I had for myself. I have experienced career transitions, setbacks and moments where I really had to figure out who I was outside of a title.
One of those moments was going through the police academy. I entered believing that was going to be the next chapter of my life, and 19 weeks into the academy, I had to leave after not passing EVOC. At the time, it was difficult because once again I found myself asking, what is next?
But building The Meet Up Podcast has probably challenged me in a completely different way.
We did not start with a large budget, a major media company behind us or any guarantee that the podcast would be successful. We were simply taking what we had, investing in an idea and believing that the conversations we wanted to have could make a difference. When you are building something from the ground up, there is always that question in the back of your mind of whether people are going to watch, whether they are going to connect with it and whether what you are building will actually work.
I was also very nervous about being judged. Coming from politics and public affairs, I had spent years building relationships and a reputation in that space. Now I was stepping into something completely different and allowing people to see a much more personal side of me.
I remember wondering what former colleagues or people who knew me from politics would think. Would they understand why I was doing this? Would they take it seriously? Would they look at me differently because I was talking publicly about failure, faith, mental health, career transitions and moments where I did not have everything figured out?
Eventually, I had to get out of my own head and remind myself of something I learned when I first found my voice through spoken word poetry. If you do not define your own narrative, society will define it for you. I could not allow the fear of how other people might perceive me to stop me from pursuing something I believed I was supposed to do.
That is also why I say **finding your purpose is a contact sport.** You cannot find your purpose sitting on the sidelines. Sometimes you have to get in the game. You have to try things, take risks, fail, get uncomfortable and be willing to go in a direction that other people may not understand.
I am still living that lesson today. We are still building the podcast, growing our audience, developing partnerships and learning as we go. There is no guarantee of where it will ultimately lead, but I have learned to become more comfortable with that.
For me, the struggle has really been learning how to keep moving even when I do not have all the answers. Sometimes faith requires you to move before you can see exactly where the road is going to take you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Today, a lot of my work centers around leadership, purpose, community impact and creating spaces for honest conversations about what people experience personally and professionally.
I am the co founder of The Blocker Collective alongside my wife, Chakeia, and the co founder and host of The Meet Up Podcast. Through The Blocker Collective, we are building a platform that brings together leadership, advocacy, strategy, media and community impact. My work specifically focuses on leadership development, speaking, media, workforce development and helping people think differently about purpose, especially during seasons of transition.
With The Meet Up Podcast, we have conversations around faith, leadership, mental health, career transitions, workforce development, wellness and purpose. I wanted to create the type of platform I wish I had during some of the more uncertain seasons of my own life. A place where people can hear from leaders and everyday people who have experienced success, setbacks, changes in direction and moments where they had to redefine what success looked like for themselves.
I think people have known me for different things throughout different seasons of my life. At one point, I was known as the young person involved in politics and advocacy. Later, I became known for my work in government relations and public affairs. I also currently serve in the DC Army National Guard. Today, I think all of those experiences are coming together and allowing me to be known more broadly as someone who talks about leadership, purpose, accountability and what it really looks like to keep going when life changes.
What sets me apart is that I am not speaking about these things only from a textbook or from things I have read. I have lived through different sides of leadership. I have experienced success at a young age, worked in politics and government, served my community, currently serve in the military, experienced career setbacks, started over and had to figure out who I was when certain titles were no longer attached to my name.
That is why one of the things I say is that **finding your purpose is a contact sport.** I believe you have to get in the game. You have to be willing to try, serve, fail, learn, pivot and sometimes start over. I don’t believe purpose is always one job or one title. Sometimes you discover it through all of the different experiences life takes you through.
What I am most proud of right now is having the courage to build something that is authentic to who I am today. Starting The Meet Up Podcast without a huge budget, without knowing exactly how people would receive it and without any guarantee of success required faith. Seeing people connect with the conversations and hearing that something we discussed helped them think differently about their own life reminds me why we started.
I am also proud of what my wife and I are building together through The Blocker Collective. We both have our own experiences, areas of expertise and passions, but we share a belief that leadership should ultimately be about people and impact.
At the core of everything I do, I want people to walk away understanding that their voice matters, their experiences have value and a setback does not cancel their purpose. For me, that is what this next chapter is really about.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something that may surprise people is that I was not always the confident person who was comfortable speaking in front of people or advocating for others.
When people see my background in politics, public affairs, leadership, military service and now podcasting, they may assume that I have always been confident and knew exactly what I wanted to do. That was not the case.
Growing up, I had my share of challenges. I got into fights, was suspended from school and for a period of time I really did not understand the power of my own voice. I think that is part of the reason spoken word poetry became so important to me. It gave me a way to express myself without feeling like I had to fight to be heard.
Poetry eventually taught me that my words could have an impact. I could use my voice to tell my story, advocate for myself and speak up for other people. That young kid who once did not know if his voice mattered eventually went on to represent more than 130,000 students on the Prince George’s County Board of Education, work in politics and public affairs, and now sit behind a microphone having conversations that I hope can impact someone else’s life.
I think that is also why I care so much about young people finding their voice. Sometimes the kid who is acting out, struggling or still trying to figure themselves out may have leadership inside of them that they have not learned how to channel yet.
I know that because I was that kid.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juwanblocker/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juwan.blocker/posts/28293896133602495/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juwan-blocker-22ab37127
- Youtube: The Meet Up Podcast YouTube https://www.youtube.com › channel
