Jacqui Richard

Phil Richard Insurance + The Next Gen Network + Riveting Broads

Industry

Property & Casualty Insurance; Financial Services; Community Organizing; Media

Tell us about what you do for business.

Phil Richard Insurance

I wear many hats. First and foremost, I work with my family at our independent insurance agency, Phil Richard Insurance. I’m in charge of bringing in new business and bettering the community that is so loyal to us.

The Next Gen Network

I also founded and operate The Next Gen Network. The Next Gen started as a way to bring in business and network with like-minded people and has flourished in to a community of beautiful, like-minded souls who quickly become friends. It’s infectious to be around other community focused / driven / dynamic / ambitious people and I can’t get enough of it!

Riveting Broads

My very talented friend and colleague, Molly Merluzzi and I also co-host Riveting Broads Podcast. Riveting Broads arose from the fact that the important conversations in media and politics — and in everyday life — are too often ABOUT women instead of WITH them. We plan to change that in a judgment-free platform for women to talk vulnerability, autonomy, identity, politics, culture, religion and everything in between.

Everyone’s got a story. Tell us about you.

My background is conventional, but also very unique in some ways, and obviously transient in others. No matter what, the irony of what I’m working on today still eludes me and excites me at the same time.

Got my education in Sustainability at Umass Amherst, through the BDIC program. Escaped to Vermont after college to become a commune dweller and turned into a Colorado adventurer/ski bum for a few years after. Now I’m an insurance agent business woman who is trying to be her authentic self at all times, and evolving into a role I’m very passionate about: community organizer/entrepreneur + advocate.

After being back in MA for (almost 5 years), the stars are slowly aligning; I’m figuring out my calling in life, trying to find a balance in all things, managing passion creep, and enjoying being part of an amazing community of peers working on the same thing.

What motivates you?

My privilege and others’ lack of it; demonstrating authenticity, integrity, equity.. I know I had it easier than others and don’t see why that should be… A healthy, stable society is the only sustainable way forward.

I believe rising tides lift all ships and everyone deserves opportunities to be successful regardless of their socio-economic status in this world. Too many don’t agree with me and my major goal is to change that by demonstrating first hand what a local, sustainable society looks like, and how it benefits everyone (even those who don’t need the help). It’s idealistic and hard to reach, but we’ll be damned if we don’t try. Ignorance will kill us all unless we stand up and do something different.

Food equity + insecurity are critical factors in my opinion. A huge passion is working alongside my fellow board members and volunteers at Newhall Fields Community Farm to address that issue locally (and globally), as well as serving dinner using crops produced by the farm at Haven From Hunger in Peabody, MA.

Gender + Cultural equality + tolerance; Lessons in intersectionality; To learn (and unlearn) about how to honor someone else’s lived experience, how to raise awareness of the beauty of diverse identities and increase tolerance for all walks of life.

Strong local economy + autonomy from multinational conglomerates. There’s power in numbers–corporate greed exists because it can and we let it. If we all support each other and local business, we’re a stronger society, our pockets are deeper, tax burdens are less, and influence/power by these massive corporations are weakened (as ours grows).

Environmentalism, because we need somewhere to live, air to breathe, and food to eat… Consume less, and live more. Advocate of the tiny house movement and aspiring tiny home owner 🙂

Why are you joining The Next Gen Network?:

I want to be around people who ‘get it.’ We’re in a time where we’re re-learning the stories told to us by society and it’s refreshing to be around people who understand the larger issues at play or want to learn. I love the energy of our group, the people we attract, the ideas we come up with, and the long term partnerships we’re building as we all double down on working hard at bettering ourselves, our lives, and society.