EP 203: Relaunching in the Private and Public Sectors After Two Career Breaks, with Alison Cormack

Alison Cormack serves on the Palo Alto City Council and chairs its Finance Committee. She has relaunched twice - once at Google where she worked for almost five years and then in politics. During a 10-year career break, as a volunteer, she was behind the approval of a $76 million bond measure to rebuild Palo Alto libraries and was the President of the Palo Alto Library Foundation, which raised $4 million in private funding. She took a second career break of 3 years before running for office. Hear how Alison’s work and volunteer experiences in the private and public sectors led to her decision to run for office, helped her run her campaign, and prepared her for her current role. We’ll hear about what she does on the City Council as well as her advice for anyone interested in relaunching in politics. Resources mentioned in the episode: Asking by Jerold Panas (https://www.amazon.com/Asking-59-Minute-Everything-Members-Volunteers/dp/1889102490) Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath (https://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287)