What follows is a brilliant insight into the minds of Katy & Jessica from Evolve Empowerment Initiative, one of our recent success stories.
Not only did we create a brilliant brand together, but we finally got Katy to watch Parks & Rec. Huge win. Then she wrote this about her new favorite show.
Without further ado…
For more than half of our friendship, Jessica has been bullying me to watch Parks and Rec. Mostly so I’d understand more of her references, but also because she knew I’d love it and identify with Leslie so much.
I put her off for years… until we were introduced to David and Pink Robot Studios. It’s in his bio that his favorite episode was Flu Season and we took that as a sign that this partnership was for us.
And I took that as a sign that I had to finally watch for myself (not to mention that David made it a requirement of our contract).
And all I have to say is, Jessica was right.
I’ve always been the kind of person whose brain runs on overdrive—constantly anticipating problems, spinning up solutions, and generally thinking way outside the box. Some say “visionary,” others just ask if I’m powered by batteries. At the pace I move, most are surprised I don’t have pink fur and a drum strapped to my belly.
So when I took the giant leap to co-found an educational advocacy nonprofit with my equally nonstandard business partner, Jessica, we knew we needed collaborators who saw the magic in our chaos—not just the volume.
That’s how we found Pink Robot and our spiritual twin: Leslie Knope.
To the untrained eye, Leslie looks like a walking hurricane of color-coded chaos. But to us, she’s perfection in motion. Who else could be both exhaustingly driven and secretly disorganized? A tireless advocate for people (unless they’re from Eagleton)? A machine of good intentions, running on waffles and wild ideas that somehow actually work?
Watching Parks and Rec is not just therapy, it’s leadership training wrapped in waffles and glitter. And one of my favorite details? Their hair. Because if you watch closely, each character’s hair tells the truth about who they really are.
- Ron Swanson: Stiff, click-on-able, suspiciously perfect. Just like his ideology. But touch it—and him—and you might find surprising softness.
- Jean-Ralphio: Chaotic, untamable, and likely hazardous to anything nearby. Much like his presence.
- Councilman Jamm: Helmet hair. Because even bullies know to wear protection when April Ludgate’s within throwing distance.
- Chris Traeger: The man spirals, and so does his hair. Post-therapy? Calm, collected. Volumized, but centered.
- Leslie Knope: Always polished, always prepared. Her hair says, “I’ve got this,” even when she’s sprinting toward a nervous breakdown with a binder full of solutions.
Starting Evolve Advocacy has been full of twists, laughs, chaos, and growth—just like Pawnee. And if there’s one promise we can make, it’s that we’ll always show up with Leslie-level passion, but I hope no one judges our character development in conjunction with our hair.
We are forever “messy bun, getting shi*t done” kind of girls. One last thing, please people, BE NICE TO JERRY! Bullying is bad, unless it involves being forced to watch a show that everyone but you knows is like comedic self reflection.
