Today we’d like to introduce you to Porchia Rawls.
Porchia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m from a small town called Wiggins, Mississippi, and my journey really started there. I was raised by my grandmother, but I was also raised by my community. Growing up in a small town, everybody knows everybody, people look out for one another, and community isn’t just a word it’s something you experience. Having a family with a strong military background also taught me the importance of service, discipline, showing up for others, and understanding that you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
Those experiences shaped me long before I had a career in community development or understood the role that local government plays in people’s everyday lives. I learned early that where you come from matters, and that the people and systems around you can have a tremendous impact on the opportunities you have and the life you’re able to build.
As I got older and began my career in local government and community development, I started connecting those childhood experiences to the work I was doing. I began asking the same kinds of questions I’ve always been curious about: Why does a community have certain resources? Who makes those decisions? Why do some neighborhoods receive investment while others don’t? And most importantly, how does government actually affect the everyday lives of people?
Working in community development allowed me to see those answers firsthand. Government stopped feeling like this distant, complicated thing that happened behind closed doors. I began to see it in neighborhoods, housing, businesses, infrastructure, community programs, and the opportunities available to residents.
When I moved to Birmingham, I brought that small-town perspective with me. I’ve now spent years building a life and career here, and Birmingham has become another community that I care deeply about. At the same time, I was navigating my own life building my career, living downtown, figuring out my 30s, fashion, dating, lifestyle, and what it means to create a life I’m proud of.
That’s really where The Government Girlie came from. I realized I could bring all of those parts of myself together. I could talk about government and civic engagement while also talking about what it’s like to actually live, work, and build a life in Birmingham. I wanted to make civic life feel accessible, modern, and stylish not something that only policy experts or politicians should understand.
What started as a personal passion has grown into a platform where I get to combine my professional experience, my personality, my love for community, and my love for storytelling. At the core of it, though, The Government Girlie is still connected to that little girl from Wiggins who was raised by her grandmother and surrounded by a community that taught her to care about people. I didn’t have a clearly defined roadmap for where my career or life would lead me. Instead, I carried with me the values instilled in me growing up: service, community, resilience, and a commitment to showing up for others. Those foundational principles have guided my journey, shaped my purpose, and continue to influence the work I do today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been moments when I’ve questioned whether I was doing enough, whether I was moving fast enough, or whether I was taking the “right” path. Building a career in government while also developing a personal brand and stepping into the creator space has required me to be comfortable wearing a lot of different hats. It can be challenging to balance my professional life, personal life, and creative ambitions while still making sure I’m showing up authentically.
Creating content and building The Government Girlie meant allowing people to see different sides of me not just the professional woman, but the woman figuring out her 30s, navigating life, relationships, fashion, and everything in between. That vulnerability can be uncomfortable, especially when you’re used to being the person behind the scenes getting things done.
But I’ve learned that the things that once felt like obstacles have often become the things that make me stronger. My upbringing taught me resilience, my family taught me service, and my career has taught me the importance of creating opportunities for others. I’ve stopped looking at my journey as something I need to perfectly figure out and started appreciating that every season is preparing me for the next one.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The Government Girlie is a lifestyle and civic-focused personal brand that sits at the intersection of government, community, culture, and everyday life. Through my platform, I make civic life accessible, modern, and stylish while showing people especially women that being informed about your city can actually be fun. Professionally, I work in Community Development for the City of Birmingham, so I have a firsthand understanding of how local government impacts the communities we live in. That professional experience gives The Government Girlie a perspective that you don’t typically see in the lifestyle creator space. But I’m also more than my job. I’m a Birmingham transplant, a Southern girl from Wiggins, Mississippi, a woman navigating her 30s, and someone who loves fashion, lifestyle, exploring the city, and sharing the real-life experience of building a life you’re proud of. The Government Girlie allows me to bring all of those pieces together. I’m most proud of creating a platform that makes people feel like they can actually understand and participate in their communities. Government can often feel intimidating, overly complicated, or disconnected from everyday life. I want to change that. Whether I’m talking about a city initiative, highlighting a Birmingham business, sharing lifestyle content, or simply showing what it looks like to live and thrive in the city I now call home. My goal is to help people feel more connected to where they live.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is community, service, and creating opportunities for people to build a life they’re proud of. Working in Community Development has shown me how much the decisions we make at the local level can impact someone’s everyday life from where they live and the resources available to them, to whether they feel supported and have a pathway to something better. That work matters to me because I know firsthand how powerful it is when a community invests in you.
That’s also why The Government Girlie means so much to me. I want people to understand that they have a voice in their communities and that government isn’t something happening somewhere far away from them. It affects their homes, neighborhoods, businesses, opportunities, and quality of life.
I also care deeply about showing women that they can be multifaceted. You can be ambitious and stylish. You can care about your career and your community while also caring about dating, fashion, travel, your home, and creating a beautiful life. I want The Government Girlie to reflect that balance.
Ultimately, what matters to me is leaving people and places better than I found them. Whether that’s through my professional work, my content, or simply showing up for the people around me, I want my work to make people feel more informed, more connected, and more empowered to participate in the communities they call home.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @porchiadaniellee
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/porchia-rawls-a43585218/
