In this episode of the Available Worldwide podcast, we are joined by Lexi Boudreau, an EFM (Eligible Family Member) with a diverse career as a stay at home mom, volunteer and, working with various agencies and businesses. She and her husband joined the Foreign Service later in life and spent 14 and a half years abroad, falling in love with the lifestyle. She reflects on her personal growth since starting this lifestyle and discusses her experiences working in Uganda and Jordan. For Lexi, thriving in this lifestyle requires focusing on the positives and managing challenges without being overwhelmed. There will always be the difficulties of constantly moving but that’s balanced by the the resilience she and her children have developed. Lexi advises incoming EFMs to prioritize their own careers and do what is best for their families.
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Lexy Boudreau is returning to the U.S. after her family’s fifth overseas post. At Embassy Amman she did media and communications in USAID’s Education and Youth Office and took the lead with the Embassy’s interagency DEIA events. Previously, Lexy led the PEPFAR Small Grants office at Embassy Kampala. In addition to being a Girl Scout Leader since 2009, she held a variety of volunteer positions with her four kids’ schools and within the embassy community. During her EFM “career” she fully adopted the FS “it depends” mantra having learned to be flexible and reinvent herself during two evacuations, seven moves, sending three kids to college from overseas and now starting her first unaccompanied tour.
