Community Highlight: Meet Jaclyn Mishal of Pink Pangea & Co-Leader of our Iceland Retreat

This month we are excited to feature Jaclyn Mishal, co-founder of international travel company Pink Pangea and leader of our Fearless Writing Workshop in Akureyri, Iceland.

Q) What is your affiliation with Wanderlust Women?

A) I first met Brockell, Wanderlust Women’s Founder, back in January 2015 in Costa Rica. Brockell was leading a Yoga Retreat and I was leading a Writing Retreat. We were introduced by a mutual friend/colleague and we quickly hit it off. Little did we know at the time that we would later lead retreats together in Costa Rica, Switzerland and Iceland. This summer, we’ll be leading a retreat in Akureyri, Iceland.

Q) Tell me a little about your background in writing. Where did this interest come from? What is your training /education?

A) I always had a love of writing. In college, I took a creative writing course for fun (I thought I was heading to law school at the time) and I was able to let my heart bleed onto the paper. I did well in that class, and found it to be quite fulfilling. I didn’t, however, foresee a career in the field. Years later, I participated in writing courses and retreats in New York City, Martha’s Vineyard, and Assisi, Italy. I dove deep into Landmark Education’s Self Expression & Leadership course, and served as coach there for three years. In 2009, I co-founded Pink Pangea, which at the time was an online travel publication for women who love to travel. My co-founder and I published stories about our travel experiences, and encouraged other women to do so as well. The publication took off, and we continued to share our travels with the world. Over the years we've had millions of readers on our website.

Q) What about traveling? When did you become interested in traveling and what has that journey been like for you? (How many countries have you been to, etc.)

A) Yes, I’ve absolutely loved to travel since as far back as I can remember. Growing up, it was an escape from home, which I desperately wanted. When I was 15 I traveled with 3 friends to London to visit a cousin. We did everything wrong. We toured through the city and we had absolutely no idea where we were or where we were going. It was fabulous. The more I traveled, the more I wanted to travel. I got the bug. I've traveled through the Middle East, Europe, North America, Central America and Southeast Asia -- to about 33 countries, so far.

Q) You are the owner of Pink Pangea, a women’s retreat and writing company. How did Pink Pangea come to be? Do you have an origin story that you can share?

A. In 2009, my friend and colleague Rachel Sales approached me at work and asked if I was interested in starting a travel related business with her. I wasn’t sure if she was serious or joking, but I said yes. It turns out she was super serious. We discussed the idea of writing a series of travel books for women, but after doing quite a bit of research, we realized that a website was a better way to go. We spent endless evenings and weekends in New York City coffee shops building Pink Pangea. We deeply believed that every woman has a story -- or stories -- to tell, and that we all benefit when the stories are shared. At first, it was simply a blog where women would contribute their travel stories. Over time, we started leading writing workshops and retreats for women who love to travel and grow through their experiences.

Q) Why specifically “women’s” retreats, as opposed to all writing retreats?

A) When we founded the business it was clear to us that we were creating a space for women to share their stories. My maternal grandmother survived the Holocaust and could never speak of it. My paternal grandmother was a refugee from Iraq and experienced devastating loss when her husband was killed and she was left alone to raise their three boys. Other women in my family experienced devastating events and kept their experiences to themselves. There is a special power when us women decide to share our stories and bear witness to it all. The good, the bad, the ugly. We can’t change the past, but in sharing and listening, we can help each other to heal, and create the future.

Q) How many retreats have you led and facilitated? What do you love about it?

A) I’ve led 54 international retreats so far. It’s absolutely my favorite part of the job. Each experience is different. During our retreats, women explore what they yearn to write about, share their truths on paper - and with a community of international women. Through writing, participants delve deep into their stories. Participants range in age, hometown and writing backgrounds, but they all have come together for one reason: to find their voice, and express themselves.

Q) What changes do you see in women throughout the week of a writing retreat?

A) I love to see the transformation throughout the week. Sometimes, participants open up right away, other times I see them slowly feel more and more comfortable to do so. To go “there”. The emotional states of each woman is different and evolves throughout the retreat, but at the end there is generally a group experience of feeling a bit high. Proud of the work we’ve done. Proud of ourselves for doing something good for our souls and getting our stories off our chests.


Q) 2020 Was such a challenging year. How did it affect your brand and your journey as an entrepreneur?

A) It was challenging, to say the least. The most difficult part was the beginning of the Pandemic. We had a retreat scheduled in France March 24-29, 2020 and about another 10 retreats in 2020. At the time, registration was at an all time high. We had to make decisions fairly quickly and it took us about the next 4-6 weeks to cancel everything and communicate accordingly with all of our participants and partners. Once the decisions were made, and refunds were given I was able to relax a bit. We lost a lot of money (which was a hard pill to swallow) but once I accepted the situation, I felt much better. We hosted online workshops throughout the year, and continue to do so. Many of our alumnae join the workshops, and we are able to stay connected there. I don’t think our brand was affected, but now that I’ve dealt with another “oh shit” moment of my career, I feel that I can deal with more of what life throws at me and adjust accordingly. It’s the entrepreneurial way after all.


Q) What keeps you motivated to keep going when things in life get tough?

A) I love the quote from Freud "When inspiration doesn’t come to me, I go halfway to meet it." Inspiration or motivation doesn’t always come on it’s own. We often need to book that trip, take that class, hire that coach, sign up for that experience we’ve been wanting to take part in. We’re here to live a life worth living, and I do my best to push myself out of my comfort zone, often.