This interview is with:

Elizabeth “Betsy” Charles DVM: Executive Director of Veterinary Leadership Institute, (VLI) a not- for- profit organization.

Author’s Note: My hope is that when reading these interviews, they give you a brief, fun break from your daily routine and perhaps stimulate you to engage with others in new ways. The eleven questions are typical of how I get to know my clients during our first meeting.

 1. Where are you and what do you notice as you look around the space you are in right now? We are at the Denver Convention Center and it’s pretty big and empty other than a couple of people sitting near us.

2. If you weren’t working what would be your ideal (real or imagined) most peaceful place to be? Anywhere in the mountains. Like a little cabin with a river or steam close by. I like it when its snowy. I live in California and I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and I like the sun. I used to go up to Snowbird, a ski resort in Utah every year for about 12 years with my late husband. We took that whole week, without cellphones, to reflect on the year and the year to come. So, there is a deep spiritual connection to the mountains.

3. How did three people influence you, personally or professionally, throughout your life? Definitely my late husband, Drake, who was by far the most influential person in my life for so many reasons. A steadfast, great conversationalist, super creative, super interested in deeper things of the world. He had ALS and he had deep connection with the Holy. I think he was a genius. Kathy Ruby was also a great influence, teaching me how to reflect and teaching me how to think about deep things. She always looked out for me and encouraged me in my professional development. One of things I struggle with is self-worth and I have that from my Dad. Messages of you won’t amount to anything, that you don’t try, you’ve got to be perfect and you’re not. Both Drake and Kathy helped me find my voice and silence those lies. Kathy did that significantly in my career.

4. Who currently inspires you? Kanita Rogers (SP?), a board member, the Associate Dean at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. She is one of the most positive people I have ever been around. I love her approach to people and positivity and how I feel when I’m around her. She and I are two peas in a pod.

5. What do you consider your greatest attribute? Authenticity. What you see is what you get. I don’t hide. I just don’t have time for that. That is a core value for me. I did it for a lot of years, hiding, and it’s just exhausting. I don’t have the energy to not be who I am.

6. What do you think you might need to work on (one thing)? I feel I have been working on so much this last year. I need to not be working now. I think sometimes I can over process. I tend to fill in what I don’t know with assumptions. I want to just be able to sit with the unknown. I write, I talk and sometimes I think maybe I should watch a stupid movie, maybe a comedy or go to a basketball game.

7. What do you think has been your greatest achievement? Walking through the valley of the shadow of death with my husband and doing it well. He was very well taken care of, loved and supported. I did that all the way through until he took his last breath. It was heart wrenching, awful, and glorious always at the same time. I’ve been a good friend, good sister, I am a good radiologist and good fundraiser for the VLI. None of that even comes close to ushering Drake into the presence of his king, it was an absolute honor. The testament of a life well lived is how you navigate the tension between the terrible and the good. That is life.

8. What do you tend to say most often? My students would say I use the word Awesome. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. I say most often Tell me more.

9. What do you value most in others? Honesty. I bristle if I sense anything fake. I have a strong world view as my faith is important to me. It is not my responsibly to change you. I think there is a lot of fear of the unknown in the Christian community. I want to be connected to other people. I like people and God created all of them.

10. What types of things do you like to read? I read all the time. I love to read personal development and fiction. I listen to books and I love the physical feel of books. I have a huge library.

11. What curious or unusual thing might others be surprised to know about you? I was a competitive speed skater when I was a child. If I wasn’t a veterinarian I wish I was a singer.

© Trudi Howley M.S., SEP, LPCC, CPC is a Somatic Psychotherapist and Certified Professional Coach, specializing in trauma healing. 

This interview is with:

David L. Foley: Executive Director American Association of Equine Practitioners

Author’s Note: My hope is that when reading these interviews, they give you a brief, fun break from your daily routine and perhaps stimulate you to engage with others in new ways. The eleven questions are typical of how I get to know my clients during our first meeting.

1. Where are you and what do you notice as you look around the space you are in right now?
We are at the 65th Annual AAEP convention in Denver, Colorado. It feels a bit like a fishbowl. We are in a small glass booth in a large space with a lot of people walking around. Every time I turn my head I notice people walking around.

2. If you weren’t working what would be your ideal (real or imagined) most peaceful place to be?
The beach. My wife and I love the beach doing nothing more than sitting with an umbrella and chairs and looking at the waves and surf all day. That is relaxing to us. If I want solitude I go to my family farm about an hour outside of Lexington. Just to go out there and walk. I grew up running around out there as a boy. It is a nostalgic and special place for me.

3. How did three people influence you, personally or professionally, throughout your life?
My grandfather had a real spirit of service and was involved in his industry on committees and civic volunteerism. He really served people and was a really strong Christian man. My father had a work ethic that he instilled in me. As a boy I always had jobs and had to work. He could have just given me things but he saw the value in making me earn them. At age 16 he said the good news is I’m going to let you get your driver’s license the bad news is if you want a car you are going to have to pay for it and the insurance. As an adult I reflect back and it was great a great favor he did me and it really shaped me. My mother had a great generous spirit and had compassion for people and animals and she served in a lot of civic organizations that focused on disadvantaged children and people in distress. I have tried to take the good things from all of them and use them in my career.

4. Who currently inspires you?
My wife. People say opposites attract. I’m and introvert and I always tell people if it wasn’t for her we wouldn’t have any fun and if it wasn’t for me we wouldn’t pay our bills on time. So, it’s a great balance. She’s very artsy and I’m very logical and so I admire her and I admire her creativity and spirit. She’s not afraid to try things, she’s a risk-taker and I’m not as much.

5. What do you consider your greatest attribute?
Probably my temperament. I’m pretty even keeled. I’ve been in this job a long time. I have a new President every year with a different personality, a different type of practice, and leadership style. That is a person I spend a lot of time with in a year and I’ve done that for 20 years. I feel I’m pretty flexible and a hard worker. I’m definitely not the smartest person in the room, but I care deeply about what I do, why I do it, and nobody is going to be more committed than I am.

6. What do you think you might need to work on (one thing)?
I think I’m too passive. I have hard time setting some boundaries some time. I need to be more direct sometimes and I thought it was interesting that Betsy Charles DVM said that “Clear is kind”. I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings and I tend to avoid conflict. I want everyone to be happy. Sometimes you need to be clear and direct and that is hard to do.

7. What do you think has been your greatest achievement?
Building a good team at the AAEP office staff. I have surrounded myself with people who are more talented and smarter than I am. That’s the trick. I’m not the smartest person in the building but I can identify talent and foster that. A rising tide raises all boats. I am crazy about my family so I would include that too.

8. What do you tend to say most often?
I’m a processor and not good at thinking on my feet and that’s why answering these questions is unusual for me. I can think of answer in about an hour from now.

9. What do you value most in others? Honesty and directness.

10. What types of things do you like to read?
I like to read a lot of things. Stephen King. Historical fiction. Magazines. Feeds on Twitter. Kentucky sports radio, I am graduate from there so I’m a fan.

11. What curious or unusual thing might others be surprised to know about you?
I’m pretty shy and introverted. I can be extroverted in a work setting but it’s draining for me. Professional contacts may not know that about me that I need a little time to prepare for the different events. At the end of each day at convention, for example, I need some alone time in my room to re-energize for evening activities, as well as some quiet time alone each morning to prepare for the day ahead.

That way David you can practice self-care to keep on giving to others. Thank you. 

© Trudi Howley M.S., SEP, LPCC, CPC is a Somatic Psychotherapist and Certified Professional Coach, specializing in trauma healing.

This interview is with:

Dr. Paul Ransdell: Senior Development Office for The Foundation for the Horse

Author’s Note: My hope is that when reading these interviews, they give you a brief, fun break from your daily routine and perhaps stimulate you to engage with others in new ways. The eleven questions are typical of how I get to know my clients during our first meeting.

1. Where are you today and what do you notice as you look around the space you are in right now?
   We are in the trade show of the 65th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. We are looking at a massive trade show of hundreds of vendors and thousands of participants that support the veterinary profession in the equine industry.

2. If you weren’t working what would be your ideal (real or imagined) most peaceful place to be?
   Surrounded by family, food and fun. That is not unlike what I see here, though there are no blood relations.

3. How did three people influence you, personally or professionally, throughout your life?
   Bill Crouch, former President of Georges Town College was a friend and mentor to me. He introduced me to the profession of fundraising and gave me a sense of purpose and fulfillment in my professional life. A High School teacher named Jim Wright, who gave me a love for music that has stayed with me for all of my adult life, as both a Percussionist and lover of music. Sue Bislisel, my High School journalism and English teacher, who affirmed me in my use of language and creative expression. She helped me to be a better writer.

4. Who currently inspires you?
   Guy Adams, CEO of a large Human Services agency in rural Appalachia. He introduced me to the idea of really high-performance standards and celebrates people when they can reach or exceed the bar.

5. What do you consider your greatest attribute?
   People trust me. People know authenticity and the opposite. For people to be willing to have conversations with me about their assets, values, and hopes beyond this life they have to have a level of trust in me.

6. What do you think you might need to work on?
   I need to work on many things. I’d like to be a better father even though I’m a good one. In these times it becomes increasing challenging. I’m a good and capable public speaker but I’d like to be really good at it. So much of it is our self-talk and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Including the mental games we play to get ourselves to do things beyond what we believe to be our capacity or ability.

7. What do you think has been your greatest achievement?
   Professionally it would be my academic career. I was a really struggling elementary school student, an average middle school student, and a okay high school student, a struggling undergraduate and at some point I became academically very serious. So, I pursued a Master’s degree and did well and got into a selective major research university that took only ten students a year. It was a very rigorous interview process at Vanderbilt University and earned a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration. It is not wholly who I am but I feel good about that academic achievement. As I say that I’m looking around at a whole convention center full of people with Doctorate’s and it’s not in this context it’s not a big deal. I feel like I have earned my stripes.

8. What do you tend to say most often?
   At work fundraising is not primarily about money. It’s about engaging people with a mission they can believe in and move into their most philanthropic or generous selves. In my day to day life I have this philosophy that we get to decide what kind of people we are going to be.

9. What do you value most in others?
   Being kind to one another and being our genuine selves. We are all people going through this life together. We are all human after all.

10. What types of things do you like to read?
    I like to read poetry and I like to read trade journals. I enjoy poets like Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, James Whitcomb, and John Jacob Niles who crosses over with Appalachia folk music.

11. What curious or unusual thing might others be surprised to know about you?
    Most people don’t know that I like poetry and like to play music. I grew up playing in the school concert band and orchestra. I played 70’s pop music in garage bands and church music in mid-adulthood. Music and poetry are therapeutic to me. They are my method of decompressing and processing life events.

© Trudi Howley M.S., SEP, LPCC, CPC is a Somatic Psychotherapist and Certified Professional Coach, specializing in trauma healing. 

This interview is with:

Veterinary Industry Professionals: Hilary Clayton

Author’s Note: My hope is that when reading these interviews, they give you a brief, fun break from your daily routine and perhaps stimulate you to engage with others in new ways. The eleven questions are typical of how I get to know my clients during our first meeting.

1. Where are you and what do you notice as you look around the space you are in right now?
We are inside with artificial lights in an extremely large convention center.

2. If you weren’t working, what would be your ideal (real or imagined) most peaceful place to be?
In the mountains, in the Western U.S., Canada or South America. The Rockies or the Andes.

3. How did three people influence you, personally or professionally, throughout your life?
In vet school Dr. Dean Hendrickson and Gary Baxter were very inspiring, great teachers and most of all very encouraging. They were dynamic people, great horseman and great clinicians. They were dedicated to their profession and made things exciting and fun. They were passionate about life. I worked as Scott Swerdlin’s technician prior to vet school, and now I work for him as a vet at Palm Beach Equine Clinic. He introduced me to other cultures, from Central and South America and Europe here in Wellington and Scott also had an appreciation for this. He had a great sense of humor and appreciated the beauty in life.

4. Who currently inspires you?
Dr. Eric Davis, whom I did some work for economically disadvantaged areas in both the United States and Central and South America. Dr. Jay Merriam of the Equitarian Initiative is inspiring to encourage people to go forward and be helpful in that arena, too, and that is not an easy thing to do. It opens your eyes and makes you more appreciative of everything.

5. What do you consider your greatest attribute?
My ability to empathize with the horse.

6. What do you think you might need to work on?
Self-confidence.

7. What do you think has been your greatest achievement?
I am continually evolving as a person.

8. What do you tend to say most often?
I’m sorry. Also, lovely. It’s definitely a British thing.

9. What do you value most in others?
Awareness. I admire the selflessness and incredible energy of people who are willing to go to disadvantaged areas to help animals.

10. What types of things do you like to read?
I like reading about philosophy and metaphysical teachings.

11. What curious or unusual thing might others be surprised to know about you?
They might be surprised to know the diverse range of people I get along with. I speak Spanish fluently and can get along with people from all walks of life and from different cultures. I was very drawn to Native American cultures even in England as a teenager. I studied anthropology at Edinburgh University, and I’ve always been fascinated by differences.

© Trudi Howley M.S., SEP, LPCC, CPC is a Somatic Psychotherapist and Certified Professional Coach, specializing in trauma healing.