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High Impact Philanthropy: Charly Weldon Of Family Houston On How To Leave A Lasting Legacy With A…
High Impact Philanthropy: Charly Weldon Of Family Houston On How To Leave A Lasting Legacy With A Successful & Effective Nonprofit Organization
An Interview with Karen Mangia
An engaged and supportive governing board. By ensuring that the board is passionate and continuously looking at the governance piece of the nonprofit such as policies and procedures, funding and budget. Having a supportive group that has the nonprofit’s best interests in mind is very important and the board plays a huge role in the overall success of the organization.
For someone who wants to set aside money to establish a Philanthropic Foundation or Fund, what does it take to make sure your resources are being impactful and truly effective? In this interview series, called “How To Create Philanthropy That Leaves a Lasting Legacy” we are visiting with founders of Philanthropic Foundations, Charitable Organizations, and Non Profit Organizations, to talk about the steps they took to create sustainable success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Charly Weldon.
In 2016, Charly Weldon joined the Family Houston team as the President & CEO with over 20 years of nonprofit leadership. Previously, she served at The Beacon Homeless Shelter, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Charly received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management from the University of Houston and her Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M Commerce.
Thank you for making time to visit with us about a ‘top of mind’ topic. Our readers would like to get to know you a bit better. Can you please tell us about one or two life experiences that most shaped who you are today?
I grew up with a resource that gave me a good start in life: devoted parents who looked out for me and who did everything they could to prepare me for a stable future. My father especially sought to instill a strong work ethic in my brothers and me. I got a job as soon as I turned 16 and on the day that I received my first paycheck, my dad, who was a CPA, took me straight to his bank to open an account in my own name. He taught me about debt, credit, and interest rates, equipping me to make savvy financial decisions at a young age. I know that not everyone has someone to teach them life skills like these, and I’ve always recognized how fortunate I was to have a father who did. Whether you are sixteen or forty-six, financial literacy offers people the power to build a stable future. At Family Houston, we believe that financial literacy is so essential to building a thriving life, that it’s one of our core services. Our Financial Literacy classes and our Financial Coaching services offer people the knowledge needed to eliminate debt, save money, and even build wealth through homeownership.
The other experience that shaped me deeply is the professional mentoring I received from my boss when I worked for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He was an advocate for my work, for female leadership, and for me personally as well. Not only was he a supportive manager, but he lifted me up every chance he got and made sure that I received recognition for the work I did. His example has helped me realize that human capital is any organization’s greatest asset. I know what it’s like to work for a boss who inspires the best in people; who truly cares about the people they manage, and that’s the kind of leader I strive to be.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? We would love to hear a few stories or examples.
Three characteristics that I believe are instrumental to successful leadership are humility, approachability, and servant leadership. For me, humility means understanding that everyone is working hard, and not everyone is going to get things right the first time — myself included! It’s possible to have high standards of excellence and also to understand that making mistakes is part of learning, growing, and moving an organization forward as we try new things. I don’t want my team to be terrified of their mistakes; I hope to cultivate a culture where we learn just as much when things don’t go the way we had planned as when they do.
Being approachable is essential to cultivating a strong and connected Leadership Team. I know my team personally; I know their stories and who they are as people outside of work. It is possible to maintain professional boundaries and at the same time, appreciate the unique backgrounds and identities on my team. I believe that employees who feel known and part of a larger community (not just like a cog in a big machine) are going to be happier, going to make the organization stronger, and are going to stay in their positions longer.
Finally, servant leadership is what integrity looks like in action. I would never ask anyone on my team to do something I wouldn’t do myself. We’re a smaller organization, and there are times when we roll up our sleeves and all get the job done together. Leading by example was particularly important during the Covid 19 pandemic. As a leader, I knew that I needed to display the same flexibility and creativity that I wanted from my team. It was essential to model self-care; showing vulnerability and recognizing our own humanity in the midst of that crisis. In addition to serving our clients, I wanted to create a space where we could offer support to one another, and so we began gathering virtually on Friday afternoons to discuss topics that mattered most to us; mental health was always a topic of conversation.
What’s the most interesting discovery you’ve made since you started leading your organization?
We are currently in the process of moving out of our office and will be sharing a space with another nonprofit. We are boxing up over 40 years of history, but a few boxes in particular have caught my attention. There are a few boxes with meeting minutes from the 1950s and 1960s that I can’t wait to go through during some downtime. I also found our proclamation from 1904 that reminded me of why Family Houston was founded and who we are as an organization. Finding that history is inspiring and invigorating!
Can you please tell our readers more about how you or your organization intends to make a significant social impact?
Family Houston is dedicated to creating a stronger community for tomorrow by helping individuals and families meet the challenges they face today. Through three core competencies– basic needs, financial stability and mental health– Family Houston works to stabilize, equip and empower Houstonians regardless of their ability to pay. We are intentional about our mission and work to make communities accepting and welcoming places for all to live and thrive. Family Houston responds to the community’s needs by identifying gaps in support and stepping in with care and resources.
What makes you feel passionate about this cause more than any other?
During my senior year of high school, I lost my mother to cancer. Later that year, my father suffered a debilitating stroke, and at the age of seventeen, I became his caregiver along with my brothers. It was my aunt who soon noticed that I was struggling. I was withdrawing and depression was beginning to set in. She approached me and offered to help me find mental health support. Not long after, I began therapy. This was in the mid-80s; counseling was not openly talked about and not as accessible as it is today. I was fortunate to have a family member with the insight to get me the help I needed to process the devastating events of that year. Her advocacy for mental health and the counseling I received made me the incredibly strong person that I am today. Now, it is my turn to be an advocate for people who are hurting. One crisis or life event doesn’t have to keep anyone from being successful. Life is hard — sometimes we need support and I love getting to pay forward the care that I received when I needed it.
Without naming names, could you share a story about an individual who benefitted from your initiatives?
At the beginning of the pandemic, many people lost their jobs and one client, in particular, has a great story. He is around 50 years old and came in for counseling because he needed help getting back on his feet after being laid off from his job. He wanted to start processing what happened to him and start applying for jobs. He realizes that memories from the last job were holding him back. Family Houston’s counselors helped stabilize the crisis and through therapy, the client was able to process the event. Before therapy, the client would usually bike to keep his mind off of what happened and help cope with it. He also began suffering from panic attacks and would avoid applying to jobs. Now, he has been practicing meditations and other coping mechanisms to help relieve his anxiety. He has noticed a significant difference in his mental health, including a decrease in panic attacks and less time ruminating about being laid off. After employment coaching, the client has started applying to jobs in the last few weeks and began reading the self-help articles he used to avoid. Today, he continues to improve and prepare for job interviews– finally facing his fears of failure. Stress is relative. What one person can handle, can be triggering for another. It’s important to recognize that losing a job can be a life-altering experience. He was brave to ask for help and he was emotionally aware to address the crisis from a mental health perspective. It’s stories like this that showcase how our services are impacting lives and communities.
We all want to help and to live a life of purpose. What are three actions anyone could take to help address the root cause of the problem you’re trying to solve?
The first thing is to expand your awareness through a lens of empathy and understanding. Not everyone wears their pain outwardly, but if we practice offering others the same benefit of the doubt that we give ourselves, we will avoid making assumptions. I try to create a habit of imagining people as complex and complicated creatures — even though it’s much easier to think that the person who just cut us off in traffic is a one-dimensional villain — it’s almost never true! That’s just one way that I cultivate empathy every day. The next thing you can do is become an advocate. Being an advocate for an issue like mental health can continue to chip away at the stigma surrounding the issue. Next, find out what work is already being done in your community. What organization has been tackling the issue for years already? Volunteer there; you’ll often find that getting involved in a hands-on way will give you new insight into the problem.
Based on your experience, what are the “5 Things You Need To Create A Successful & Effective Nonprofit That Leaves A Lasting Legacy?” Please share a story or example for each.
Address a need that isn’t already being met. Family Houston started in 1904 when there wasn’t a lot of organized support in the community. For over 118 years we have had to consistently hit pause and reconsider what we are doing to see if there is still a need for our services in the community and we are constantly pivoting to make sure we are answering the needs of Houstonians. We are addressing and defining the services we provide by reevaluating
A diversified stream of funds. Having a diversified income to support the work you do is important. The state of the economy is ever-changing and having a consistent funding stream is needed to support nonprofit programs. By diversifying you can make sure that you will have financial support even when something happens to other revenue streams or changes. By using both foundation grants and individual giving, you can ensure you will have a couple of avenues for funding.
An engaged and supportive governing board. By ensuring that the board is passionate and continuously looking at the governance piece of the nonprofit such as policies and procedures, funding and budget. Having a supportive group that has the nonprofit’s best interests in mind is very important and the board plays a huge role in the overall success of the organization.
Great people. An organization’s biggest asset is its people. Recognizing the strength of the team is important and investing in them by making sure they have the training necessary and listening to their needs helps build an organization of teamwork. After starting my position at Family Houston, I wanted to get true feedback from each employee, so we were fortunate enough to have a consulting firm offer pro bono services to analyze the organization’s benefits and employees’ wants. Getting honest opinions about the paid time off, work-life balance and benefits helped me see what it would take to make Family Houston a long-term commitment for them. I gained great insight from this and created a few internal initiatives to further engage our team and tailor teambuilding.
Listen to those you serve. Having a direct relationship and line of communication with the people you are serving is important to make sure you are meeting their needs. We have implemented a quality council that meets regularly to ensure the team is meeting those standards and the clients are receiving the services in a way they appreciate. We are in this line of work to provide services to our clients and they are at the heart of everything we do.
How has the pandemic changed your definition of success?
Before the pandemic, there were a lot of things we wanted to accomplish and we did not get the opportunity to accomplish them. We looked at things differently back then. Now, success is a lot more self-supportive. We recognize that we come together on a regular basis and we can be successful in a virtual setting as well. We’ve learned to redefine and calibrate the meaning of success in a new atmosphere and context. Getting through the pandemic together in a world of constant change was a challenge, but we went through it together and came out stronger on the other side. That is a success in and of itself.
How do you get inspired after an inevitable setback?
I’ve heard it said, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” and I have never seen that truer than in moments of discouragement. It’s the team that you bring along who can inspire you to keep trying when the obstacles are huge, and the outcomes are small. My leadership team is by far the best I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. They are dedicated, gracious, and in tune with one another. Recognizing when someone needs encouragement or support may not be the first quality we think of in a great teammate, but it’s actually invaluable. Surround yourself with people who inspire you — with their work ethic, their resilience or their dedication, and you’ll go so much further than you could have imagined.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world who you would like to talk to, to share the idea behind your non-profit? He, she, or they might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would love to meet the families that founded Family Houston and talk to them about the impact they have had over the past 118 years. I would want to ask them if they thought they would still be making an impact on the community after all these years. I would also thank them for the great organization they started and share how they have changed lives and the Houston community as a result.
You’re doing important work. How can our readers follow your progress online?
If you are interested in supporting the work we do, please visit familyhouston.org
and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you for a meaningful conversation. We wish you continued success with your mission.
About The Interviewer: Karen Mangia is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world, sharing her thought leadership with over 10,000 organizations during the course of her career. As Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, she helps individuals and organizations define, design and deliver the future. Discover her proven strategies to access your own success in her fourth book Success A Success From Anywhere and by connecting with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
High Impact Philanthropy: Charly Weldon Of Family Houston On How To Leave A Lasting Legacy With A… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Social Impact Tech: Michael Oleksiw of Pleio On How Their Technology Will Make An Important…
Social Impact Tech: Michael Oleksiw of Pleio On How Their Technology Will Make An Important Positive Impact
At Pleio, our technology focuses on providing a more human experience through technology support. Every day. To do that, it all comes down to not removing the human from the digital equation or the human from the tech equation. And while this seems like common sense, this is where we get the chance to put the stake in the ground to say that a truly impactful digital experience doesn’t remove the human component, it is informed by it.
In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Oleksiw.
Michael Okesiw is the CEO of Pleio, and is a data-driven, dedicated advocate for Pleio’s innovative programs, which provide patient-centered support for adherence to medications. Under Michael’s leadership over the past 10 years, Pleio’s GoodStart® Program has supported more than one million patients through human connection, digital support, and seamless integration with retail community pharmacies.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
I grew up in Montreal, Canada, in a family with deep Ukrainian roots. Origins were important to my family, and they instilled the value of where we came from by continuing the traditions of food, language, and culture — all with an overlay of humility and a strong work ethic. Childhood for me meant playing, but also provided a structure of sports, recreational activities, and education, which were also supported without question.
As kids, we were basically outdoors from dawn to dusk. You need to understand this was before the era of the Xbox, so the appeal to be outside and active was not diluted by indoor tech. Anyway, I’m glad it wasn’t. I was either on the baseball diamond, in the pool, on the rink, or up a mountain … anywhere competition could be found. Late nights often morphed into early mornings, whether hacking on a C64, cramming for an exam, exploring the corners of Montreal, or simply hanging out with friends. Never a dull moment! I was in perpetual motion, expelling physical and mental energy. Childhood and young adulthood for me was a good time, a happy time.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Being in a constant state of motion continued for me from childhood into adulthood, leading naturally into travel, which is something I’ve always enjoyed. Perhaps the most interesting story since I began my career was the result of travel to China, where I was engaged in a technology project. At the time, we were working on a large software project. Some data within the database became corrupted and, unfortunately, an immeasurable amount of data became unusable. We needed to solve the problem quickly or our customer’s operations would be greatly impacted, which, in turn, meant that we’d be out of the project.
So we quickly assembled the best technical minds in our company, along with leading consultants to try to figure out how we could solve the problem. We had senior people in the room who were baffled! Everyone was trying to figure out an approach via coding when the most junior person in the room stood up and suggested we manually re-enter the data. Impossible! What makes this interesting is that it was a solution that never would have been plausible in North America and, therefore, wouldn’t have been considered an option. However, in China, this problem could be solved in a timely manner by allocating a multitude of people to work on the problem. What appeared to be a purely technological problem was suddenly solvable without technology. I learned that the boundaries of “out-of-the-box” thinking may vary by situation but still often value to be considered.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Yes, Dr. Charlie Fong. Early in my career, armed with a shiny degree and garage entrepreneurial experience, I was searching for my professional self. I was working as a Quality Assurance Analyst, developing validation packages for clinical trials software. When the company named a new leader, I thought I might lose the traction I had gained. Quite the contrary. He took me under his tutelage and gave me the one shot I wanted. I became the youngest director in the company, dunked in cold water, tasked with the worldwide commercialization of an internal software product.
Fast forward after life lessons learned during which I understood what I needed to do to mature professionally. I believe that every career has a confidence-inspiring nudge that changes everything. Dr. Fong was that nudge for me. Didn’t mean that I didn’t have to work just as hard; it was more about recognizing an opportunity and bringing your best self to the experience.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” –attributed to Oscar Wilde
This quote is relevant to me because, as I grew professionally, I focused less on what others thought or expected of me. I became my true self and I advanced in every plane of my life. It’s about confidence. Artists often struggle with the concept of being judged. We all do. But the fact is that the world is a beautifully complex place that thrives on diversity. Diversity demands that we all be authentic and unique. We all have something to contribute and we need to have confidence in our own personal contribution.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
1) Simplicity
Simpler is better. To me, simplicity means a smart approach to “tasks” and a no-nonsense approach to problem solving. I used to burn the midnight oil trying to empty my inbox and clear my task list. The sheer anxiety of chasing such a goal was circular in nature. I’ve learned to simplify my approach by focusing on the “Top 3” most important things at any point in time. In doing so, I’ve seen dozens of tasks hit the floor — at times, with no impact — while savoring the wins that came from delivering well on what counted most. Much of my career was spent developing complex software solutions for business needs. In my current role, I’ve learned that the simplest solutions that we can understand are the right ones.
2) Resilience
Challenges in both business and life mean that, at one point or another in any endeavor, we are faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, and failure appears imminent. My wife Josiane has inspired me with and has instilled resilience. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in her 30s, numbers were not on her side. It is with relentless hope and resilience that she pushed through rounds of surgeries and chemotherapy and is cancer free 15+ years later. She taught me that with hope, nothing is impossible. This mindset carries me through bold pursuits in my professional career with confidence and persistence.
3) Authenticity
There is no need to fake it to make it. Early in my career, I had idols. People who I wanted to be. Over time, I collected too many of these people, quickly realizing I can’t be everyone at once. I learned that there was no one person; each person I crossed in my professional career taught me something. It is this collection of learnings that continue to define me as a unique person. From these learnings, I strive to be myself. Perfectly imperfect, but unique.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
The planet and its living things are extending their hospitality to us. We are simply visitors; visitors to planet Earth alongside many other living beings. I would advise the next generation to greet the hospitality of planet Earth with the respect it deserves. That means we have the responsibility to act ethically. As we enjoy the benefits of society, it is our responsibility to contribute to society. No matter what you touch, leave it in better condition that you found it. Pay it forward every day.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Anthony Bourdain, wherever he may be. His mastery of using words and images to communicate the flavors of culture, politics and climate through food and drink were awe-inspiring. I appreciated Anthony Bourdain as a master raconteur who always made it easy for me to escape whatever needed escaping while learning something new about cultures around the globe. Most importantly, I love nothing more than good conversation about everything and nothing with good people, good food. and drink. Elon Musk would be a good alternate. Is he ok with being second to Bourdain? He’s cool, so I think so.
What problems are you aiming to solve?
My company, Pleio, serves people on their healthcare journey by ensuring that they are heard, seen, and considered. Healthcare is inherently human, which dictates a strong social responsibility in everything we do. The way I look at it, the problem and the solution are almost the same: healthcare companies still label “patients” while also finally embracing the means to be closer to patients so that they can better serve them. The truth is that we are not patients, we are humans first and last. We do not enter a transactional relationship with a drug that is supposed to help us, it is an emotional relationship. Being a patient is only a temporary phase in the journey of being a human. We believe that we need to remember that patients are people first and foremost. We need to connect and communicate on a human level.
Digital health technology and the ability to use data is entering its Golden Age. But seeing tech as the be-all solution is one-dimensional. Not factoring in the human to the technology is sidestepping the reality of who we all are. These two must be melded into one. That is the problem that we aim to solve. We ask ourselves: How do we take the digitization possible with today’s technology and keep it human? How do we ensure that we are connecting on a human level? My team and I obsessively focus on this every day. Accounting for the human factor in technology means including the emotional experience to achieve a more satisfying User Experience.
We aim to look at both ends of the patient experience. We wonder why nearly 50% of all people leave their doctor’s office and check their smartphones for information? In a recent Accenture study on patient views, the highest need a patient has (53% of those surveyed) supports the concept that more education leads to people achieving a better understanding of their medications. Including the patient in their medication decisions and connecting with them during that journey is crucial. That’s what we focus on at Pleio — being able to get to people at their greatest moment of doubt, offer them a human introduction and share the information that makes a person gain more confidence in what they are about to let into their body and lives.
How do you think your technology can address this?
Basically, we are saying that every digital journey should have a human aspect to it. One of the strongest examples of people rebelling against the idea of “being a patient” is the astounding fact that nearly 50% of people stop taking their medications at around 100 days. 100 days. It makes no sense, it seems self-destructive, right? Half of all prescriptions are not taken as prescribed and 33% of prescriptions for chronic conditions are never filled according to the CDC. And why? Primarily, people get tired of feeling that they are their sickness; they’re tired of carrying the baggage of being a “patient”; they want to be the person they are, not the prescription they take. This is a tangible human challenge.
At Pleio, our technology focuses on providing a more human experience through technology support. Every day. To do that, it all comes down to not removing the human from the digital equation or the human from the tech equation. And while this seems like common sense, this is where we get the chance to put the stake in the ground to say that a truly impactful digital experience doesn’t remove the human component, it is informed by it.
Our backend platform enables better communication with those we call. Our GoodStart program connects trained coaches with people who are prescribed medication for a variety of reasons. What we find is that GoodStart patients refill 3–10 days earlier and refill more, with 19–35% improvement in persistence through 3 refills. We help patients make lasting behavioral change.
Coaching our GoodStarters to be better at communicating, at engaging with the person, at supporting them with a kind hello goes a long way to engaging them with their health decisions. But the call between coach and patient is just one more source of data, the one that sets the tone for maintaining the human-to-human connection.
We’re promoting the human-to-human connection, what we call H2H. We’re calling patients from pharmacies as soon as they pick up their prescription. That friendly outbound initial call is powerful. It is known that this is a major moment of doubt. People want some help. One example: when we offer our GoodStarter Minutes through text, “Would you like a positive health message for 21 days?” And the person says, “Yes, I’d like that.” 85% of people complete their 21 days. Well, there’s an empowerment piece there because the patient is listening to an offer, digesting it and then accepting it, and then they receive those texts. Once again, the behavior looks transactional, but it is emotional. Here is a nice simple, human question: who wouldn’t appreciate simple positive messages for 21 days?
With consumers feeling more and more of a digital disconnection, it’s important to enable human-to-human technology. Ultimately, we need to connect with the patient on a personal level. But the data guides us in writing better scripts, in marking emotional peaks and valleys, in identifying where our money shots are relative to certain lines that we use. We discover which messages have the most payoffs so we’re not wasting words, so that we know when the awkward silence means more, so we know that when a pause is needed. We know when there’s an awkward giggle, what the impact of an awkward giggle in a call really means.
Can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Privacy. Yeah, privacy. Life Sciences compliance represents some of the most rigorous privacy standards that exist. But I think it’s a question. It’s important that we generate conversations around maintaining patient privacy while complying with state and federal regulations. Part of helping someone, or part of being helped is the ability to let someone come in and help you. So, yeah, there’s a privacy concern; but the privacy concern is inherent, it’s inherent in general health, it’s inherent in even helping yourself. Think how hard it is to share a new diagnosis with anyone. The first thing you have to do is admit you have a problem and help yourself. I think it comes down to you being a little bit vulnerable.
We’re living in a time of heightened alerts around privacy because there’s so much data out there. At Pleio, we clearly communicate tips and tools to help them, and we talk about goal setting and things like that.
How do you think this might change the world?
Putting the human at the center of the health equation will change the world! Health is not about treatments; it is an attitude and belief in what is possible. It reminds me of the quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in which he said, “The human voice is the organ of the soul.” When we call patients participating in the Good Start Program, we often hear a deep sigh of relief or a grumpy moment that turns into a laugh. It is the magic of caring.
Society is moving towards greater inclusiveness and equity — and in health, addressing and embracing these values is crucial to give people the respect, the kindness, the care, and the confidence so that they can craft the healthiest life possible.
We envision a world where all patients are seen and heard. Not “messaged” or “app’d”, but actually heard. Haven’t we all seen how the very notion of health has evolved in the last few years? The mental shift from “patient” to “person” in pharmaceutical companies has begun. That is big and bodes well. Understanding is not belief; we need to think more globally about what being a healthy human is.
As a society, we are moving from the old belief that Patient + Pill = Health to something far more universal. Health is a concept that now frames our entire lives; it has become an umbrella about how we live, our emotional health, our financial health, our physical health. True health is the balancing and attention to all aspects of your life, and making technology more “human” is adding that third dimension, creating the outcome of a healthier me, a healthier outcome, a healthier life. This is not a visionary statement — this is human decency at work.
I could pontificate on solving the problem of people taking their meds more than the 100 days; or asking better questions of their doctors, or any number of positive actions. But that misses the point. The world changes when we all realize that it is not about the condition you suffer from, but the compassion you received in your moment of need. We build a better world through better health
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
The short of it is, after spending all of my career in technology, creating, selling, building products that I never really completely understood. Then quite honestly, just kind of going through a period where a family member became gravely ill. As I described earlier, my wife Josiane battled pancreatic cancer in her 30s. The prognosis was grim and it was a very uncertain and scary time. It is during such times that our priorities tend to shift, and we see what really matters to us. I always loved and valued Josiane, but suddenly I understood the value of doing something that matters … of making a difference in life. And then, it was as if the universe acknowledged the shift and I got a call to work in the healthcare space. What I had experienced helped me understand what people really needed — and it was just more humanity in how they are treated.
What we do is elegantly simple and solves a very real need. We send out the invites, we set the stage, we dim the lights, we order the right food, we invite the right people, but we’re not the DJs, we’re not the caterers, we’re not the celebrities that we’ve invited. We just literally set the winning conditions for a great behavioral experience. We want everyone to have the knowledge, not the doubt, that lets them not think about being a patient, just a healthier human.
Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)
1. Identification
∙ Good technology connects users to actions while maintaining privacy. For example, our technology flags that a prescription has been filled, and that is where it does its magic. We identify people at the pharmacy, and while it seems transactional, it is an emotional moment. Our tech accelerates our ability to speak to them when they have so many questions.
2. Initial human connection
∙ Nobody wants to be counseled by a robot. We’re human and we want that human connection, understanding the technology can facilitate those communications. Our technology enables us to measure users’ sentiments — how they feel as they begin taking a new medication. This emotional insight creates a deeper connection from the first moment we reach out to help.
3. Insights in the journey
∙ We craft journeys informed by Human-to-Human insights. It is a journey that starts with a clear goal — have a better understanding of what their medication is meant to do. We know that this knowledge builds confidence and confidence breeds success.
4. Customization of the journey
∙ Providing empathic patient support can be overwhelming sometimes. Our technology is designed to help provide guidance and support for those who interact with patients. We not only keep the consumer front and center, but also our employees.
5. Continuity
∙ Technology presents us with incredible potential but to make it work for us as a system, we need to establish its continuity. In the case of Pleio, we see that feeling heard and supported frames all our success with people. It’s not a fleeting experience in the world of health. Smart devices and the consistency of connecting with both uplifting and informative messages, allows us to interact in many channels and many ways to reinforce the positive behaviors around taking medication.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Please visit us at the Pleio website: https://www.pleio.com/. You can also find me on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-oleksiw-805520/
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
Social Impact Tech: Michael Oleksiw of Pleio On How Their Technology Will Make An Important… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Social Impact Tech: Matthew Hellrung of Meltzer Hellrung On How Their Technology Will Make An…
Social Impact Tech: Matthew Hellrung of Meltzer Hellrung On How Their Technology Will Make An Important Positive Impact
Our dream would be to use Voyager to add processing capacity through efficiency and automation to scale pro bono immigration and other legal services, making pro bono legal services more accessible, efficient, and cost effective.
In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing industry leaders who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matthew Hellrung.
Matthew Hellrung is partner and co-founder of Meltzer Hellrung, a business immigration software and services law firm based in Chicago. Matthew’s practice focuses on non-immigrant and immigrant employment-based visa issues, as well as advising investors and large multinational corporations from a variety of industries — including information technology, engineering, education, manufacturing and entertainment industries — on immigration practice and policy concerns. He recently spearheaded the development and launch of Voyager, Meltzer Hellrung’s technology-driven immigration workflow management system designed to track all employment immigration documents and activities to better serve the firm’s roster of clients and global businesses.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
I was born in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to my mom, Ann Hellrung, a pharmaceutical sales rep, and my dad, Jim Hellrung, an industrial engineer in the semiconductor industry. Pretty standard middle-class life. Wasn’t a great student or athlete, but I managed to play varsity tennis and get into college at the University of Pittsburgh.
I was fortunate to work in restaurants since the age of 14, from busser to dishwasher to prep cook to line cook, I worked my way up the back-of-house hierarchy, collaborating with teammates from all types of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds. The experience gave me an appreciation for hard work, collaboration, and the value of working with a diverse group of people.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I think the most interesting story I have about my career is how it began. Coming out of law school in The Great Recession, jobs for attorneys were scarce. To have a better opportunity and employment, I moved to Chicago, a larger legal market with more jobs compared to Pittsburgh, with 6 months of living expenses and no job prospects.
I applied at dozens of firms, working any connection I had, to get an interview. After about two months of applying, I finally got a few interviews and landed two job offers: 1) a position as a Law Clerk working for the City of Chicago’s litigation department; and 2) an offer to join a start-up-like tech and legal services firm that specialized in corporate or employment-based immigration services — essentially, obtaining work visas and green cards for tech employees of U.S. companies.
I decided to take the tech-legal service firm’s offer because it gave me the opportunity to help people directly, which was always a goal of mine coming out of law school, and it involved learning employment immigration, employment law, some tax, and corporate transactions/M&A. It was my early experience seeing how technology could be used to improve the delivery of legal services at my first job that has inspired the rest of my career, and the founding of Meltzer Hellrung.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Cliché, but my mom. After my parents divorced when I was 11, my mom had to take a new job to earn more money to keep us in our house, going to the same school. Watching her rise early and work late to master a new area of pharmaceuticals, knowing that my sister and I were depending on her to be successful, taught me everything I know about work ethic, business norms, sales, networking, and putting in the time to be prepared for my opportunity to succeed.
Watching her struggle, but ultimately succeed, was the best model of hard work equals success that a kid can have. And her attitude toward learning new skills — I’ll teach you once and then it’s your turn — taught me to feel more comfortable trying new things and, most of the time, being terrible at it, at first.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Instead of asking, “What do I want from life?”, a more powerful question is, “What does life want from me?” — Eckart Tolle
This has been a recent favorite of mine to repeat when I’m having a rough day. My therapist mentioned it to me when I was going through a particularly hard professional and personal period 8–9 months ago. I had never heard of Eckart Tolle before that moment, but that quote changed my perspective a bit.
To me, it means “What is life asking of me today?” What skill or virtue can I wield to solve the problems life has given me this day, week, or month. Inherently, in my mind, being asked to do something is like a challenge. How can I overcome the challenge life is giving me at this moment or on this day, using the skills or knowledge I have at my disposal? In short, for me, it moves my mindset from a passive “life is happening to me” to an active “life is challenging me to grow, to be more compassionate, more resilient, more patient.”
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Authenticity — Whether it’s hiring a new team member or pitching a new client, most people can smell BS. You have to walk your talk and, at the same time, make sure you’re 100% in personally and professionally before you begin speaking. If you’re not, people will know and you’ll lose credibility and respect among your team, your clients, and your peers.
- Compassion — I’m an immigration lawyer trying to improve the experience folks have with the U.S. immigration system. Compassion for the struggle that folks go through to build a life in the U.S. is at the heart of what we do as a company. And, compassion for team members, colleagues, and clients. Immigration is a stressful practice area. Expectations, emotions, and concerns for the well-being of loved ones is intricately woven into practicing immigration law. Everyone’s allowed to make a mistake or have a bad day. To me, compassion is understanding that everyone is just as human and flawed as I am. Be kind.
- Patience — To me, being patient means setting realistic expectations and goals for myself, my team, and our business. There’s so many opportunities and challenges that invade my life every day, focusing on our goal of improving the immigration experience and understanding that we’ll achieve our goal in time with patience and persistence is what helps me sleep at night.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive social impact on our society. To begin, what problems are you aiming to solve?
The immigration process in the U.S. and many other countries is opaque, inefficient, riddled with misinformation, and run by traditional law firms that focus on practicing law instead of serving clients.
How do you think your technology can address this?
With our recent release of Voyager, we’re marrying the transparency, efficiency, and presentation of data offered by software with the high-touch, people-focused immigration services model we’ve been known for since our inception.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
Improving and expanding the delivery of legal services to clients is something I’ve been passionate about since I first became an attorney. We have a consolidated software-based dashboard providing efficiency and transparency into our health, mortgage application, credit card statement, bank account, etc. Why can’t we bring the same level of agency and autonomy to clients buying legal services?
Immigration is complicated and stressful. Any tool that can provide our clients with a more transparent and compassionate experience is something we’ll always look to incorporate into Voyager and our immigration practice.
How do you think this might change the world?
Multiplying a person or firm’s capacity to handle casework through the efficiency of software and, at the same time, improving each client’s legal services experience opens so many possibilities in the future. For example, Voyager could help nonprofits providing immigration services to take on more cases by automating mundane information collection, document collection, and administrative tasks.
Ideally, we would also use Voyager to automate immigration benefits that are often done on a pro bono basis, like scaling up a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Humanitarian Parole (HP) process that allows individuals seeking refuge or refugee status in the United States. These people could self-prepare and submit TPS or HP applications from an app on their cell phone. Meltzer Hellrung has offered 25 free TPS and HP pro bono applications to Ukrainian, Sudanese, and Cameroon nationals. To my knowledge, the firm is currently processing several TPS/HP applications for individuals from these countries and we’re actively seeking additional pro bono applicants.
Our dream would be to use Voyager to add processing capacity through efficiency and automation to scale pro bono immigration and other legal services, making pro bono legal services more accessible, efficient, and cost effective.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
The one that comes to mind immediately is privacy. Immigration is filled with sensitive information such as birthdates, birthplaces, national ID numbers, etc. We’ve gone to great levels to make sure Voyager is a secure immigration management platform with proper overview and security protocols in place.
I think anyone developing tech that will house people’s personal information needs to take a fiduciary stance in protecting their clients’ sensitive data.
Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)
- If you’re not a software expert, which I’m not, find someone who is and shares your vision of how you want to use the technology you create together. If you share the same vision, how you get there is just details.
- Listen to the folks you’re trying to help. Don’t guess what a user wants. Ask the user and build around their preferences.
- Fully understand the complexity and breadth of the problem you’re trying to solve and, at the same time, never think “you know it all.” You don’t. You never will. You’re human.
- Not everything can be solved by software. People are a significant part of every real-world problem you’re trying to solve and, therefore, people need to play a significant role in providing your software-enabled solution.
- Whatever type of software you’re building, big or small, plan to go 20% over budget and timeline. It’s the nature of the beast.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
If you don’t try, who else will? As humans, we inspire each other to achieve greatness. It’s an amazing strength we have as a species, but it takes someone brave enough to stand up and try first.
I became a lawyer because I was inspired by my college political science teacher saying “If you don’t stand up and speak for yourself, someone else will speak for you.”
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Oh geez. Haha. If you asked me this question 5 years ago, I’d have probably said “Elon Musk.” But today, Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia.
Their products are amazing. Yvon, by all accounts, embodies the concept of servant leadership, and the company’s commitment to their employees and the environment, which has been a core value from Patagonia’s inception, shines through in everything they do. They put people and the planet before profits, in my opinion.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow me and Meltzer Hellrung on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We publish thought leadership pieces advocating for process and regulatory immigration reform weekly, aiming to educate our clients and the public on all things immigration.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
Social Impact Tech: Matthew Hellrung of Meltzer Hellrung On How Their Technology Will Make An… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Maureen Edwards Of 8 Simple Steps On 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business
An Interview With Ken Babcock
Take an inventory to ensure all internal and external communication channels are operating at the highest capacity.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Maureen Edwards.
Maureen Edwards is an award-winning branding, marketing, and business strategist, and 2x inventor. She is a keynote speaker, national instructor, and consultant to startups and small businesses, teaching and guiding them to launch, turn around, or scale stronger. She has built six profitable companies from scratch and is now on a mission to use her mistakes and successes to mentor and empower entrepreneurs how to simply build a sustainable business and enjoy the journey along the way.
Thank you for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Becoming an entrepreneur was never part of the plan. I was a corporate girl all the way. I was one of those who loved leading my team, dressing in business suits, and working 12-hour days making everyone else rich. It was not until I had an aha moment, inventing and patenting a pet product, that my career took another path and forever changed the course of my life.
After walking away from my 6-figure corporate job and all its perks, I leveraged my home, 401k, and kid’s college savings to launch my company. And then, almost lost it all. I was ready to become the 20% of businesses that fail their first year; not the club I wanted to be part of, nor does any entrepreneur.
I turned around that first nightmare startup (that’s another story), and in 12 months I had 1100 customers and created an international brand. I won Best New Pet Product that first year and won it again when I launched my second invention. But the mistakes, fear, and hardships were brutal, and could have been avoided.
Five startups later, I figured out a simple, methodical, and effective process that drives revenue, acquires profitability, and secures sustainability. I have conceptualized, launched, and/or overseen over 35 brands, products, or companies across numerous industries and worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs to start, turnaround, or scale their company.
I embrace and embody entrepreneurship and want to empower others to do the same.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
Realizing that regret is worse than fear, I bravely left a big executive job in corporate to become an entrepreneur. My career was never the same — for the better.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
The initiative I am doing now is allowing me to multiply my message at a level I never thought possible. My mission is to impact one small business a day to thrive and survive by implementing simple business process and avoiding the typical business mistakes that take you down. 2739 new businesses went out yesterday, today, and will tomorrow. If I can prevent it, I will. Even if it’s just one. Doing what you love is non-negotiable.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
I’ve made many. The biggest was I thought I knew it all and could do everything when starting my first company. I learned quickly that just because you were successful in corporate, it doesn’t mean you will be in owning your own business. There are so many moving parts and so much to know.
It took me too long to admit I wasn’t good at something and needed help from those who knew more than me. Bottom line — I learned there is no ego allowed in entrepreneurship if you are going to succeed at it. I couldn’t YouTube my way to building a company and expect things to get better. I finally got help from those who walked the journey and had wisdom to share. My regret is I hadn’t done it sooner.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
Before I almost lost everything, I finally swallowed my pride, admitted by limitations, and reached out to someone who could help. It made all the difference from being in business or not. I made a conscious decision that when I could give back, I would pay it forward to small business owners, so they never experience what I did. Years later, I became a volunteer SCORE mentor and now a SCORE national speaker. My first business experience shaped my passion, mission, and what I am doing today.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
I am fortunate to have worked for amazing female bosses. The first, Sandra W., hired me in my first job. I worked for her in several capacities and at different times. She is still my mentor today, almost 30 years later. Her advice to me when building my team of talent was to interview each person as if they were my replacement and hire people better than myself. Then guide, develop, and empower them to do it. Never “manage” or “supervise.” I listened. My teams won numerous awards and accolades. I have promoted more leaders than not. Many years later, Sandra came to work for me. She practiced what she preached, and so did I.
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”? Please give a story or example for each.
There are 5 questions I would want every business to ask and answer before they take the leap into scaling. This will reveal whether they are ready to take the next steps in their business regardless of size.
- Is there enough demand for my product or service to warrant the risk? If you are not making financial goals, have steady cash flow, and are profitable, wait. Making money doesn’t get easier the bigger you are. And the last thing you want is to have to answer to investors or the bank when you can’t pay your bills.
- Have I solidified my core strengths and value for my right fit customer?
Refining and improving successful products or services always win. Once your core business, brand, and customer base are established, then move to the next stage.
If your existing customers are loyal advocates, consistently paying your bills and ready to support your scaling endeavor, this is a sure sign you are ready. If they are telling you something different, listen to them. You may need to uplevel nurturing what your business does for the customer, not spending time, money, and resources opening new channels of distribution with new services or products. Be in love with your customers more than your product/service.
I made this mistake in my first company. I wanted to launch a new product line extension that I believed my customers would want. I spent time and money launching it, only to discover my customers where still getting to know what my core business was. I distracted and confused them. I scaled too fast without securing the trust for my original product and company brand that was driving the revenue. The line was a failure, and I pulled the plug quickly before I lost any more. I never made that mistake again.
3. Do I have the right team in place? If you are still involved with the day-to-day minutia, controlling all the decisions, and struggling to trust others, time to get past it. This is ego creeping into your business, clouding your judgement, and losing out on growth opportunities.
You cannot scale without a top team of talent you can delegate to. If you do not have it in place, create a plan to do so before diving into scaling. Ensure that you, your partners, and your team members will be happy in the workplace. They will support your mission, vision, and especially you.
4. Am I updated with the latest tech platforms? If you are expanding personnel, business development, sales, and marketing to achieve new financial growth targets, upgraded CRM, marketing automation, and project management systems will ensure building stronger internal and external partnerships. The data analytics provided will identify gaps, opportunities, and insights too.
Take an inventory to ensure all internal and external communication channels are operating at the highest capacity.
5. Is my infrastructure nimble, stable and, reliable with efficient processes and streamlined execution? Build and simplify communication, inventory, IT, logistic, and finance processes to avoid inefficiencies and errors, resulting in lost productivity and revenue. Gaps in any of these will only become exacerbated when you scale.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest addressing those errors?
2/3’s of businesses who scale too fast fail at it and go out of business. My suggestion is to be patient and strategic when taking the business to the next step. Make sure you have a reliable infrastructure, efficient processes, financial cushion, and solid brand trust and loyalty.
Do not scale because it is “sexy” to scale and looks good when you add employees, locations, and board members. That’s ego scaling, and it’s a losing proposition.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
First, ensure the core culture, on-boarding process, and HR policy is well established. Design specific HR policies to avoid employee confusion, dissatisfaction, and turnover and create a culture that aligns with company values and mission that strives to reward and retain top talent.
Second, align new hires with an employee mentor to ease the transition into the company. It builds relationships, comfort, and goodwill in the company. It is also an excellent opportunity to develop a future leader’s skills.
Third, be adamant that brand identity is reenforced at every touchpoint by both outside and inside hires. This can be done with a detailed brand book that all employees become familiar with.
Fourth, listen to all your employees and implement. They are in the trenches everyday with what is happening. You will get a real pulse on reality. And it’s great for morale and productivity.
In my work, I focus on helping companies to simplify the process of creating documentation of their workflow, so I am particularly passionate about this question. Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
I like the Bob platform because it is simple and incorporates Slack to manage projects, so you don’t need to have another platform for that. I also think their engagement opportunities allow for building a more transparent, authentic, and communicative culture. The user-friendly platform incorporates the learning style of both mature and younger generations.
I also incorporate quarterly workshops on various business and personal development topics that reflect learning and doing as a team. I am adamant that monthly meetings with C-suite decision makers are conducted with all employees involved to receive updates, share ideas, and get feedback.
What software or tools do you recommend helping onboard new hires
See above
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
I would like to see a formal entrepreneurial program implemented into the public schools. It introduces kids to opportunities other than college and traditional jobs. It allows for creative and critical thinking, building confidence muscles, and developing adaptability, flexibility, and a strong work ethic. Even if they do not want to own a business, these skills are critical to succeed in employment and life. Having a mandatory entrepreneurial course/semester can broaden their outlook.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
My website is www.8simplesteps.net
Social platforms include:
https://www.facebook.com/startandstayinbusiness
https://www.linkedin.com/company/8-simple-steps
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenedwards2/
https://www.instagram.com/maureenedwards_8simplesteps/
https://www.clubhouse.com/maureenedwards@8simplesteps
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
About the interviewer. Ken Babcock is the CEO and Co-Founder of Tango. Prior to his mission of celebrating how work is executed, Ken spent over 4 years at Uber riding the rollercoaster of a generational company. After gaining hands-on experience with entrepreneurship at Atomic VC, Ken went on to HBS. It was at HBS that Ken met his Co-Founders, Dan Giovacchini and Brian Shultz and they founded Tango.
Maureen Edwards Of 8 Simple Steps On 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Social Impact Heroes Helping Our Planet: Why & How Dr Jennifer Conrad Is Helping To Change Our Worl
Social Impact Heroes Helping Our Planet: Why & How Dr Jennifer Conrad Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Martita Mestey
I wish I knew was that despite all these veterinarians telling me that declawing was something that they abhorred doing, that they would spend so much money to defend the right to do it. Seems like that doesn’t fit and that they don’t actually want to stop doing it.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Conrad, DVM.
Veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Conrad has cared for wildlife on six continents for over two decades. An impassioned advocate for animal welfare, she has seen first-hand the suffering and exploitation of animals, destruction of habitat, and gratuitous hunting — all of which threaten the welfare and very survival of many species. In 1999, she founded the Paw Project — a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that educates the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, promote animal welfare through the abolition of the practice of declaw surgery, and rehabilitate cats that have been declawed through reparative surgery.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I was born into a family of doctors, but they only treated one species, humans. I wanted to treat all other animal species, except humans, so I became a veterinarian. I felt that helping animals live better lives was a worthwhile use of my time. I love the creativity involved in treating wildlife and exotic animals.
Plus, my patients are so much cuter and they are never drug-seeking, never hypochondriacs, and never trying to figure out a way to sue me. That’s what human doctors have to deal with. I just have to deal with potentially getting bitten.
You are currently leading a social impact organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
We are trying to protect cat paws and claws. Cute, little, squishy kitty paws. That may sound funny but it’s a very serious problem that kitty paws are in jeopardy of being declawed (toes amputated) in the United States. In fact, 20–25 percent of American cats are declawed.
The rest of the world considers declawing unethical or has made it illegal. It’s probably a $1B business for U.S. veterinarians, so it’s not going anywhere unless we can make it illegal here. Just for reference, declawing is so predictably painful that it is used in clinical trials to test new pain medications.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
As a young veterinarian, I was taking care of about 40 big cats, lions, cougars, tigers, jaguars, leopards, et.al, who were suffering from declawing. I thought that I had to do something for them. I talked to human hand surgeons and asked how they would address a hand injury where the person lost the first knuckle of every finger. After all, that’s what declawing is. It really should be called, “de-knuckling.”
I ended up taking a four-year-old tiger to surgery for his horrible limp and after we completed the operation, he stood up and never limped again. I felt like a TV evangelist saying, “Heal!” It was that dramatic of a change. Then I started to do the surgery on more and more big cats, with excellent results. Soon word got around that I was repairing the damage caused by declawing and then I realized that I will never get all the paws repaired unless I stop others from declawing.
One day, I met a friend of a friend, who had just rescued a declawed cats from the streets, and this new friend, Hernan Molina, was also the deputy to the mayor of the city of West Hollywood, California. He was visiting me and telling me about his new rescue cat who was declawed and I was telling him that I probably have to knock down (anesthetize) a lion whose paws I just recently repaired. I was frustrated because she got her toes redone and had these green bandages on and she wouldn’t let me take them off; I think it was because her paws felt so much better in her new green “shoes.”
I turned to the deputy mayor and said, “We just have to make declawing illegal. Can we make declawing illegal in West Hollywood?” In 2003, West Hollywood became the first city in North American to ban the procedure.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
Soon after banning declawing in West Hollywood, I attended a meeting for veterinarians who work on cats. I sat down to a “lunch and learn” and immediately all the other people at the table stood up and moved away. They were punishing me for what I had done in West Hollywood.
I honestly thought veterinarians would be happy not to have to declaw, but these people were “pissed.” I sat there alone for about a minute and then it came to me, “I don’t work for veterinarians; I work for cats and no cats are mad at me for banning declawing.”
It was then and there that I decided to make this my life’s work. We have now banned declawing in two states, New York and Maryland, and we are working on California and others. We have banned declawing in 11 U.S. cities, 3 U.S. counties, and 8 Canadian provinces. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
Many people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
Starting a nonprofit is tedious but not hard. First, one must figure out the mission and then start solidifying the goals on paper. The rest is formulaic step by step and takes a lot of time and effort but isn’t difficult, just boring.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
After banning declawing in West Hollywood, the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) sued the city because the law interfered with veterinarians’ bottom line. We won the suit at the appellate level so the CVMA made a law in the state of California that banned declaw bans!
Soon after, we were able to get seven more cities in California to ban declawing. The CVMA hoisted itself on its own petard. This whole struggle is the subject of our award-winning documentary, The Paw Project. This film has a Hollywood ending and is not the typical animal movie where you finish watching and feel hopeless. It’s currently streaming on the internet.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?
I was anesthetizing a tiger for a paw repair surgery and she went down with only about half the drugs that I thought she would take. We began to carry her in on the stretcher when she bolted upright and jumped off the stretcher and ran for the hills. Fortunately, she had a leash on so I was able to poke her with the rest of the drugs and she went nighty-night again. I learned that if things seem too good to be true, they are!
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
I would say that my boyfriend, now husband, was the biggest driver in my success. We are truly complementary to each other. Where I am the dreamer and the one who makes leaps, he follows with pure will and diligence that fills in the gaps. I was never a good student, whereas he was. He works so hard and makes sure that everything is as good as it can be for cats. He is a surgeon for humans, so the fact that he has joined me in my dream to end declawing is truly remarkable. I think a lot of men wouldn’t be able to apply themselves so intensely to making their wives’ dreams come true.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Yes, everyone can help. The community can help by educating each other on humane ways to deal with cat scratching. Nail trims, vinyl nail caps, appropriate scratching surfaces like scratching posts and pads, double sided sticky tape placed on furnishings all work to stop unwanted scratching.
Society can come to the conclusion that declawing in the United States and Canada has to stop. It should no longer be considered anything but animal cruelty. Citizens can tell their veterinarians to stop. Politicians can ban declawing. So many want to, but some may think that caring about animals is frivolous.
Most politicians are bright enough to multitask. They can do things that are good for humans and animals. By the way, declaw bans are good for society because fewer cats end up in shelters after bans go in to effect, so that means fewer taxpayer dollars are used to destroy declawed cats.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
Many veterinarians were afraid of losing the revenue stream when they stopped declawing. Some veterinarians report that declawing cats is their “bread and butter.” The truth is that vets who voluntarily don’t declaw make more money because the public is seeking veterinarians who don’t declaw. Vet who won’t mutilate a cat to protect a couch care more about the cats than the money.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- One thing that I didn’t anticipate when I first started the Paw Project was that there would be people willing to spend millions of dollars to fight me when all I was trying to do is protect kitty paws. That was a giant, “Wait. What?!?” It turns out that declawing cats might be a $billion business in the USA.
- The second thing that I wish I knew was that despite all these veterinarians telling me that declawing was something that they abhorred doing, that they would spend so much money to defend the right to do it. Seems like that doesn’t fit and that they don’t actually want to stop doing it.
- I didn’t anticipate that no matter how much evidence I had to prove that declawing cats was bad, that the people who want to still declaw cats would ignore the science. For instance, declawed cats bite more and use the litter box less. These behaviors arise because they have no claws to defend themselves so they have to resort to biting and because it hurts their amputated toe stubs to dig in the sand so they stop using the litter box. These are the behavioral reasons cats lose their homes not because they are scratching furniture. The opposition to the declaw bans always says that cats are going to lose their homes if they can’t be declawed, but really, they lose their homes BECAUSE they were declawed. The facts don’t seem to matter to the opposition. They also ignore the facts that a veterinarian should not be telling people who are immunocompromised or have thin skin or are on blood thinners to declaw their cats because declawed cats BITE more. Cat bite wounds are more dangerous than cat scratches!
- I would have liked to know that taking up this cause was going to take up my life. In some ways, having a cause that drives you is a blessing. You have a goal that is bigger than you and you have the purpose of making the world a better place than what you started with. In other ways, you get consumed and while other people have a 9–5 job and time off on the weekends, you’re always working.
- The last thing that I didn’t know was that it takes a lot of time and effort to change the status quo. I thought that once I showed people how bad declawing was, people would stop. It is so obviously wrong. Why don’t they stop? I can’t really explain that except that I know that some people double down on things rather than admit they are wrong.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
If you want something to happen, it’s best to make it happen. Pretending that you can’t do it because you’re only one person is an excuse. Everything starts with just one person pushing to make the change. It does help to have more people helping, but more people will join in as soon as they see that you have started it. I always tell my students that if your goal is to get to San Diego, if you get on the freeway and never get off, you will get to San Diego. It’s the people who get off the freeway and don’t get back on who don’t get to San Diego.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I learned this: “That the most happiness you’ll ever feel is when you make someone else super happy.”
I like to apply that to animals. Think about it. What is more gratifying than to give an animal a toy or a treat that that animal loves? Nothing. By working for animals’ happiness, I feel like I can be happy. Whenever I make a wish, I wish that all animals were content and happy. Wouldn’t that be great!
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would like to meet Kate McKinnon and Mark Ruffalo. They like cats and would see that cats should never be declawed. Then they could post stuff on their social media and educate millions about the harmful effects of declawing.
How can our readers follow you online?
@pawproject, PawProject.org, #PawProject
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes Helping Our Planet: Why & How Dr Jennifer Conrad Is Helping To Change Our Worl was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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