Category: Featured

When it comes to building a strong team, organizational fit is as important as expertise and talent. At Afaxys, our mission is central to everything we do, and we’ve found that a shared commitment to serving our customers is paramount to driving our organization forward.

Hire a kick-ass team — because you can’t accomplish it all on your own. We’re always on the lookout for top talent with a passion for public and community health. If that’s you or someone you know, get in touch!

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ronda Dean.

Ronda Dean is the President, CEO and Co-Founder of Afaxys, a first-of-its-kind company committed to making access to sexual and reproductive healthcare affordable for all providers and patients. Ronda and her team at Afaxys are passionate about their mission to serve the needs of public and community healthcare providers so they can focus on the health and well-being of their patients. Under Ms. Dean’s leadership, Afaxys has profitably launched 10 oral and two emergency contraceptives to become the top provider of oral contraceptives to U.S. public and community health centers.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Every year, more than 31 million Americans rely on public and community health centers to get essential care. In college I was one of those patients myself. I saw firsthand how necessary health centers like Planned Parenthood are to provide affordable access to reproductive healthcare. I was passionate about learning more about the healthcare system, and I have spent my entire career working in various facets of the healthcare system. First, in infectious diseases as a clinical microbiologist, and then I spent the next 25+ years of my career working in the pharmaceutical industry across a number of therapeutic areas, with the majority of my focus in women’s health. When the opportunity came along to join Planned Parenthood, I jumped at the chance to focus on expanding community health access. I began to see up close how in today’s changing and uncertain healthcare environment, many public and community health providers struggle to serve their patients because they can’t reliably access the cost-effective products they need. A patient might have to change the contraceptive product they’ve chosen because the supplier raised the price or because supply was unpredictable. That’s why I started Afaxys. Our name intersects “affordable” and “access,” and our mission is just that — to provide a stable, affordable supply of products and services that providers need for their patients.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

As I was starting Afaxys, I spent a ton of time doing extensive research to establish our business model. In doing so, I traveled across the country to meet with dozens of community health providers and learn more about their needs. Sitting in their waiting rooms, I heard hundreds of stories from men and women who relied solely on these health centers to get vital care. It brought home to me that without these providers — many of whom depend on politically vulnerable government funding, grants and donations to keep their doors open — millions of people across the U.S. would have nowhere else to turn for their healthcare. Listening to these stories and meeting the real people who rely on public and community health centers solidified the importance of these providers in my mind and reinforced my commitment to supporting their mission.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Before becoming CEO of Afaxys, I had never worked with a board of directors. I went to my first board meeting and treated it like I would my other executive staff meetings. I took the lead and immediately started assigning roles and responsibilities. The board quickly put me in my place! Ultimately, I learned the importance of boards for good governance and sound decision making — even CEOs have bosses.

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?

On a personal level, I would say Justice Harry Blackmun, the author of the Roe v. Wade decision. I was fortunate enough to meet him, and he taught me a lot about respect for others. I asked him once what inspired him to write the case and form his perspective on women’s health. He cited privacy as being the primary driver of his position on the issue and believed that women should be treated and respected just like men in a reproductive healthcare setting. This was a perspective I have kept with me throughout my career.

On a professional level, early in my career I worked for a CEO who was extremely demanding, almost to the point of being unreasonable. Upon becoming a CEO, I look back on his approach and now appreciate that the CEO is the last line of defense in making big, high-risk decisions. He was passionate about the business and did not want to see it fail. And it didn’t. While I didn’t always agree with how he conducted himself, he set the bar high for me. I learned from him that a leader must hold herself and her teams to a high standard and must never ask of others what she wouldn’t do herself.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

Ultimately, I find our mission is what centers me in my work. It keeps my focus on healthcare providers and the patients they care for, and it clarifies my priorities and allows me to concentrate my efforts on the things that are going to have the biggest impact on the community.

When it’s time to unwind and cope with stress, I like to enjoy a good glass of wine! I also laugh a lot with family and friends and appreciate all the quality time spent with them. I’m an avid cyclist, so when I’m working through a tough issue, I like to cycle for miles and miles to help me think. Let’s just say that I have put a lot of miles on my bike over the past few years!

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

At Afaxys, we are about equal access for everybody, be it in a health center or the workplace. Diversity takes many forms — gender, race, religion, sexual orientation — and ultimately a diverse team with different perspectives is going to create a stronger, more innovative company. Public and community health centers serve everyone who walks through their doors, and that’s a value that we have taken to heart at Afaxys. In fact, our company values were crafted by a cross-functional, diverse team of employees for that reason. It was essential for us to bring in different backgrounds and perspectives to shape a corporate culture that works for our entire team.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

When I started in the pharma industry 25 years ago, there were very few other women. I was the first woman to be promoted to an executive position at the company where I worked, and I too often had the experience of being talked over or ignored. Diversity must be about more than a seat at the table. It also must be about listening to and valuing the contributions of all members of our teams and communities. That’s the first step.

I have also experienced firsthand that representation in positions of power matters. When I took on that executive position, so many other women at the company reached out to share how excited they were. There were a few other women executives in HR and operations, but I was the first woman with P&L responsibilities — and this was a big step forward. Because of this, I didn’t have any female mentors. Even today, while the top ranks of companies and government are becoming more diverse, they are still overwhelmingly white and male. I’m truly touched when other businesswomen tell me that my leadership has inspired them, and I think it’s critical that we as a society prioritize fostering leaders who reflect the communities they lead.

Lastly, I am fortunate to sit on the board of the Coastal Community Foundation, an organization that fights to create an equitable and inclusive working environment in our community each day. A few months ago, I attended a two-day training session on implicit bias and racial equity. In speaking with Black colleagues during the session, I learned the importance of using my privilege as a white woman and a CEO to voice the concerns of individuals and groups facing racism, discrimination or injustice. We all must take individual accountability to drive social change. I think all leaders should attend bias trainings and racial equity programs to rethink how they see the world.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

A CEO acts as a strategic checkpoint for the business plan overall to make sure the organization is aligning current actions with long-term goals and vision. While all leaders must be experts in their subject and inspire their teams to excellent execution, the CEO must go beyond current plans and anticipate what’s coming years in advance. In public and community health, we must be attuned not just to what our providers and their patients need today, but also how changes in the political landscape could affect how healthcare will be delivered and paid for. Thinking long-term ensures that we’re able to provide access to the products and services that providers and their patients need when they need them, now and in the future.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

A good CEO doesn’t have all the answers, and she needs to be comfortable with that fact. She needs to trust and rely on her functional executives to be experts in their respective specialty areas and to drive results.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Women are still highly underrepresented in leadership positions in our society. Despite making up 51% of our total population, only 7% of Fortune 500 companies are run by female CEOs. Women hold fewer than 25% of Congressional seats, and there still have been zero women presidents or vice presidents in the United States. Thankfully, in 2020, we have small pockets of diversity, but there’s still a long way to go. Earlier in my career in pharma, I was told I was being trained to eventually rise to the most senior level in the pharma industry, but who knows if that would have happened. More than likely, I would have been like many other women who hit a glass ceiling. I hope that someday soon women don’t have to start their own company to become a CEO.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

It’s so much fun! At this point in my career I expected to be retired, but I’m still here because I wholeheartedly love my work and my team and look forward to every Monday as if it were my first.

Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

CEOs must digest, analyze, simplify and disseminate massive amounts of information very quickly. A CEO must be able to think critically and apply strategic concepts to business operations. CEOs also must swiftly move from one thing to another and focus on a lot of different things at the same time while maintaining focus on the “north star” — in our case, our mission to serve public and community health.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Lean into your strengths and not the stereotypes of what you think a leader should be. Many traits that haven’t traditionally been shown as leadership traits have tremendous value in business. For example, if you’re a good listener, use those skills to hear what is — and isn’t — said to make the best decisions. If you have a strong gut instinct, trust your intuition. If you are a nurturer, embrace those skills to take care of your teams and your employees. Women are often better at asking for help than men. Use that to your advantage and leverage your team’s expertise to solve the challenges you’re facing.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Our community and public health customers make the world a better place every day by delivering care to those who need it most, and we are focused on doing our part to make their jobs easier. We believe access to sexual and reproductive healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. That’s why we’ve launched 10 oral and two emergency contraceptive products to ensure stable, affordable supply for patients. In fact, we’ve become the #1 provider of oral contraceptives to public and community health centers in the United States. We have also saved our customers millions of dollars on supply purchases through our group purchasing organization. I’m also excited for our next chapter — launching research and development for our own products for the first time to ensure all patients have access to a full range of contraceptive options.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Building a company is a marathon, not a sprint. Afaxys is celebrating its twelfth year in business, and we’re just getting started! It’s critical to plan your business — and your energy — for the long term.
2. Ignore the “gnat” issues and focus. There will always be distractions, but leaders must be able to determine which opportunities will have the greatest impact and focus on those.
3. There is no reason to be intimidated by prospective investors. Afaxys benefited from a grant from the Packard Foundation to get our start, which we were able to fully repay. As we look to expand our business further, I’m reminded that investors are just people like anyone else, and when you find like-minded investors, they become your partners in success.
4. When it comes to building a strong team, organizational fit is as important as expertise and talent. At Afaxys, our mission is central to everything we do, and we’ve found that a shared commitment to serving our customers is paramount to driving our organization forward.
5. Hire a kick-ass team — because you can’t accomplish it all on your own. We’re always on the lookout for top talent with a passion for public and community health. If that’s you or someone you know, get in touch!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

From the frontlines of public and community health, we see too often that a person’s background and economic resources dictate their ability to stay healthy. We must do more to correct racial and socioeconomic injustices in healthcare access.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I try to live by Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote, “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” From my first sales position to most of the promotions that came after, I was usually the first woman “in the room.” Most of the men that I worked with were great — peers who became my friends and bosses who became my mentors. But there were also some male colleagues who resented my presence and tried to minimize my effectiveness or diminish my confidence. Ultimately those who were my friends and mentors — and this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt — inspired me to spend my career working to empower women to have more agency over their healthcare and their lives.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

I would have loved to meet and work out with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. American women owe her so much, such as the ability to buy a house or get a credit card without a man, or even the right to work while pregnant. She has been an inspiration to me both as a formidable, compassionate leader and as a tireless warrior for women’s rights.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Ronda Dean of Afaxys: “Why organizational fit is as important as expertise and talent” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The use of Cloud based AI services in our everyday lives, specially through simple and intuitive interfaces to our smartphones, is already revolutionizing the way we live our lives. Mobile and web technologies are used by billions of people worldwide and we’re constantly thinking about how to make their experience better, safer and more useful.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Neha Pattan.

As a Tech Lead at Google, Neha is responsible for leading teams to design and develop products and services for Google’s core businesses. She immigrated to the USA, to pursue higher studies in Software Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and then joined Google, where she is now deeply involved in finding new and innovative ways to use technology to solve real world problems. From designing and building enterprise systems to figuring out how to build great products for consumers, Neha has engineered software for a wide gamut of users.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Thanks for having me.

When I began to develop interest in smartphones and handheld devices, it was still early days. I remember the devices we used in our research lab at Carnegie Mellon, during my graduate studies, were Nokia N95 phones. At the time, Nokia was doing very well in market share and was only just venturing into the smartphone market. Apple had released the iPhone but the real revolution was yet to happen. The test devices we had back then were very archaic to the ones that are so widespread today. No touchpad, limited processing power, small ecosystems. And then in the past decade, we’ve seen an exponential growth of device capability and intelligence. It’s been really inspiring to see so much technical innovation in this space. I feel really fortunate to have been part of this incredible journey.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Sure. I’m currently working on making AI based Cloud services more intelligent, easy and intuitive to use on mobile handheld devices. Think of your digital assistant being always available and ready to help whenever you need it. The use of Cloud based AI services in our everyday lives, specially through simple and intuitive interfaces to our smartphones, is already revolutionizing the way we live our lives. Mobile and web technologies are used by billions of people worldwide and we’re constantly thinking about how to make their experience better, safer and more useful.

That sounds exciting. How do you make decisions when you build products for such a large user base?

That’s a great question — part of it is intuition, but most of it is science. We’re constantly looking at data and gathering user feedback to help us make the right technical and product related decisions. What we strive for is making our products easily accessible and intuitive, while giving users full transparency into what the AI does, giving them control over their data and allowing them to get their work done in a fraction of the time.

Yes, especially at a time when user trust in popular online services is so low, how do you build that trust?

You’re right. Being able to trust the services you use and knowing how things work is key to enabling you to have a good experience. When you look at how ubiquitous smart devices are in our lives today, it becomes really important to build services that work with these principles from the get go. Simply put, users value transparency and control. This is something we take very seriously and build into the core of our products.

We all need a little help along the journey — who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

You know, I haven’t really had a formal mentor over the years, but a lot of help and guidance from senior engineers and leaders with more experience. I’ve had guidance on technical decision making, managing cross functional teams, negotiating and even establishing boundaries.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Some of the best advice I got was about how to, occasionally, say no. I used to find it really difficult to say no to anybody. But when you’re in the middle of large projects working with hundreds of stakeholders, being able to say no and provide a good justification for it, becomes really important. It gives you the space you need to do what is right and increases your credibility among the people you work with.

Two other pieces of advice I received, that honestly made my life so much easier, were to delegate and to escalate. It’s often hard to know when is the right time for you to step in to solve a problem and when is it best to let others do it. Being able to judge this and work effectively with both, your team and your leadership, is really important.

How are you going to shake things up next?

I feel really fortunate to have learned from some of the best minds in our field in the past decade that I’ve worked at Google. It has been a great journey learning and contributing, but I believe that real impact will come from giving back to the community. I want to share my learnings with girls and women interested in pursuing technical careers and help bring more women to leadership positions in technology. I’ve mentored several engineers at Google and have now signed up to do the same with non profits working with college students around the world.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I have a favorite author and have read most of his books and listened to his podcasts too — Malcolm Gladwell. I mentioned earlier how it’s really important for us to make data driven decisions when designing products for our users. Malcolm’s work has made data driven decision making so accessible and understandable in many walks of life. Not just making decisions based on data but also being able to dig into it to find patterns, rules and often even interesting anomalies.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

One of the principles we learn when we are kids is to always be patient and wait for your turn. I think there’s a lot of value in doing that but it often takes away from how putting in the hard work, taking risks and asking for what you want is equally, if not more, important. I read a quote by Oprah many years ago that said “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for”. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I waited for opportunities to come to me, and I’m sure that’s true for everyone not born with a silver spoon.

How can our readers follow you online?

Follow me on LinkedIn. I share stories and opinions there.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

My pleasure. Thanks so much for having me.

Female Disruptors: Google’s Neha Pattan On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Stephanie of Levitate Foundry On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

…We are lucky enough to work with the world’s leading brands and most innovative startups. Every day, we are pivoting with the constant changes in the world and are executing marketing strategies and growth hacking for these companies. We are building brands that are making everyday life better for all.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Liu the Founder of Levitate Foundry, a leading eCommerce growth firm that also incubates modern consumer brands.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

When I graduated from UC Berkeley, my closest friends (nearly everyone I knew) graduated into investment banking roles in the Finance industry. I knew I wanted to be in tech, eCommerce, building companies. I took a huge pay cut (from a typical investment banking salary) to jump directly into a tech and fashion career. I paid my dues at companies like Amazon.com, Gap Inc. Sephora, and Facebook. Now that I’ve been in eCommerce for over a decade, I have no regrets, and am grateful that I pursued my passion for building consumer brands. Generally speaking, following your passion over what’s “expected of you”, especially as a new college graduate, is the way to go. Always follow your instincts. Over the last few years, I have not followed any set “path” but rather paved my own career path in tech and marketing.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

At Levitate Foundry, we are lucky enough to work with the world’s leading brands and most innovative startups. Every day, we are pivoting with the constant changes in the world and are executing marketing strategies and growth hacking for these companies. We are building brands that are making everyday life better for all.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We’re always making mistakes when we start something. Sometimes we can laugh off those mistakes, other times the mistakes can be quite painful both emotionally and financially. The lessons to be learned from those mistakes is that they make you stronger; try to see the bright side of each mistake, and realize you’ll never make the same mistake twice.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’ve had so many great female mentors during my journey. I’m a firm believer that no matter where you go or where you work, it’s a great opportunity to meet people you can learn from. My mentors have made an impact on functional skill sets at work, but more importantly, on my perspective

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disrupting an industry is positive when we are activating new thinking (perhaps not the “societal norm” or how the mass society would typically think) and carrying it through to create new innovations that have a positive impact on how we live, think, and operate. For example, I believe Elon Musk is incredibly disruptive, he’s taken his disruptive thinking, his dreams and brought them to life for the betterment of society.

I think an instance where “disrupting an industry might not be positive’, is when the disruptive thinking or follow through execution, and impacts society for the worse — for example, technologies that separate us rather than connect us, innovations that hurt our mental health and physical bodies rather than improve our quality of life, and so on.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

It’s all about building relationships — Building a great network is all about dedicating time and energy to building strong, lasting relationships. At Levitate Foundry, many of our biggest clients have been referred by longtime friends and colleagues I’ve met throughout my career.

Be an agile learner — People who act on the same assumption they use for years are prone to become stagnant. To build sustainable success, you must continuously learn from experience and let go of approaches that are no longer useful.

Embrace the challenge — The incredible variety of clients we get to work with brings constant challenges to the table. Building successful strategies to navigate these challenges gives me the opportunity to learn and grow my business.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

We are building our own brands, and helping bring brand stories to life for those individuals who have a unique story and want to share their stories.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

There are many stereotypes. I think the stereotype that women should act, behave, dress, and generally “be” a certain way — can be challenging for women disruptors. Women are stereotypically not supposed to be Type A, and throughout my career, I was penalized for having “a voice”, for speaking my mind, or for “being too aggressive” in my execution style. The same likely wouldn’t be said for a man. An “aggressive” executor is generally not thought of as pejorative for male, but indeed pejorative for female. This is an interesting gender challenge that is faced by women disruptors, that I have not seen as a challenge for their male counterparts.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, is a great book and guide for day-to-day living. It stresses the importance of living in the present moment and transcending thoughts of the past or future. Allows you to focus on what’s most important to you in your present, and not get sidetracked from your most important mission.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Providing better early education that is a combination of skills and functional based education, but also emotional intelligence and personal growth oriented education. Creating a more robust and intelligent society requires more depth in our early education. Not everyone gets access to personal development and growth, if we can provide that in our school systems from a young age, and help young people build confidence, entrepreneurship, and belief in self, we will find our adult society operating at a much different level.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Best investment you can ever make is in yourself. Invest in yourself — invest in your skill sets, knowledge, and growth. It’s relevant to anyone’s life. If you don’t invest in yourself, others won’t either. For example, if you want to start a company, a startup, then you can invest your time, money, efforts into that startup. VC’s aren’t going to invest in your startup if you don’t show them that you have the backbone to invest in your own idea. Show others you’re willing to invest in it yourself, both via your time, and your finances, and others will want to invest in you.

How can our readers follow you online?

instagram.com/levitatefoundry

Female Disruptors: Stephanie of Levitate Foundry On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Jamie O’Day of Boston NAPS On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Our approach to prenatal and postpartum support is not a one-size fits all approach. There are a number of different ways to parent, and so there is not just one solution that works for everyone. We have found that while well intentioned, many people both medical professionals and otherwise will provide you with advice and support but it’s typically just what worked for them, or what they have learned is the “right” answer through education. But the truth is, there are oftentimes no right answers when it comes to parents. Which also means there’s no wrong answer, it’s just figuring out the right answer for your family. So our approach is taking the time to get to know our clients, asking them what they are experiencing and what their goals are, and then giving them support and guidance based on their unique situation.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jamie O’Day.

As a Labor and Delivery Registered Nurse at several hospitals, Jamie has worked with countless parents as they welcome a baby into the world, and seen first-hand the full spectrum of challenges, emotions and joy they face.

Today, as a mother of three girls, Jamie manages Boston NAPS full-time. Her role allows her to focus on her passion: Working closely with families to ensure they feel comfortable and confident as they transition home with their babies.

As an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Jamie understands the difference that additional training and expertise can make. She loves working with mothers to support them in all of their feeding goals, and helping mothers feel comfortable and confident in their choices in a non-judgement way.

Jamie lives in South Boston with her husband, daughters, Catherine (5), Mackenzie (5), and Camila (1), and dog Brutus. She enjoys traveling, cooking and relaxing with family and friends.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Myself and my business partner, Emily, are both registered nurses and lactation consultants. We met in 2009 while working together as labor and delivery nurses at a busy Boston hospital, and instantly became friends.

One of our favorite parts about working on labor and delivery, was the challenge of developing a strong, and trusted relationship with our patients in a very short period of time. Labor and delivery is such an intimate experience, and we felt privileged to be a part of that moment in our patient’s lives, and always wanted our patients to like and trust us. After supporting women through their labor and delivery, this would oftentimes result in patients asking us if we could then go home with them (maybe jokingly?) We would laugh, and tell them “we wish!”

But, then we really started thinking about whether or not we could actually do this, and started researching what kind of support was available to families after delivery in their home, and found that the support was very limited. So with that knowledge, we decided we wanted to be the ones to fill that gap for families, and that’s exactly what we did. We started Boston NAPS, in 2011 while still working on labor and delivery.

Now 9 years later, we have 5 girls between the two of us, all 5 years old and under. Our approach to supporting women and families through pregnancy and early childhood is combining the worlds of medical advice and real life advice to cut through the noise, and provide women and families with a clear direction in their parenting journeys with the goal of creating more confident parents.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Our approach to prenatal and postpartum support is not a one-size fits all approach. There are a number of different ways to parent, and so there is not just one solution that works for everyone. We have found that while well intentioned, many people both medical professionals and otherwise will provide you with advice and support but it’s typically just what worked for them, or what they have learned is the “right” answer through education. But the truth is, there are oftentimes no right answers when it comes to parents. Which also means there’s no wrong answer, it’s just figuring out the right answer for your family. So our approach is taking the time to get to know our clients, asking them what they are experiencing and what their goals are, and then giving them support and guidance based on their unique situation. This sometimes means going against what a medical professional may have advised or suggested, but providing our clients with good, sound explanations for why we may be going against the grain, and making that decision with our clients together, rather than from an authoritative body.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We work with a lot of professional athletes in the Boston area, and we were contacted by the wife of a well known athlete in Boston who was looking for nursing care for their newborn baby. My business partner, Emily, set up a time to go to their home and meet them to discuss care, like we do for all of our clients. When she showed up to the building, a nice man opened the door for her, and then held the elevator for her. They went up in the elevator together, silent, and then got off of the same floor, and walked to the same door. At which point Emily looked at him (a very recognizable face in Boston!) and said, oh do you live here? I’m Emily, from Boston NAPS, it’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?” Hopefully he found this just as amusing as I did when Emily left the consultation and told me the story. She had my husband and I in tears retelling the story on speaker phone!

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Our biggest mentors have been from surrounding ourselves with others who keep us motivated and inspired! This includes a group of amazing fellow entrepreneurs who are also moms. We started a group about 3 years ago with 4 other women, who are also moms, and who run their own businesses, and that has been life changing! These women are our support system, our sounding board, and our motivation to do and be better personally and professionally. Through this group we have also hired an amazing business coach. These resources have provided us with an invaluable wealth of knowledge that has led to huge professional and personal growth.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

As it relates to our niche, working with expecting, new, and experienced parents, social media is the first thing that comes to mind as it relates to being disruptive and it being “not so positive.” Women and especially mothers have historically been very competitive and cirital of one another. And this is ten fold on social media, because we are not just seeing the mom at drop off who we have decided has her shit together because she is dressed, with her hair done, and makeup on. But instead, we are not bombarded by my snapshot (literally) into a person’s life showing just how perfect their life as a mom is, and a caption to better prove” their perfection. But it’s all still a facade, it’s still a snapshot, we still can’t see the whole picture. But when we are already feeling down on ourselves, seeing that makes us feel every more less than worthy.

Instead, if we could create a more positive image of honesty, of the successes and the struggles, of telling other moms the truth when they ask us about birth, and breastfeeding, and sleep, and their relationship with their partner, instead of responding with the cliche answer like “sleep now because you’ll never sleep again”, “I can’t describe labor, you’ll just have to wait and see for yourself”, “I am breastfeeding and I love it”. It’s time we as women, and as mothers, start being honest with ourselves and with the other women in our lives who are really truly asking what their experience has been like, so we can make it better for those women, and other women, and our own children!

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

1. “Get comfortable with putting C+/B- work into the world, knowing that you are just putting it out there.” I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work, I hate making mistakes, but if I also know if I wait for everything to be perfect, I will never get anything done, because things will never be perfect, and that’s ok. Instead, just put your work out into the world. And just because it feels like C+ work to you, doesn’t mean that everyone else will think that. In fact, it’s been quite the opposite! Most people find that what we think is C+ work, is actually A work to those receiving it!

2.” Work-life balance doesn’t mean 50/50 all the time to both work and your personal life.” And as soon as you can understand and accept that you will never be able to give 100% to your business and 100% to your family, the sooner you will achieve this “balance”. The balance comes from some days (or weeks, or months!) giving 70% to the business and 30% to your family, and other times it’s the opposite. That’s where the balance comes from, not split down the middle all of the time. This also leaves us feeling like we are never giving 100% to anything, and again, we’re not! Because that’s not possible, it’s only possible to give more to the areas of your life that need it at any given time, and less to the other things. We know that the pendulum always swings the other way, when the time is right.

3. “Would I recommend myself as (inset role)” would I recommend myself as a friend, a wife, a business partner, a mom, a nurse? If the answer is no, then something is broken, and it’s important to explore why it’s broken and now to fix it.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

We have big plans! We just launched a fully online membership program, Nurture by NAPS, to be able to support women and families anytime, anywhere from pregnancy through early childhood. We created this to better serve women everywhere by creating a safe, non-judgmental and evidence based space for them to seek out support and advice. The care we provide to pregnant and postpartum women in the United States is disgraceful compared to other developed countries, and we are doing our part to bridge this gap. Women need access to resources and information, and shouldn’t and can’t go to a million different places to get that support.

As moms who have been pregnant and labored a combined 5 times, and who have been working with women and families for over 10 years, Emily and I know what expecting and new parents need and want. So we are cutting through all of the noise, and giving families a blueprint of exactly what they can and should be focusing on in the different stages of their pregnancy or parenting journey. This will help parents reach every parent’s ultimate goal: a happy, healthy child that you feel confident and comfortable caring for.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Women who go against the grain or who are successful in non-traditional ways are judged and labeled instead of being praised and rewarded like their male counterparts. Going against the grain and being a trailblazer is oftentimes considered a mascaline quality, and so when women act in this way it can and is interpreted as being “difficult”. Or worse, that showing emotion and being vulnerable is not a quality possessed by leaders or good business people, and it’s viewed as a weakness. And if you show emotion or are vulnerable you aren’t strong, or stable, or fit to lead. None of this is true of course, but there have been decades of this thought process ingrained in us, and our society,and our culture, and it’s going to take time to make this shift. But that shift is already happening, and once we are there, that is a world that I for sure want to be living in, and want me children and grandchild to be living in! Glennon Doyle said it perfectly in her book untamed “We don’t need more selfless women. What we need are more women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself to say and do what must be done.” And knows what to do and say regardless of what other people think she should say or do!

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

It’s hard for me to name just one, since I am always trying to better myself and seek knowledge about all aspects of my life, from motherhood and parenting, to marriage and business As mentioned above, I love the book “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle, especially as a women and a mother. I also love the audible by Brene Brown “The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting”. And finally, I am obsessed with everything Brooke Castillo. There is one particular podcast episode by her called “How to Feel Better” that breaks down her “model” which essentially states that your thoughts control your feelings, your feelings control your actions, and your actions control your results. So if you don’t like the way you are feeling or acting, or don’t like the results you are getting, then you have to change your thoughts. My kind was blown when I first heard that podcast episode 2 years ago, and I live by implementing this model and way of thinking.

All of these women are going against the grain, are thought leaders in their industry, and are making a huge impact on the world, especially as it relates to women, mothers, and women in business. All of these women have helped me have a more positive relationship with myself, with my spouse, with my kids, clients, business partner, friends, everyone in my life! I seek to learn from these women when I am dealing with a personal or professional problem, and can always find an answer, you just have to be willing to listen and learn.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

For women to be in charge of everything. Can you imagine a world where we have a female president, more female CEOs and entrepreneurs than we do male, more women in charge of creating policies and education and feeding the hungry and providing homes for the homeless? I sure can, and you better believe it’s a world I want to live in!

How can our readers follow you online?

IG: @bostonnaps FB: @bostonnaps website: bostonnaps.com

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: Jamie O’Day of Boston NAPS On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Going forward, sustainable travel should be the number one consideration for travelers and travel providers alike. Visiting the world’s wonders is now bittersweet. Alpine glaciers are melting, Venice is sinking, and the West Coast is on fire. It’s time for all of us to do something about it.

As part of my series about “the future of travel in the post-COVID world”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Molly Fergus, Vice President and General Manager of TripSavvy.

Molly has dedicated her career to the digital travel space. Before joining TripSavvy, she was an associate digital editor for Condé Nast Traveler, where she helped launch the magazine’s first proprietary website and an editorial assistant at Sherman’s Travel. Her first gig after college gave her the first-hand experience needed to work in travel: She spent a year driving across the country in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, living in hotels, and exploring the backroads of America. Her writing has also appeared in Self, Redbook, Women’s Wear Daily, and CNN.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

It’s embarrassingly cliche: I was sitting at a cafe in Barcelona, during a semester studying abroad, jotting notes in a moleskin journal (please, groan with me). I knew I wanted to work in media, but I wasn’t sure which genre — fashion, food, and news all appealed. In a eureka moment, while sipping my coffee, I realized I could write about sitting in cafes drinking coffee.

Surprise, surprise, that’s a really common dream. But I didn’t let the competitiveness of the space intimidate me. I sought out every opportunity I could to write and travel, and I focused on this niche.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

You could say the start of my career was one long interesting story. For a full year, I drove the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile around the country, working as a spokesperson for the company. It was the perfect job to have right out of college. I knew I wanted to work in travel media, and the position paid me to travel full-time. I saw parts of the country I would never have visited otherwise, lived in hotels for a year, and became really, really good at packing a suitcase.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was covering a local election as a reporter for my college newspaper. At 10 p.m. one weeknight, rumor had it one candidate had dropped out. I had the campaign manager’s home number, so I called him endlessly until he finally picked up. “How dare you call me this late when I am in bed with my beautiful wife!” he bellowed at me on the phone. I was 18 and horribly embarrassed — but I got the quote and learned to always be persistent in this field.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?

We’ve all heard this before, but it’s true: take your vacation days! Everyone needs to disconnect and recharge, even if you can’t travel far. I’ll also offer a piece of advice that I’m bad at following: add in a buffer day or two at home when you get back from a big trip. You’re asking for more burnout if you get home late on Sunday night, log into work the next morning, and stare bleary-eyed at an overflowing inbox.

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?

At the University of Missouri, I worked in the communications department for the college of education. It was an excellent part-time gig that gave me hands-on writing & editing experience. But the best part was the day I peeked into my manager’s office and saw…a giant stuffed Wienermobile. My boss had driven the Wienermobile early on in her career; she introduced me to the program and helped me through the entire application process. My career might have taken a completely different path without that first job!

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

There is too much travel information on the web. Sifting through strangers’ reviews is time-consuming, and physical guidebooks can be outdated and unreliable. TripSavvy publishes travel advice from locals who are experts on their hometowns, and our editors work around-the-clock to keep that information fresh, factual, and relevant.

As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?

1. We’ll make reservations for everything: To allow for social distancing, many museums, tourist attractions, and even ski resorts are requiring visitors to make ticketed reservations. It’s a necessity today, but should be a trend that sticks — after all, who doesn’t want to feel like they have a ski mountain all to themselves?
2. Contactless hotel rooms are here to stay: More and more hotels are outfitting their rooms with voice-operated command systems, so you’ll never have to touch a hotel remote control again. Thank goodness.
3. Masks will go mainstream: I wouldn’t be surprised if mask-wearing becomes standard on public transit and airplanes for years to come — even after COVID-19 is less of a risk. Most of us have taken a long flight and wound up getting sick a few days into a vacation. If masks offer another layer of protection that could keep you healthy while away, then why not wear one?
4. Outdoor dining becomes standard: New York City just announced that its expanded outdoor dining program will be a permanent program, even after the pandemic, and I think we’re going to see that trend across the country. Who doesn’t like eating outside on a nice night?
5. Business travel will make a slow recovery: Remote work culture means that business travel might never be the same. Not all meetings need to be in person, and it will take a while before we are all comfortable with large conferences and networking events again.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

My favorite formula for a day on vacation is: pick one activity, plan one meal, and leave the rest to chance. It’s easy to over plan a trip, bouncing from museum-to-monument and checking off everything on that must-see list. If you don’t leave room for some spontaneity, you’ll miss out on the sense of discovery that leads to the best memories — the hole-in-the-wall restaurant you stumbled into or the sunset you caught on the beach. On the flip side, if you under plan and don’t make time for the sights you consider essential, you’ll feel like you missed out. Find that happy medium.

Can you share with our readers how have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

This is incredibly cheesy, but traveling makes the world a better place. The more we learn and understand about the people around us, the more likely we are to approach others with compassion. I’m lucky my job helps people travel!

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. ☺

Going forward, sustainable travel should be the number one consideration for travelers and travel providers alike. Visiting the world’s wonders is now bittersweet. Alpine glaciers are melting, Venice is sinking, and the West Coast is on fire. It’s time for all of us to do something about it.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram @mollyfergus

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Molly Fergus of TripSavvy: The Future Of Travel In The Post COVID World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

People need the confidence to get on a flight these days. The only real way to gain this type of confidence is by providing testing across the board, and with the availability of on-site testing offered by Collinson, this is possible. Airport employees, as well as flight crew should be tested regularly. For passengers, this means having access to outbound testing four days before a flight, PCR testing when you land.

As part of my series about “exciting developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing David Sarafinas, Vice President, Medical and Security Assistance, Collinson.

David Sarafinas is the vice president of medical and security assistance for Collinson where he leads travel risk management (TRM) for the Americas. David brings 19 years of experience in duty of care and travel risk management as a thought leader creating new concepts and programs for international organizations in order to fulfill their duty of care responsibilities. He was instrumental in the creation of HX Global (Healix-US) where he recruited and managed the sales and account management teams as the company’s Managing Director from 2013 to 2018. Prior to this, David spent 13 years as the senior director of business development for International SOS from 2001 to 2013.

Prior to his role in the industry, David founded National Medical Electronics where he created, staffed, managed, grew and sold one of the largest biomedical engineering companies in the United States. Sarafinas also spent 10 years serving in the U.S. Navy, where he was assigned to a combat helicopter squadron and provided support for the Navy special operations units.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Having spent 10 years in the military, I have always appreciated organizations that performed with precision under pressure during a crisis. The Collinson Medical Assistance division saves lives every day in some of the most hostile and remote places in the world. Our team of physicians, nurses and operations specialists handle more than 40,000 crisis cases a year. It’s the teamwork, comradery and mission that led me to this career, and it is what keeps me passionate about what we do.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

It was the night before Thanksgiving in 2008 when I got a call from the SVP of HR at a Fortune 100 company. She called to tell me she had an employee in the Taj hotel in Mumbai, which I already knew was under attack by an extremist Islamist terrorist organization based in Pakistan. I gave her to the operations center where they told her they had contacts on the ground already and were able to infiltrate the area. A lot of the details are confidential, but I can tell you that the employee was taken out of the hotel safely, and medical assistance was provided after the evacuation.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?

Make your career your passion, and devise ways to motivate yourself to do your job because you want to help others. Bonuses, commissions and compensation should be a byproduct. But if you make your number one goal to help your clients and build a trusting relationship, you will fulfill your goals and stay motivated. The example about assisting the employee out of a dangerous situation in Mumbai, as well as helping clients overcome dangerous travel situations all over the world, are what motivate me. It’s particularly relevant at this point in time as we face the first global pandemic in more than 100 years. I’ve helped clients navigate travel with Ebola, Zika, H1N1 and SARS, but those have been more regionally isolated. This situation is far more complex and far reaching. I am encouraged every day that my organization is helping clients navigate the pandemic during these difficult times.

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?

My boss, Scott Sunderman, Global Head of Assistance for Collinson, and I have been working together for nearly 18 years. If I were to create a model of what a leader looks like, it would be him. There seems be two distinct types of managers, and Scott is the latter:

Those who are only concerned about their own career path and their organization’s financial success.

Those few who understand that if the teams are happy, motivated and feel fulfilled in their role, they strive incredibly hard to make their organization successful.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

Collinson is a global leader and provider of travel experiences, including medical and security assistance and travel medical services. Collinson’s traveler experiences include the world’s leading airport lounge and experiences program, Priority Pass, as well as travel insurance, identity assistance, flight delay, international health and travel risk management solutions. Our 20 global locations help ensure the safety, welfare and comfort of 55 million people.

In particular, our recent innovation is on-site COVID testing services for entertainment, airline, airport, government and other corporate entities. Because our travel medical and security assistance business unit has more than 30 years of experience in the delivery of international medical assistance and emergency care, handling pandemics, such as Ebola and Zika, we have a wide network of global laboratories equipped to handle this testing. Last year alone, Collinson responded to more than 95,000 emergency calls, managed more than 40,000 medical cases and conducted 3,000 aero-medical evacuations in 170 countries we serve.

There are many labs offering companies regular testing, but Collinson’s offers a turn-key solution. Our processes are backed by the experience and expertise of medical professionals, such as global medical director, Dr. Simon Worrell, an immunology and communicable diseases expert with prior in-depth experience from Ebola, Zika and now COVID-19 pandemics. We also have hundreds of doctors, nurses and operational specialists. Our experience with pandemics (SARs, H1N1, Avian Flu, Ebola and Zika), allowed us to pivot very quickly to activate our innovative pandemic support programs. These include:

On-site RT-PCR testing — the “gold standard” of testing

“Rapid” Antigen Testing

A COVID-19 hotline answering questions from our clients’ employees related to COVID-19

A COVID-19 website development for up-to-date content to help customize a corporate website for international travel controls, government response stringency index and testing policies

A return-to-work consultancy to help advise employees with COVID-19 on the correct protocols for heading back to work

A mental health hotline and assistance for employees struggling with the mental health effects of the pandemic

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

There are a lot of companies and smaller labs trying to offer on-site testing. However, none of them have a reliable solution which can offer scalability, convenience and fast turnaround times. There are a lot of little satellite labs handling one patient at a time. Some labs can do many tests per day, but they can’t offer rapid testing bespoke to an airport, airline, corporation or production studio. Collinson can provide an end-to-end, totally turnkey solution for rapid on-site COVID testing.

We will set up testing facilities on site, provide the staffing to collect samples, courier the samples to a lab in our global network or even place a dedicated lab on-site. We are able to obtain test results within three to five hours, post these results to a special portal Collinson creates for each client and sends results to the individuals via email and SMS text. A few differentiators for our testing program:

RT-PCR testing — the most sensitive test available and the most effective for asymptomatic cases.

Supported GDPR/HIPAA complaint software for delivery of results and tracking of data on a full dashboard.

More PCR machines in a network of labs to allow high-volume testing as demand increases

Services and guidance for employees who test positive

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

The entire world needs to get back to traveling. Our fast, convenient on-site testing is an important component that will help bring the economy back to normal. Governments are struggling to determine which is more important — the economy or the infection rate. We bring a reasonable solution by giving governments and the general public the confidence to travel again, knowing people are being tested on a regular basis. Whether it is an international traveler flying into Heathrow who has to quarantine for 14 days without a negative test certificate or a film production company needing to create new content that requires actors standing less than two feet apart from each other, to truly get back to business, people need to know individuals have tested negative and pose no threat to their fellow travelers or colleagues.

As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to finding new ways that they can affect how consumer confidence in traveling?

I hope the travel industry will work to the larger issue of travel risk management. As COVID-19 infection rates drop, threats and risks overshadowed by this pandemic will still exist. I see the following as changes needed to the travel and hospitality industry:

Travelers need to have access to some sort of pre-travel medical advice before embarking on their trip.

Airlines and airports will need to provide their employees, crew and passengers with some level of proactive health and safety measures. Today, it would be COVID-19 testing.

Corporate and TMC policies around lodging need to take into account the risks associated around location.

Policies will need to integrate emerging technologies designed to mitigate risks.

The travel and hospitality industry will need to partner with companies like Collinson to offer more than rooms and tickets to achieve duty of care compliance for their customers.

What are the areas to focus on that will bring travelers back to the sky?

People need the confidence to get on a flight these days. The only real way to gain this type of confidence is by providing testing across the board, and with the availability of on-site testing offered by Collinson, this is possible. Airport employees, as well as flight crew should be tested regularly. For passengers, this means having access to outbound testing four days before a flight, PCR testing when you land.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-sarafinas/

David Sarafinas of Collinson: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The first step to inner and outer peace is to ask ourselves who we truly are. Many people believe they are a human being who can have a spiritual experience, yet we might consider that we are spiritual beings having a human experience When we remember who we truly are, we come back to the peace of our own soul. When we discover that our own consciousness is filled with bliss, then we stop trying to manipulate and control others as we allow life to unfold and reharmonize itself the way the ancient Taoists have prescribed

As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matthew Brownstein.

Matthew is the author of the book Peace Under All Circumstances and The Sacred Geometry of Meditation. He is a philosopher and religious scholar, who runs the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy and OnlineMonastery.com, where offers in depth teachings on The Anahat Meditation System. Matthew has dedicated his life to creating more health, wealth, and enlightenment through his Life Mastery Course, while helping others to find inner peace regardless of external circumstances.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

In 1992, I had a powerful spiritual awakening which showed me that pervading all of time and space is one universal love, light, peace, and joy, which many call God. The experience was so awe-inspiring that it changed my life forever. Being in college at the time, I changed my major to philosophy and religion to figure out what had happened. That then led to living in various monasteries and ashrams, and in the Himalayas in India where I studied with great masters. My quest to be able to guide all beings to this experience of oneness also led to the healing arts where I attended two Chinese Medical Colleges and continued with in depth training in Clinical Hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. In 1997, I opened Anahat Meditation Center, which eventually grew into Anahat Education Group, OnlineMonastery.com, and Silent Light Publishers. Most of my work continues with The Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy, my books, and through the Online Monastery project.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

After leaving the Zen Monastery, I went to meditate on the top of a mountain. I was not familiar with the area and it started raining. Night fell and I could not find my way down. I realized that the safest thing to do was to stay on the mountain top, yet I had no camping gear, no flashlight and not enough clothing to keep me warm. The temperature dropped to about 40 degrees and it was so dark that I could not see my hand in front of my face. In the midst of the pouring rain, I managed to find a large stone to sit meditation upon. I began intense meditation practice to regulate my body temperature and to survive the night. The power of intense meditation is what I attribute to surviving an almost freezing rain-soaked evening alone on a mountain top. When the sun rose, it was a truly beautiful sight.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

People need to be awoken to who they truly are. If meditation could be brought into the workplace, then people could connect with their own inner peace and creativity before the day begins. People could learn to sit and breathe and to work harmoniously with each other as they honor that each person has something truly unique to bring to this world. A thriving work culture, filled with happy people, could come about from encouraging each person to open up to who they truly are, find the joy that is within them, and then work in truly collaborative ways where love and kindness become the basis of all that we do. We all get upset in relationships from time-to-time, yet this provides the fuel to allow us to forgive, respect each other, and return to loving and harmonious relationships, which produce awe-inspiring results.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Old Path, White Clouds, Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the many that stand out. The book is a sweet retelling of the story of the Buddha’s journey, enlightenment, and life’s mission. After seven years of intense spiritual practice, the Buddha simply stopped and meditated under the now famous Bo Tree. There he attained his enlightenment and from there he founded monastic orders which disseminated his teachings to the world. One man dedicated his life to relieving the suffering of all beings and simply by sitting still under a tree he changed the world. I resonate with the stories of the great saints and sages because their lives show us that one enlightened being can create ripple effects of peace, understanding and compassion which can influence countless millions of people.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?

Mindfulness is a gentle term for the more advanced states of being that long-term meditators achieve. In meditation, we generally practice some form of concentration where we place our attention upon an internal or external object of consciousness. By coming back again and again to this object which is always in the present moment, we release the past and the future and dwell in the here and now. This intense concentrated power can then be placed upon our very own consciousness. We can be aware that we are aware. Being mindful of the moment and the one who is observing the moment brings us to a profound state of peace. Being mindful is simply what an advanced meditator does at every moment, where everything that we do becomes spiritual practice.

This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?

The body has two primary modes of functioning. We have the parasympathetic nervous system response, which is fight or flight, and we have the sympathetic nervous system, which is the rest, digest and heal response. When we are stressed out, our body remains stuck in flight or flight mode and our digestion and immune systems are robbed of vital life force energy. By finding inner peace and returning to it constantly if we waver from it, we find a mind that becomes calm and clear, a heart that remains open, happy, and loving, and a body that follows. Psychosomatic illness is the result of the mind causing major health problems. Inner peace is health. When we are not at peace, we are not healthy. When we harbor hurt, sadness, fear, anger, guilt and shame, our bodies react in very disharmonious ways. Mindfulness could therefore be considered as a way of releasing the illusory past and future and coming into the present moment where true peace resides. As long as we are mindful in the here and now, then peace is always possible.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. The past 5 years have been filled with upheaval and political uncertainty. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the pandemic have only heightened a sense of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and loneliness. From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to develop mindfulness during such uncertain times? Can you please share a story or example for each?

The first step to inner and outer peace is to ask ourselves who we truly are. Many people believe they are a human being who can have a spiritual experience, yet we might consider that we are spiritual beings having a human experience When we remember who we truly are, we come back to the peace of our own soul. When we discover that our own consciousness is filled with bliss, then we stop trying to manipulate and control others as we allow life to unfold and reharmonize itself the way the ancient Taoists have prescribed.

My experience of asking Who am I? has caused a significant change in my psyche and in my physiology. By always being open to the pure potential of who I am, I have been able to reach heights that I never would have dreamed of. I have experienced corporate success beyond what I ever could have imagined when my company was running from the top of a skyscraper and when I semi-retired at 41 years old, and when I found myself flying my paraglider at 13,000 feet over the Sacred Valley of Peru near Machu Pichu or flying around the Christ the Redeemer statute in Brazil. I never cease to be amazed at what surrendering to life with a beginner’s mind can do as long as I am willing to let go of who I thought I was in exchange for the glorious reality of who I am and who we all are.

The second step, after asking Who am I? is to ask if I can handle whatever is happening now. If I answer, “Can I handle this?” with no, then I suffer. If I say, “Yes, I can handle this”, then I open to all of the power, strength and inner resolve that is always within me.

I have been quite exhausted in the past when I used to see many clients and students each day, day in and day out. I have had weeks where I saw 30 clients per week to help them to find inner peace, while also teaching many classes on meditation. It can be exhausting, yet when I ask, “Can I handle this?”, and answer “Yes, I can,” then my body, mind and emotions respond with a virtually inexhaustible supply of energy.

The third step to peace, once I know who I am and that I can handle the situation before me, is to ask myself if I can be at peace with it. If a situation is challenging, and even if it is causing me stress, I can simply ask “Can I be at peace with this?” If I answer no, then I suffer, yet if I can handle the situation, then I can be at peace with the situation. Peace does not mean that my body, mind and emotions feel good in that moment, yet my remembering who I truly am as the observing consciousness who can handle anything, then I find that I can always be at peace with any situation, regardless of inner or outer circumstances.

This principle has shown me that peace is always a choice and is available to us at every moment. I do this when standing in long lines, when stuck in traffic, when handling challenging relationships, or even when I just lie down in bed at night. I simply tell myself, “I could be at peace right now and I choose to be.” This simple choice makes all the difference in the world.

The fourth step to peace is to reinforce the idea that I am the observing consciousness and that I am not my mind, emotions, or body. I am the observer of my human self and here I simply ask, “Who is observing this right now?” This establishes the idea of a subject-object relationship. When I remember to be the observer of my feelings, I can then let them go and not be caught up in them. It is okay to have emotions, yet it is important to observe those emotions and not to suppress them. The easiest way to remain at peace, even when life is challenging and emotions flare, is to pull back to be the observer and to remember that my emotions cannot hurt me.

I have done this throughout my entire adult life. When I meditate, I often focus on my own consciousness and I reinforce the awareness that I am the observer of my body, mind, and emotions. I train myself to be able to pull back and to observe process. It is rare that I must push hard to accomplish anything. Life seems to unfold easily and naturally when we are simply allowing what is to be what is. By observing my emotions, I can allow them to move through me and my system remains clear most of the time. Then, if there is any form of upset, it becomes a sort of barometer to know how to best respond. By being mindful of being the observer, I am much more in touch with how I feel, and I can surrender and let go, trusting process to unfold naturally from a peaceful inner center.

The fifth step to finding peace, is to ask, “What am I feeling right now?” It is very important to keep our heart’s open and not to suppress our emotions. Inner peace does not come from closing our hearts and not feeling. Human beings get hurt and we get sad, we become afraid and we get angry. This is normal and natural. There is nothing wrong with being human and having human emotions. When we ask, “Who am I” and “Who is observing this right now?” then we reestablish ourselves in the seat of the observer. When we ask, “What am I feeling right now?” then we make space for our heart to feel whatever it does. If we are willing to let go and to allow our human self to be as it is, then it balances itself out. Disharmony leads to oneness, and that which seemed to be disturbed finds its own equilibrium and balance.

To me, this relates to forgiveness because when I allow my feelings to be there, and I realize that I do not want to feel bad, then I can forgive, release, and let go. People harbor hurts and anger. This is unhealthy. It is okay to feel feelings and to simply let them go. Meditation teaches us to remain in the present moment. Sometimes we have feelings in the moment which do not feel peaceful. Instead of resisting them to find peace, we release them, and peace is what is left. This has always been my experience since I began meditation over 25 years ago.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

The first step in supporting others who are not feeling well is to validate their feelings and simply to listen. Meditation allows us to be with what is. If another person feels bad, and we are conscious enough, then we can hold space for them, hear what they have to say, apologize when necessary, and then truly let them know that they are heard. Reflective/Empathic Listening is a truly great skill. We feedback what we heard the other person say and we let them know that we are working to understand them. We do not ignore them or try to change them. We do not talk about ourselves. We simple listen and when a person feels truly heard and understood, then they feel free to let go and to return to being happy. When we learn to truly listen, then we never interrupt someone. It is not about us. Good listeners are a powerful force to bringing about peace, understanding and love.

After listening to the person who is essentially calling out for love and support, then we can ask, “What do you need to feel better right now?” It is a simple and compassionate request that honors that another person is not at peace. We can do our best to get them what they want or need, without any sense of sacrifice on our part, because being of service to another person is to be of service to myself. By truly listening and understanding, then I can find out what the other person is asking for and simply ask them what they need to feel better. Often the requests are easy to fulfill and if I am humble enough to put myself aside for a moment, then I can reestablish peace for them and therefore for me. Once I help them to get what they want or need, then I can ask again, “And what would feel even better?” as I go beyond what either of us thought was possible.

Another major step in finding peace is to ask if I am willing to let go of my perceptions and of my need to be right. Everyone has their own way of seeing things and I have learned that I would rather be happy than be right. By releasing the need to be right, we can allow both people to find that which is harmonious and beneficial for all involved. To do this, I simply ask “Am I willing to let this go?” Letting go, does not mean letting go of the relationship, yet rather letting go of the part of me that is struggling. The mind can cling to its own limited perceptions or it can release, let go and allow. People tend to transform beautifully when we do the latter.

A fourth powerful step to helping others to be at peace, is to practice forgiveness and to teach forgiveness by simply being it. Most people are afraid of forgiveness because they are attached to the idea that anger brings them what they want. It is okay to get angry and to have emotions because that is what human beings do, yet each form of upset is a chance for healing and for a return to love. When other person is upset, I choose to forgive myself for having a human response and I forgive them for having a human response. When I can listen, find what I can do to make things better, let go of my old perceptions, choose to be happy, and forgive myself and others, then peace is an easy next step.

Another powerful practice in helping another person to feel better, is called Pacing and Leading. If I listen to them and allow them to be who they are, and if I work to understand them, then I am pacing their reality. This softens the person because they can be themselves. I can then lead them back to peace by holding a state of peace within my own being. I do not necessarily drop down to their level, yet I honor where they are at and gently work to guide them to peace by simply being peace. Being peace is a choice that I make repeatedly as a habit in every moment. If there is upset, it is still my job to pace and lead myself and the other person back to peace. In this, the more conscious force in a relationship can be the one who reestablishes trust and rapport, and then great things can occur when two minds join for a common good. By choosing to forgive and return to peace and love, the other person eventually opens up to who they truly are, they are allowed to reach their full potential, and win-win relationships tend to occur most of the time. To win, is simply to be at peace and to find that everyone is made better off.

What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?

I am very passionate about my new website www.OnlineMonastery.com, because mindfulness, while beautiful, is a watered down version of much deeper spiritual teachings. On that website I teach The Anahat Meditation System, which anyone can do from the comfort of their own homes and in any moment of their life. On that website, I have hundreds of hours of free classes on meditation, sacred geometry, Peace Under All Circumstances, Meditations on Higher Consciousness, and teachings on healing and enlightenment. My books Peace Under All Circumstances, The Sacred Geometry of Meditation, The Anahat Meditation System, and The Sutras on Healing and Enlightenment all capture my highest intentions to heal the world through healing the heart and mind and by awakening people to who they truly are.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

One of my favorite life lesson quotes is “Do not go out to energies, let energies come to you.” By being at peace within myself, I tend to vibrate at wonderfully high rates and The Law of Attraction simply teaches that like attracts like. The Tao Te Ching teaches that you never need to leave your house to create world peace. This relates back to the idea of Buddha simply sitting under a tree. By doing nothing, everything can be accomplished. The wise leader simply sits back and observes process. It is rare that I must reach out to others. I simply watch how people come to me. I keep an open-door policy for people who are drawn to my life’s mission to come my way. By observing process, I see that there is a harmony to life and what I need comes to me when I need it. The less I do, the better my life seems to be, however doing less does not mean doing nothing. It means that I put my whole heart into whatever is in front of me, yet I allow life to bring me what I am meant to interact with. This keeps me from creating drama and useless journeys that lead nowhere. I simply focus on who I truly am and what my life’s mission is and with an undying determination to fulfill my life’s mission, I find that all that I need is there when I need it.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I’ve already started my movement to bring about the most good for the most people through my books and teachings. I founded Anahat Meditation Center in 1997 and the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy in 2007. Through www.InstituteofHypnotherapy.com I have created almost 1,000 very well-trained Hypnotherapists who work towards the healing and enlightenment of humanity. To this day, I continue to teach The Anahat Meditation System every Sunday night at 7:00pm EST through www.OnlineMonastery.com all around the world. I never stop teaching, seeing clients, empowering others with careers, and creating teams of people who bring these teachings out into the world. The movement towards peace and harmony was already established by the great saints and sages of this world. I am simply doing my part to keep carving footprints in the jungle for others to follow which lead them to true healing and true enlightenment. I believe that everyone has their part to play in “The great crusade to eliminate all error,” and that by returning to Truth we are all set free.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

For those interested in a powerful meditation system, which can serve at its own spiritual path, or can supplement any other spiritual or religious path, I recommend www.OnlineMonastery.com.

For those interested in my Interpersonal Hypnotherapy Trainings, books, free classes, and blog articles, they can visit www.InstituteofHypnotherapy.com.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Author Matthew Brownstein: How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Daniel Abrahami of Headquarters: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business

Being first is not always best. If you’re first, you’re making all the mistakes and dealing with all the issues. When legalization happened in California, we quickly applied to acquire licenses. What we’ve learned is that we essentially had to teach the cities, which passed laws to allow cannabis activity, but at the same time did not understand it. Two years later, we finally received a license, but we spent a ton of money. Now is the perfect time to enter the market because a lot of the mistakes were already made.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Daniel Abrahami.

Daniel Abrahami is the cofounder of Headquarters (HQ), a strategic advisory collective focused on helping cannabis entrepreneurs unlock accelerated growth in California’s multibillion-dollar market. Daniel is also Managing Partner of AGM Ventures and has been advising companies and investing in cannabis operations since 2014. With a passion for the intersection of cannabis and commerce, his mission is to unlock innovation in the industry.

Daniel led business development for ABC Gems, an international emerald mining, cutting and distribution company. He also co-founded Pravo, the first decentralized high-end jewelry manufacturing operation in Los Angeles, and helped launch numerous direct-to-consumer fashion and apparel companies.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My career has been defined by the convergence of two paths. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so I’ve always had the entrepreneurial bug. In high school, I started my first online business selling paintball gear and server space for gaming in the early years of Esports. Growing up in Los Angeles, I was also surrounded by cannabis at an early age. I began to look at the plant from a business perspective while in college, and learned how to help operations stay as compliant as possible and market their products.

My family was always very involved in Israeli business, so I witnessed the strides Israel was making in the worlds of technology and medical cannabis, which has been legal since the early 1990s. Doctors in the country have been studying the different compounds of the plant for many years, creating brand new technologies from their discoveries and treating patients with a variety of ailments.

It opened up my eyes to the lack of innovation happening in the U.S., where the market was still heavily focused around flower. Although flower is the base of the industry, there’s so much more you can do with the plant. This inspired me to launch Headquarters, a strategic advisory collective focused on helping cannabis entrepreneurs unlock accelerated growth in California’s multibillion-dollar market. We bridge the gap between old-school tactics and cutting-edge innovation by working with clients to launch and build businesses and brands in a smarter and more efficient way.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My first interaction in the quasi-legal space was when I was assisting my friends with one of their first licenses in LA. We quickly got raided while I was there helping them do inventory, which was actually one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever experienced. It’s something a lot of people have gone through in the industry.

This prompted me to step away from cannabis and I thought about getting back into my family’s business. I could have easily become discouraged, but I decided to go back six months later. I couldn’t resist the urge to jump back into this exciting landscape. When I walk through those farms and labs today, it never ceases to amaze me that just four years ago, it could have been the end.

For me, it was a lesson of perseverance. The generation before me fought for the right to access this plant and without them, we wouldn’t have this multi-billion-dollar industry that employs hundreds of thousands of people. I think that’s one of the most important lessons in cannabis.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I make mistakes almost every day, but one funny story stands out. While helping a friend with a raise, we pitched a group of investors who really tore into us. After the pitch, I texted my friend, “Man, they were a-holes.” Turns out, I accidentally texted our group chat with the investors. That was not a pleasant feeling. One thing I notice about myself is that I’m always rushing. It happens quite often, where I’ll text the wrong person or email the wrong group. The lesson here for me is to make sure to catch myself, slow down, check my work, double-check my work and maybe even throw in a triple-check before sending things off.

And no, they never ended up investing. That bridge was burned.

Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Our most important initiative at Headquarters right now is the California Launchpad, a proprietary six-month growth program which culminates in a 30- to 60-day in-store pilot, to take businesses and emerging brands from idea to products-on-the-shelf in six months. In California, our legal landscape hasn’t created a playing field that easily allows innovation. It’s created extremely high barriers to entry, which strains the market and prevents growth. On average, you have companies spending more than $1.5 million over two years to enter the market. That means you have to be very well-capitalized to get in.

Our Launchpad is built around solving that problem. We give these businesses the support they need to execute on their vision by partnering with a vetted supply chain. This is crucial in the wellness space, as you need products that are compliant. Our purpose is to be the foundation for companies to unlock growth, because unless we can do this, the cannabis industry will continue to be stigmatized while innovation is stalled.

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?

I would definitely have to say my parents. As immigrants who didn’t go to college, they didn’t have many options and were forced to build something for themselves, as their parents did before them. I essentially grew up in their office and watched their business grow from a 500 square-foot room to an international organization. I think my success is a direct result of their support and guidance.

When I was 10 years old, my parents lent my cousins and I $20 to start a lemonade stand. We made $25 that day, which we were thrilled about. My dad then asked for the $20 back, explaining to me the basics of borrowing money. I received my first entrepreneurial lesson while we divided up the remaining $5 among the group of cousins. There were countless lessons in the following years, as my parents made sure I was exposed to a variety of experiences, all of which have impacted the way I live my life today.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

First, I think legacy companies should make sure to focus on collecting and leveraging their data. As a new company in a young industry, Headquarters takes the “move fast and break things” approach, and we use data to make guided assumptions. If you don’t move as fast as possible, you’re not going to learn in an industry where regulations are constantly changing.

The second thing for legacy companies would be to establish quality, localized partnerships. Without those, you’re not going to get the desired reach. Every brand has three customers: super fans, casual fans and non-fans. The super fans you’ll always get, but capturing casual fans through partnerships is how you scale.

Next, make sure not to sleep on Gen Z. Many companies don’t know how to talk to this up-and-coming generation slated to be the largest consumer segment. Gen Z consumes differently — they’re the first purely digital generation, so creating a strategy around that is going to be table stakes.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

What excites me about the cannabis industry:

1. Opportunity. The cannabis industry is young — many like to say that it’s only in the second inning. The top companies of today won’t necessarily be the top companies of tomorrow. California itself is the largest cannabis market in the world and there is still massive opportunity that hasn’t been capitalized on.
2. Innovation. Cannabis is not just flower, joints and vape pens. It is a medicine and there are so many things to be discovered. Hundreds of companies are working on the next generation of products and we’re just scratching the surface. That’s one of the most exciting parts for me. I think the medical side will be the ultimate catalyst for full legalization.
3. Change. We’ve lived for decades under a narrative that says cannabis is bad — a period when many injustices took place. More and more countries are making an effort to change their laws and not punish somebody for just having a joint on them. There’s been progress, but much more needs to be done.

What concerns me about the cannabis industry:

1. Taxes. Unfortunately, as an industry that is still federally illegal, we have a tax issue called 280E, which has been an extreme burden for many companies. Also, numerous states look at cannabis as a last resort to fixing their budgetary problems and impose high taxes on state and local levels. When alcohol prohibition ended, there was a zero percent tax to allow the industry to thrive and to grow. That’s been quite the opposite for cannabis in California and other states. For us at Headquarters, we help to set up businesses in a way that prevents them from having direct exposure to the plant to alleviate the 280E pain.
2. Regulations. I do understand that regulators try to protect consumers and be cautious with a brand-new industry, but a lot of the regulations have killed small mom and pop businesses from entering or succeeding in the market. They’ve caused companies to go out of business just from the lawyer fees needed to be compliant. When you have these high barriers to entry, all you’re doing is enhancing larger companies that have the capital and bandwidth to handle that. That’s why at Headquarters we help companies navigate the complicated terrain. We want them to focus on innovation — end of story.
3. Consumer trust. We’re seeing this in both the CBD and THC markets, with brands making false claims. If we lose the consumer’s trust, we’re going to lose the industry. My hope is that a handful of these bad actors trying to make a quick dollar won’t ruin it for all of us.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Being first is not always best. If you’re first, you’re making all the mistakes and dealing with all the issues. When legalization happened in California, we quickly applied to acquire licenses. What we’ve learned is that we essentially had to teach the cities, which passed laws to allow cannabis activity, but at the same time did not understand it. Two years later, we finally received a license, but we spent a ton of money. Now is the perfect time to enter the market because a lot of the mistakes were already made.
2. The stigma of cannabis is still here. When I first got into the space, I reached out for feedback from other professionals that I’ve worked with, and many seemed to look down on me. This was an eye-opener for me because I grew up believing it was widely accepted. When you go outside of California, it’s a totally different story. This is why it’s so important to lead with education.
3. Every day will be a challenge in an industry that is still federally illegal. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I think this point was highlighted. Every industry got a bailout while cannabis got nothing, although cannabis was the only industry still paying taxes. We were putting money in the government coffers to pay all of these other sectors. As an industry, we’re on our own, and it’s something to keep in mind moving through the space.
4. Trustworthiness is key. Success is dependent on understanding who you can trust and on being trustworthy yourself. This is exaggerated in cannabis — as a very small industry, word gets around fast.
5. It’s all about your team. You definitely can’t do this alone. It’s necessary to surround yourself with the right people and utilize different perspectives. Those perspectives are what will save you from making the big mistakes.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

It all comes down to trust. As long as you put together the right team and put trust into them, they’re going to be able to execute much better. Micromanaging is not the answer. Without trust, employees are not going to take the risks necessary for an early-stage company. One of the first things I did after deciding to found Headquarters was to rally a team and put trust in them. I look to them for advice, and believe that’s what every CEO or founder should do.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would choose to reform our education system, especially as a father to a four-year-old daughter. It’s a pivotal point for the United States and the rest of the world. A lack of education about history and other cultures has led to a lot of the issues we’re experiencing today. This definitely applies to cannabis, where mis-education has led to so many injustices.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

You can follow me personally on LinkedIn, see what we’re up to at Headquarters on LinkedIn and Twitter, or sign up for our HQ Newsletter.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Daniel Abrahami of Headquarters: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I am educating patients on a treatment that most health-care professionals won’t discuss and teaching them how to advocate for themselves in their doctor’s office. I am providing patients with the tools they need they to make their own informed health-care decisions. I am giving them their power back. I am able to build a relationship with patients and help them reach their goals with something that doesn’t come from the pharmacy. Its diet, exercise, stress management, and often times cannabis.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing April Hatch, RN- Co-Founder of Cannabis Care Team.

Apil Hatch, RN, co-founder of Cannabis Care Team, is the ultimate healthcare guru to cannabis and she’s providing her wisdom, consultation and support to patients throughout the county. The use of medical marijuana is now legal in 33 states with more on its way. However, there are very limited resources to navigate the world of medical marijuana leaving patients feeling overwhelmed, influenced by stigmas and deterred from truly benefitting from this natural healing plant.

April Hatch, has taken her skills as an RN and combined them with her extensive training and deep understanding in cannabis medicine to provide one-on-one consultation to educate and guide patients through the process. April has helped transform the lives of countless patients ranging from the elderly to children and patients with a wide range of conditions from cancer to anxiety. She guides them through the entire process from delivery methods (including edibles, oils and inhalation) to the type of cannabis that will benefit them the most.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I was working as an RN in a traditional role in the hospital and I just never really felt like my patients were getting better. They were just getting well enough to go home. They were only being told how surgery and medication could help them, there was never the focus on teaching patients what they could do on their own to promote their own health. The patients never felt any power or control in their situation, we were always taking that away. So I left acute care nursing and went into public health where I could focus on teaching patients how to prevent disease and promote health. After my son suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury with lasting Post-Concussion Syndrome and not much success with traditional treatment, we decided to try cannabis after I completed hours of research. It worked almost immediately and he was able to go to school again without suffering from migraines.

Each time I read a new study I thought of a patient who I had worked with that had given up all hope because medications were not working and thought maybe cannabis could help them. They were out of options for conditions like chronic pain, opioid addiction, Parkinson’s, anxiety, autoimmune conditions, and cancer. That is where it all started.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

I am educating patients on a treatment that most health-care professionals won’t discuss and teaching them how to advocate for themselves in their doctor’s office. I am providing patients with the tools they need they to make their own informed health-care decisions. I am giving them their power back. I am able to build a relationship with patients and help them reach their goals with something that doesn’t come from the pharmacy. Its diet, exercise, stress management, and often times cannabis.

There is a lot of skepticism surrounding the cannabis plant and what it can and cannot do, but over and over again we see patients report not only benefit for their medical conditions, but an overall improved quality-of-life and I think the health-care system has forgotten this is an achievable goal. Treating symptoms has become our focus and I want to see a system that starts to treat the whole person.

So that’s me disrupting health-care but I want to disrupt the medical cannabis industry as well. Medical cannabis is a billion dollar industry and I don’t often see the focus on the medical aspect at all. The patients who may benefit the most are still not getting what they need when they live in a legal state. There are no guidelines for them to follow on dosing, not much education offered, and there is a limited number of balanced CBD and THC products available in the dispensaries. Patients get the most benefit from a combination of cannabinoids and there is too much focus on THC. Some states don’t even allow patients to buy CBD in a medical dispensary so they are left to choose between one of the million, possibly untested, products sold at gas stations and grocery stores.

​I work with doctors, dispensaries, and patients and I am told over and over — “we need you, there are not enough nurses doing this…the patients are not getting the education and direction they need from their certifying doctors” A lot of patients are spending a lot of money and not really accomplishing a real relief of symptoms. I can change that, I can disrupt that cycle.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I brought my grandma some cannabis chocolate and basically said, “here, this will help.” It sat in her fridge until the next time I visited her and she inundated me with today’s “Reefer Madness.” She had books, a newspaper clipping, and sat me down and explained that cannabis was in fact a very dangerous drug. My mistake was I didn’t preface those chocolates with talking about her endocannabinoid system and telling her it’s possible to heal with cannabis without getting high. Thankfully that day when she sat me down I was familiar with the studies she referenced and could pull up the article, show her the limitations, and counter with higher quality studies that in fact concluded the opposite.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Dr. Dustin Sulak is a leading cannabis physician in the United States and I have been fortunate to spend some time with him. He’s always been available to answer any questions I have about studies or patients, but he really taught me the importance of meeting patients where they are at. As a nurse, I have the tendency to be a fixer, and I want to help patients in any way that I can, but he really taught me that the patient needs to be in the driver’s seat. There will be time to work on diet and exercise later, but right now if the patient’s goal is to get a good night’s sleep that needs to be my goal as well. Patients may not want to understand how cannabis works in the body, but just want to know what they can do to control the debilitating pain. Patients are already overwhelmed enough with their conditions and he taught me the importance of taking small steps. However, the most important lesson he taught me is that it was ok to show love to our patients. We’re told to show compassion in healthcare, but I never felt like I could truly be myself until I left the hospital. Hospitals are a cold and sterile place in more ways than one. I always felt that I was getting too attached to patients and caring too much until he remined me we need to show love to those we care for. Love is what so many of us need.

My grandparents, Ralph and Katie, were my biggest mentors and I frequently write about the impact they had on my life. As a child they taught me so many ways to enjoy the beauty and the complexities of our planet. They showed me how to live simple and love the earth. However, the greatest impact they had on my is when I helped them care for their aging minds and bodies. My grandfather suffered with dementia and my grandmother suffered with chronic pain and caring for them taught me the most about our senior population. My grandmother had been prescribed opiates for years and when Oklahoma passed a prescription drug monitoring program I saw first-hand how that affected her. She had to be driven to the doctor’s office every month to see the doctor, she had to complete a questionnaire to determine if she had become addicted to opiates, and of course she had, anxiously she would wait to see if the doctor would write that prescription, after that if she had enough oxygen left she would drop off her prescription only to hear there was always some issue with the insurance. It was a very agonizing process for her and it made her feel like a drug addict when she had only been taking what the doctors told her to take for years.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disrupting is not always good, but the US healthcare system is not working and it needs to be disrupted. Having high tech equipment, specialists, urgent cares and pharmacies on every corner does not equal better health outcomes for patients.

Insurance companies disrupt the patient and physician relationship all the time when they won’t approve what the doctor wants to do for the patient. Health-care decisions should be made by professionals and patients and not those working in a billion dollar industry. We need to disrupt our current system.

The medical cannabis industry is another system that needs a nudge or disruption. Medical professionals need to be more involved, medical marijuana states need to ensure they have programs that benefit patients not just the bottom line of businesses.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

“If your goal is to help people, how can you find a way to help even more.” Dr. Dustin Sulak said this to me when I was discussing how much I enjoyed working with my patients. I was really on the fence about taking my business from individual consultations to the cannabis industry and he really helped me see that my skills and knowledge needed to reach more people.

“Tomorrow is a new day.” There have been times in my life, like most, when mom-life and work-life can become overwhelming. Things happen and all we can do is get up the next day and start over.

“Do what you love and you will do it well.” I am very lucky to have a family that has supported my decision to leave traditional nursing. Nothing ever feels like work now, but instead it feels like a step to fulfilling a lifelong dream.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

One area I will be focusing on is working with the industry to ensure patients have access to education and quality cannabis products. My goal is to teach them that THC isn’t what medical cannabis is all about, it’s so much more.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

When we are passionate about something it’s seen as ‘cute,’ when we want to help people were ‘sweet,’ and when we do something for someone were ‘angels.’ Men aren’t commonly referred to in these terms and those who are cute and sweet angels aren’t the ones being asked to make business decisions

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

Any one of Dr. Andrew Weil’s books. But specifically, Spontaneous Healing. Dr. Weil has disrupted traditional healthcare by teaching us that we can heal ourselves. He teaches us about food, herbs, wellness, and in that book he discusses 7 strategies of successful patients. Everyone could benefit from these strategies, and he includes the importance of forming constructive partnerships with healthcare professionals and tells us to not take no for an answer. My own health has benefited from his teaching on diet and the importance of activity and rest. He says, “give your healing system a morning walk and a good night’s rest, and it may be ready for whatever challenges may arise.” (p. 241).

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My grandmother, Katie, always said, ”If we were all the same this world would be a very boring place.” This taught me to first value diversity and second to surround myself with a team of individuals that all have different experiences, skills, and strengths. . When we put them together we can do great things.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Cannabis friendly senior living centers!! CBD infused snacks, aromatherapy massages, chair yoga in the courtyard, and some cannabis oil before playing cards- that’s what I wish for myself anyways!

How can our readers follow you online?

Website:https://cannabiscareteam.com/

you tube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmLX7Aq5kzTtZhCoFKish_g

facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/careteamkansascity

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/cannabiscareteam/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: How April Hatch of ‘Cannabis Care Team’ Is Shaking Up Health-Care was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: How Linda Sawyer & Alison Matz Of ‘Skura Style’ Are Shaking Up Household Cleaning

When we first began our sponge reinvention journey, our early prototypes were solely based on improving the design aesthetics of the traditional sponge. As part of our research, we looked at the materials and examined what causes odor and why it quickly becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. We had an “Aha” moment when we questioned why we would try to make something beautiful that is so inherently disgusting. This led us to identify new, innovative materials that would enable us to create a sponge that was superior by every efficacy measure.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Linda Sawyer and Alison Matz.

Best friends since second grade, Skura Style co-founders Linda Sawyer and Alison Matz have had high powered careers in advertising and media. Linda was the former long-time N.A. CEO and Chairman of Deutsch Advertising and was instrumental in its transformation as one of the leading, premier agencies in the industry. Alison spent the majority of her career as a media executive and served as Publisher of several high-profile consumer magazine brands at Conde Nast and Meredith.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

We both had exciting and successful careers in our respective fields and worked with some of the largest world-class consumer brands, yet, shared a desire to one day pursue an entrepreneurial venture together and build a business and consumer brand from the ground up. The inspiration for Skura Style came from a personal pain point and a mutually shared disgust with the kitchen sponge. From there, we went on a mission to create a sponge that you could actually love — one that wouldn’t smell and would look great. We applied our seasoned experience and knowledge of brand building to not only create a superior product, but to also reimagine the entire brand, with the sponge as the cornerstone product.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

The kitchen sponge category has experienced minimal innovation since the late 1940’s. Not only have traditional sponges not kept pace with the design advances prevalent in all other areas of the kitchen, but they are also made with materials (cellulose) that are a breeding ground for bacteria. We created a sponge made of a patented polyurethane foam that is treated with an antimicrobial agent that inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria, mold and mildew. Leading microbiologists recommend that you replace your kitchen sponge every one to two weeks, so we created our innovative Fade-to-Change™ technology, whereby our monogram fades with use as a visual indicator to let you know when it’s time to replace the sponge. We also elevated the entire consumer experience with packaging, high touch customer service and the unboxing experience. Additionally, we made subscription plans available so that consumers would always have fresh sponges at the ready.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When we first began our sponge reinvention journey, our early prototypes were solely based on improving the design aesthetics of the traditional sponge. As part of our research, we looked at the materials and examined what causes odor and why it quickly becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. We had an “Aha” moment when we questioned why we would try to make something beautiful that is so inherently disgusting. This led us to identify new, innovative materials that would enable us to create a sponge that was superior by every efficacy measure. We learned that challenging convention can also lead to a better solution and that being an industry outsider was our secret weapon, as most insiders would not have had a unique take to reimagine the kitchen sponge.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

As business partners, we have tremendous history as we have been best friends since second grade and have led parallel personal and professional lives. In many ways we have the unique advantage of being mentors to one another. Linda is the go-to voice of reason and calm, which is critical when the going gets rough (which is quite frequent with a start-up company). Alison is a pitbull and doesn’t take no for an answer, which is invaluable when disrupting every aspect of an outdated industry.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disruption is good when the outcome solves for a real pain point and offers a better solution. Sometimes, systems or structures withstand the test of time simply because there are no better alternatives presented and complacency exists. The definition of disruption can range from solving for something that is broken to tweaks that can improve a consumer experience. An example of meaningful disruption that is top-of-mind is Peloton: there was nothing broken about the boutique studio fitness industry however Peloton created an opportunity to replicate that experience in one’s own home.

Disrupting an industry is not so positive when it is not consumer-centric and not solving for a real need. For example, there are many companies that launched subscription-based business seemingly because of the attractiveness of the recurring revenue model vs. there being a real need for regular product replenishment. Does anyone really need a subscription for bras, socks, jewelry, etc.?

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

1. Pick your business partner wisely. Entering into a business relationship with a friend can be a risky proposition. We “practiced” working together for many years developing the business plan. It served to be a great test drive of our working dynamic.
2. There is a solution to every problem. With this philosophy, we are never deterred by challenges and obstacles that we encounter. During the onset of the pandemic, for instance, we experienced a surge in our business and some supply chain slowdowns in our packaging materials. We had to scramble to source a readily available make-shift bag and sent it to our recurring customers with a note apologizing for the temporary change in packaging. It seemed to ignite a bit of “FOMO” (fear of missing out) and our customers started ordering extra product as they seemed concerned that if we had run out of bags, we might also run out of sponges.
3. Working remotely works and you can work from almost anywhere. We recently had to record a new radio commercial and because of the pandemic, could not go to a studio. We recorded our newest spot, literally from under the covers, as it was our best option for optimal soundproofing.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

We believe that we are in the business of kitchen well-being with the goal of improving consumers’ everyday life and enhancing the experience around the kitchen sink. To that end, we very recently launched three new innovative products that all have our signature look and iconic monogram and deliver performance enhancements addressing consumer pain points. In addition, we have a brand extension pipeline of six additional products that will roll out next year.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

The biggest challenge women disruptors face is in the area of fundraising. Female-led businesses significantly trail in VC funding.

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

There is a book, “The Method Method,” that was written by the founders of Method Home, an early disruptor in the cleaning industry. It resonated because it chronicled how they successfully infiltrated an industry dominated by giants, with products that were beautiful and efficacious.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Google’s Larry Page asks this one simple question to weigh acquisition prospects — “Does it pass the toothbrush test?” Is this something you will use once or twice per day, and does it make your life better? We knew that Skura Style sponges passed this test with flying colors.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

As disruptors, we believe that the best business ideas will be inspired from diversity of thinking. To that end, we have discussed that we would like to take our own business experience, past and present, to help other women and minority founders to take their ideas into action.

How can our readers follow you online?

Skurastyle.com

linkedin.com/in/alisonadlermatz

linkedin.com/in/lindassawyer

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: How Linda Sawyer & Alison Matz Of ‘Skura Style’ Are Shaking Up Household… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.