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Archive for May, 2020

Dana Peloso, Founder of Dana Peloso Content Marketing (Webster, MA)

Dana Peloso’s BIOGRAPHY~
In my 18+ years of service in public safety, I have exemplified exceptional leadership while under immense pressure. While my “verbal judo’ has aided me in de-escalating some of the most serious situations in the past, these skills along with my entrepreneurial drive have enabled me to successfully impact public relations and marketing campaigns.
Leveraging my past experiences and my endless desire to educate, improve myself has been among my greatest joys throughout all of my collaborations.

 

 

 

 

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

BSO: Tell us about the inception of your freelance content marketing work (www.danapeloso.com).

DP:

My  freelance marketing career began a little over a month ago. I had just recently left a career in law enforcement due to a significant on the job injury.

I have always been involved in marketing in one way or another throughout my life in some facet of life so this seemed like a natural  transition from sworn life to civilian life.

In doing so, I was met with some uphill battles.  Marketing and public relations are a tough field to break into.  There are a lot of great people already established here.  I had to learn fast.  So I dedicated nearly a month prior to “breaking out”, if you will, and I studied everything and anything in order to improve my skills.

When I felt that I was ready,  I released my own brand and began to hit the ground running!

 

BSO: There is no typical day when creating online content for mission-driven organizations. Share with us your a.m. to p.m. schedule.

DP:

There absolutely is no typical day with creating online content!  Thankfully I have a supportive wife and family!

When I was a police officer my phone was always on and ringing at all hours of the night for various things.  Now, it rings nonstop during the day.

I start my day at 5am with a cup of coffee and some household chores.  That allows me the quiet time to be alone and get my mind cleared and in place.  I then will typically read a verse from the Bible.  It is God who got me here and I have to keep God in the forefront of my mind in order to continue to push through and succeed.  Then, I go for a walk around our block for a bit to burn some energy.  When I am done and ready to go for the day, I open up my planner.  I am old school with some facets of life, I keep a written journal of tasks, scheduled items and then some simple reminders and affirmations that I turn to throughout the day.

I try and spread my week out with various things based on their respective deadlines.

Sunday nights into Mondays are content production, Monday will be content production and follow up phone calls and emails and so on.  I am very structured and regimented so a lot of my routine is just that, routine!

 

BSO: What are your ‘can’t live without’ apps?

DP:

The apps that I can’t live without is a pretty simple list… Hootsuite, Act! and my calendar!  I absolutely can’t live without my day planner, and note book. They travel everywhere with me as well as my Bible.

 

BSO: What are your proudest achievements, professional & personal ?

DP:

My proudest achievements professionally is what I am living through right now.  If you ask any Cop what the best job in the world is and they will tell you it’s being a cop.  So many of us identify ourselves by our badge that it is unfortunately a difficult persona to escape.

I say escape because it truly is that.  From the moment you cross the threshold into the Police Academy and throughout your career it is beat (sometimes literally) into you head that there is no other career besides being a cop.

It’s simply not true.  There is more to life than the tin on your chest and the patch on your sleeve.  I hung up my duty belt due to complications from an injury that I incurred on the job yet I still had a massive identity crisis thereafter.  My proudest profession achievement is moving on.  It isn’t easy.

My proudest achievement personally has been the number of times that I have ridden in the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC). I have four solid years under the belt of various miles, but what truly matters is the good that it has done for so many.  I continue to fundraise for Dana Farber every year using my PMC fundraising site (Shameless plug! Pmc.org/dp0229  GO DONATE!). The amount of good that the Dana Farber Cancer Institute does every day for their patients battling cancer is truly amazing.  So I have made it my life’s mission to continue to do my part to help DFCI!

 

BSO: What are your favorite news feeds?

DP:

My favorite news feeds have grown lately!  I have always been a fan of Matt Drudge, so I read the Drudge Report daily.  I recently subscribed and absolutely love Boston Business Journal and I have always been a fan of Boston Magazine since I lived there in 2003!  I tend to read a lot of news articles throughout the day, it would be tough to narrow it down much more than that!

 

BSO: What are your most rewarding charitable involvements?

DP:

My most rewarding Charitable involvements sort of piggy backs on the aforementioned.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute is by far my top pick.  I did a lot of work as a Police Officer for the CT chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  They are an amazing organization.  They provide so much for the families of victims of drunk or distracted driving and they push on even through these tough times.  I have helped a number of others, but those two are my go to’s.  I have helped with the Special Olympics on a number of occasions as well as the CT Cancer Foundation, High Pointe Church Youth Ministry in Thompson CT.

 

BSO: You have a diverse career path of public safety, fundraising and social media content creation. Who has influenced your career the most and what is your vision for your future career path? Also, How has Covid19 impacted your work ?

DP:

My career has been extremely diverse yet extremely focused.

I have mostly always been involved in some form of public safety since I was 16 years old when I started volunteering with my local fire department.  To say that any one PERSON influenced me in particular I cannot.  I have had a LOT of great people who have had influences on me both good and bad and with the bad you have to use that as a learning experience.

Matt Garcia, Jon Cerruti and Mark Divine were three Sergeants whom  I once worked for while dispatching with the CT State Police.  Those three men were some of the most honorable and respectful men I have ever known and ever worked for.  They taught me what it is to be a great leader, to be fair and honest at all times and then some.

I would be remisced if I didn’t mention one of my best friends, Joe Sharkey.  I have known him since I was 18 years old.  I always looked up to him as a kid and wanted to be the type of cop that he was only to realize his more than just a cop.  He was one of the most amazing people I have ever known.  I was like a little kid meeting his favorite baseball player when I finally got to work with him as a cop.  He and I still stay in close contact now and he continues to be an exemplary mentor although he will say he has done nothing….

Last in this list, however foremost in my life, is God.  God has led me in times that I wasn’t aware he was leading me straight through today now that I know he is.  We can’t fight God.  He has the plan mapped out for us, its up to us to see the signs and follow them.  I left law enforcement for a reason at a time that I will never understand and it is not up to me to understand.  I just have to roll with it and make the best of it and hope that I am doing right by God.

COVID 19 (un)fortunately has been a huge help for me.  It has allowed me the personal time to break through the funk that I was in and study.  It allowed me to hit the ground running with the determination and stamina like no other.  I hate that so many people have to go through what they are going and want it to stop but my family has never been closer than it is right now.  Check out my blog where I  wrote about this! I can attach it too for anyone who may want to see it.

 

BSO: What is your advice for anyone interested in a career in mission-driven content creation ? 

DP:

The advice that I have for anyone looking for mission driven content creation is simple: Do it.

Get out there, make a big splash in the pond and continue to splash around until you are seen by someone.  Then keep going.  Its corny, but I tell my kids all the time, Life’s a Garden, Dig it!

Category:

Content marketing, Digital marketing, Entrepreneur, Non-Profit, personal branding, Social impact

Tagged with:

Larry Elle, MSW : Principal Consultant, Success Associates Career Services & Founder, President of Professional Development Collaborative, Inc. (Belmont, MA)

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

BSO: Larry, from your 20+ years as a career counselor, leading job search success teams, and your observations of challenges stemming from the covid19 pandemic (social distancing and working from home), what are the most critical obstacles facing professionals in job transition today? 

LE:

The most critical obstacles today are remaining adaptable to the changing circumstances of our economy and possessing up to date, in-demand professional skills. Related to this are being able to articulate a direction for themselves so that they can answer the question, “What kind of work do you want to do and why here?”

Many people remain mentally stuck in the past, hoping that what worked yesterday will work today. They apply for a variation of their old job and find few or no openings, or if they land an interview, the employer often sees them as “overqualified” or even “out-dated”.

It’s important to be able to articulate to prospective employers what you can do for them, why you’re qualified, and why you can better meet their needs than the next person. It also helps immensely if you do this by directly speaking to the employer (achieved through networking) rather than hoping they’ll respond to your resume.

Given the current recession, employers will be seeking employees who are both highly productive and adaptable, able to shift tasks and priorities to meet company needs. Applicants need to be able to give past examples of how they can meet these expectations, doing it in a pleasant and upbeat manner. Companies today are all about teamwork. There’s little room for loners who take directions but can’t take initiative.

 

BSO: In MA, we currently have 18 % unemployment. The economy is slowly reopening and professionals are being recalled and there’s some new hiring. But people are returning to changed work environments. Not only are more people working remotely, but there is a new emphasis on teamwork and demonstrating both technological know-how and interpersonal skills.

What key strategies would you suggest for professionals 1) navigating this new environment and 2) adapting their current job and job search process to reflect the environment Covid-19 has created?

LE:

Let me start by addressing the job search portion of your question because the answer to the question of how you find work remains the same today as yesterday: networking, networking and networking.

Networking allows you to interact with people who can introduce you to people who can get you the job. It’s estimated that networking produces 70 – 80 percent of all job offers. And while today we have internet interviewing, internet job boards, and internet recruiters (who are responsible for about only seven percent of all hires), it still comes down to job seekers taking the initiative to directly reach out to others to land a job.

I should add that on June 9th , I’m starting my 23rd Job Search Success Team. These teams are an embodiment of all the best ways to job search combining the skills of expert leadership, 21st Century job search techniques, and extensive collaboration and mutual support. Members gain the knowledge and support needed to do an effective job search, even the most challenging parts like networking. If you’re job hunting and you need a boost, check us out at http://www.careersuccessassociates.com.

Once hired, don’t expect that you’ll return to yesterday’s workplace.

It’s repeated ad nauseum that today’s workplaces run “leaner and meaner”. The leaner is certainly true but not necessarily meaner. The Covid-19 crisis shows that we’re all in this together. In a way, we’re all essential workers who need to collaborate. Today, a well-managed workplace can be leaner and more productive, and also more supportive and collaborative. In fact, it’s the increase in collaboration (often achieved across great distances thanks to the internet) that make for higher productivity. Collaboration requires being sensitive to interpersonal human factors where cooperation and mutual support trump raw competitiveness.

 

BSO: Working from home, sharing space with family and managing all the domestic obligations that that entails, are creating new norms for those working remotely. You’re partnering (through your non-profit, the Professional Development Collaborative), with the highly regarded speakers Wayne Johnson and Erinda Spiro for a June 3, Zoom presentation (www.PDCBoston.org).

Tell us more about that collaboration and give us a sneak preview of what to look forward to as our audience looks for guidance, inspiration and actionable strategies to manage this unprecedented time. 

LE:

The PDC is excited to have Wayne and Erinda share their expertise on the contemporary workplace. One of their basic insights is the idea that “getting the job done” often has nothing to do with where you are working. Work is what you do, not where you do it. They believe that as long as clear parameters are established for what is considered positive performance, and employees reach these goals, there is no need to be onsite.

They’ll discuss a Results Only Work Environment. In a ROWE, team members are measured by their performance, results, or output. Management gives employees complete autonomy over their projects, and allows them the freedom to choose when and how they meet their goals. In a Results-Only Work Environment, results count when assessing how successful an employee is, not face-time.

Their talk will share ideas about how to be successful in this changed environment, understanding that remote working is a cultural shift requiring new competencies and a shift in perspective. They call this new reality a “Responsiveness Culture” and they will provide insights into how you can master the demands of this new work environment.

 

BSO: Thank you, Larry, for your time, insights and resources on managing our ‘working from home’ environment. 

LE:

I appreciate the opportunity to address your audience. Thank You!

Category:

Career services, Entrepreneur, Job search process, Job transition, Non-Profit, Workforce training and development

Tagged with:

Naresh Kachoria, MBA EdM Executive Director of Step Up International ~ Dir. of Strategic Partnerships,World Ocean School (Boston, MA)

Naresh Kachoria’s Biography

Naresh Kachoria is a mission-driven leader and social entrepreneur building organizations, programs and teams that accelerate youth, community development and social impact outcomes. His work across nonprofit, academic and for-profit sectors focuses on creating pathways that lead to education, economic and social equity.

After an early career in marketing consulting and business management for financial services, technology and biotech clients, Naresh now brings a strategic business focus on planning, execution and measurement to his social impact work. He served as the Economic Development Advisor for an international NGO under a $16.7M USAID award in Botswana where we was responsible for leading the design and implementation of livelihood programs reaching more than 2,500 youth and young adults across nine districts.

Most recently, Naresh is the founder and Executive Director of Step Up International, an education nonprofit providing experiential learning and social development programs to children and youth from low-income communities. Naresh holds a B.S. in Advertising and an EdM in International Educational Development from Boston University, and a MBA from the University of Maryland.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

 

BSO: Tell us about the inception of Step Up International, which you founded 5 years ago and have been leading successfully cross culturally, across U.S., Africa and Europe.

NK:

I founded Step Up when I returned to the U.S. after living and working in Botswana for an international development organization on a four-year $16.7M project. My role was to build and lead an internal team and a coalition of more than 10 local community development partners across the country to design and execute an economic empowerment program for vulnerable young people affected by HIV/AIDS.

As I was wrapping up and preparing to return to Boston, I started to reflect on the experience and questioned if we had truly made an impact. My team and I worked incredibly hard on this project, sometimes 12-14 hours a day, so it was especially painful to conclude that in my mind we fell short. To me, we didn’t impact the lives of 2,500 people. We reached 2,500 people. There’s a big difference between impact and reach, or outcomes and outputs to use the non-profit lexicon.

Launching the non-profit, Step Up International, was my response to rectifying the lack of impact under that large project targeting vulnerable youth and young adults. Two guiding principles really drove the process of conceiving Step Up. One, the organization must be by the community, for the community. Local input and leadership must have equal influence from the outset in designing and executing our model, strategy and programs. And two, we were going to invest over the long-term in cultivating the potential, confidence and resilience of young people who most need our support.

After five years, Step Up remains the first organization in Botswana to provide year-round experiential education programs that educate, empower and inspire our kids with the social-emotional and 21st century skills to thrive from childhood to adulthood. We have grown from serving 12 students in grade five to 150 students from elementary to high school who come from communities confronting HIV/AIDS, poverty and teenage pregnancy.

While the local team in Botswana drives much of the decision-making, we have a cross-cultural team across the U.S., Europe and Africa that brings diverse perspectives, skills and ideas to our work. The strength of Step Up is the culture we have built that embraces global perspectives while allowing local leadership the ability to contextualize ideas and decisions.

 

BSO: There is no typical day in for mission-driven organizations creating and implementing social impact. Share with us your a.m. to p.m. schedule.

NK:

It’s really hard to say that I have a typical daily schedule. Because Botswana is either six or seven hours ahead of Boston, depending on the time of year, I have to be flexible and adapt to their workday since they start working while we’re sleeping.

I usually check email before 8am to make sure I have time to respond to urgent issues before they leave for the day. We’ll also communicate via WhatsApp when we’re in the midst of a collaborative project or waiting on each other for information. We have at least one team call a week, but we’ll have more if we’re working on deadlines or something unforeseen comes up. Most of these calls are between 7am to 9am my time.

The local team works really hard and our work in that environment can get exhausting. We’re working with kids who come from really difficult households and communities and this can take a toll on staff. I want them to stay energized, creative and entrepreneurial so I really encourage them to leave the Step Up Center as soon as our last group of kids leave so they can decompress and take time for themselves. Usually, they knock off around 11am my time/5pm Botswana and then I head to the gym or run to keep my mental well-being in shape as well. I’ll then come back and continue to work in the afternoon so they have the information they need from me by the time they return the following morning.

 

BSO: What are your ‘can’t live without’ apps?

NK:

We have a geographically dispersed team of staff, volunteers, donors and Board members across continents and time zones so the ability to easily and cost effectively communicate with each other becomes imperative. WhatsApp has been our go to app. It’s not flashy, but it’s a mission-critical tool for Step Up that allows us to remove barriers to collaboration and rapid communication with each other, partners and funders. We also use WhatsApp locally to communicate with our parents and caregivers, sending them regular updates about Step Up and photos of the Achievers excelling in our programs.

In Botswana, Facebook is a key platform for information sharing and almost everyone who has a smartphone is an active Facebook consumer. Our local team does a great job with the local Facebook page and that has led to partnerships, volunteers and funding from community sources.

And personally, LinkedIn has been an important app for me. I’ve recently transitioned out of my Executive Director role at Step Up and am exploring my next career move, preferably in Boston or the Washington, D.C. area. LinkedIn is probably the key job search and networking tool for most people today and it’s been a great way for me to network and connect with people. Feel free to contact me if you’re reading this and have a role to discuss!

 

BSO: What are your proudest achievements, professional & personal ?

NK:

My proudest professional accomplishment is conceiving and launching Step Up, especially in a country like Botswana. So many contextual factors indicated this was the wrong venture at the wrong time.

We built Step up to fill a gap and complement organizations in the community, not to replicate what already existed. It would have been easier to focus on HIV/AIDS work, but so many organizations were already doing that. Also, many advisors told me that funding was extremely difficult for social impact organizations in Botswana because all of the financing was going towards HIV/AIDS programs and research. And they were right.

To me, these were exactly the reasons why I had to start Step Up. If we didn’t start to build a pathway that would educate, inspire and empower these kids to overcome their social and economic challenges, no one else was going to do it.

But, the biggest achievement during this journey is the fact that we stayed true to our core guiding principle – building an organization by the community, for the community. After five years of leading and growing Step Up, we spent the last 12 months executing a transition plan that turns the organization over in full to the local leadership team and the local community.

Step Up is now an independent non-profit in Botswana with its own Board of Directors. While it’s certainly bittersweet transitioning out of my Executive Director role after pouring in so much blood, sweat and tears, I couldn’t be more proud of the team that embraced a new model, made it their own and is now going to carry Step Up into its next chapter. I know the community and the kids we work with are in more than capable hands with our local leadership and staff.

 

BSO: What are your favorite news feeds?

NK:

Personally, a few of my go-to news feeds are the New York Times, The Atlantic and Quartz. I’m not a super fast reader and am envious of folks who are fast and can consume more information. Wish I had that super power and wish I had more time to read.

Professionally, I enjoy Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), Harvard Business Review, EdWeek and The Hechinger Report.

 

BSO: What are your most rewarding charitable involvements?

NK:

I have always been an active volunteer supporting social impact organizations, even before transitioning to social impact work full-time. But the most rewarding experience outside of building Step Up was volunteering to support a refugee family that was relocated to Lynn, Massachusetts.

It was a family of six; five children under the age of 13 and their mother. They couldn’t find their father at the time they were selected for relocation to the U.S. from a camp in Ethiopia. But the mom decided it was in the best interest of her kids to leave as soon as possible. Can you imagine how difficult a decision that was to make? When they arrived in the U.S., she didn’t speak a word of English and I had to communicate with her through her oldest son and daughter. Those kids grew up fast. I visited them weekly and supported them for two years. We became very close before I moved to Botswana. We stayed in touch by email while I was overseas and then reconnected when I returned. It was incredible to see how much the kids had grown, and they were even reunited with their father!

I still stay in touch with the family though we don’t see each other as often as I’d like. The oldest daughter is now a pre-med student. The parents and the kids are a true inspiration and a remarkable symbol of resilience and perseverance.

 

BSO: You have an MBA and a Masters in International Education Development. You are very passionate about youth development. Who has influenced your career the most and what is your vision for your future career path? Also, how has Covid19 impacted your work?

NK:

That’s a tough question, but if I’m being totally honest I would probably say my father.

We didn’t get along well and we were not particularly close. But I always admired his journey from a desert village in India to becoming a doctor and starting his own practice in Upstate New York. I mean, how does a kid from a village where camels delivered water to households, where there was no electricity, where the nearest city was hundreds of miles away, where no one really finished school, much less went to university and med school, end up overcoming all of those odds? How does that happen?

I think that has always stuck with me – that my father was the exception to the rule. He wasn’t supposed to make it. So many kids who have just as much talent as my father and come from similar environments being left behind just because they’re poor, or don’t have access to basic resources. I think I always wondered, what if we could just give them a little nudge? Could that nudge change the trajectory of generations just like my dad’s journey changed the trajectory of his family, from living in poverty to one where I had, and my kids now have, almost unlimited choices and access to opportunities?

Since transitioning out of Step Up, I did step back quite a bit, limiting my time to advising or coaching the team as needed. With COVID-19 though, Step Up had to abide with Botswana government shutdown orders issued to businesses, schools and non-profit organizations. Because of the shutdown and the need for additional support to help navigate the ambiguity, I jumped back in a bit more to help the team develop a strategy to keep our Achievers engaged remotely while social distancing at home. Food insecurity has become an issue as well. I worked with the local team to secure emergency funding from a donor in the U.S. so we could provide six-months of food relief to our kids and their households.

 

BSO: What is your advice for anyone interested in a career in mission-driven social impact ?

NK:

My suggestion is to focus on an issue that you really care about and connect with folks at organizations working to address that problem.

I think you’ll find a lot of great organizations addressing similar problems in different ways. As you talk to people, try to identify organizations that approach the problem in ways that resonate with you. Continue to network within those organizations and make sure you are able to articulate how your skills and background can help to advance their work. They’ll want to know about more than just your passion for what they do. They’ll want to know that you can help solve problems and add value to their mission.

The other thing to remember is that a social impact/non-profit organization is a business. And just like a business, there are many roles within non-profit organizations. Whether you have a finance, operations, HR, marketing, tech or programs background, non-profits have diverse roles and needs.

You don’t have to be an issue expert to begin a mission-driven career. Good luck and keep an open-mind.

Happy to connect with anyone who is thinking about making the leap or a transition. Feel free to connect on LinkedIn, or email nkachoria13@gmail.com.

Category:

Education, Entrepreneur, Non-Profit, Social impact, Youth development

Tagged with:

Melissa Bernstein, PhD ~ Artistic Director, Newton Theatre Company & Executive Director, Newton Youth Players (Newton, MA)

Melissa Bernstein, PhD  ~ Artistic Director, Newton Theatre Company

Melissa Bernstein, PhD Biography 
Melissa founded the Newton Theatre Company in 2013.
She has directed all Newton Theatre Company shows including Wonder, Our Town, The Song of Achilles: Parts I and II, The Imaginary Invalid, Junie B. Jones and That Yucky Blucky Fruitcake, The Importance of Being Earnest, Agamemnon, Junie B. Jones and that Meanie Jim’s Birthday, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Bourgeois Gentleman (or The Would-Be Hipster), The Oresteia, Junie B. Jones Sneaky Peaky Spying, Ethan Frome, Natural Shocks, Ada and the Engine, Iphigenia at Aulis, Living in Exile, Mansfield Park, Women, Exhibiting, It’s a Wonderful Life, Helen, The Witches, Marie Antoinette, Pinocchio, Sorry, Wrong Number.
She was the founder and Executive Director of the Newton Youth Players, housed in the Newton Cultural Center at City Hall.
Over the program’s history, she has directed over 50 productions involving close to one thousand youth actors. She continues to direct students in NTC’s after school theatre program, Newton Theatre Kids.
Melissa holds a Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Colorado at Boulder, an MFA in Playwriting/ Theatre Education from Emerson College and a BA in Theatre from SUNY-Binghamton.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

BSO: Tell us about the inception of Newton Theatre Company and Newton Youth Players.

MB:

Newton Youth Players started 13 years ago as a program I developed with the Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs. It was an afterschool musical theatre program for elementary school children. Newton Theatre Company started 7 years ago, also in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs – our first shows were a staged reading of the book “Wonder,” and a huge-cast production of Thornton Wilder’s  “Our Town,” where we triple cast the show and cast the mayor (Setti Warren), as well as folks who work or live in Newton. 

Newton Theatre Company became its own non-profit two years ago.

Last September, 2019, I started Newton Theatre Kids as a program run through Newton Theatre Company, modeled after Newton Youth Players. The winter session of Newton Theatre Kids had us running four different casts of “Annie Get Your Gun!”

BSO: There is no typical day in the life of an entrepreneur. Share with us your a.m. to p.m.

MB:

Morning – Wake up, skim the New York Times, do email, if the sun is out, try to do a 3-5 mile walk.

Early afternoon – Catch up on email, read some potential plays to produce. Late afternoon – teach a children’s theatre class (live or now on Zoom), catch up on email

Evening – family time, rehearsal of NTC play (live or now on Zoom), email, tv with husband.

BSO: What are your can’t live without apps?

MB:

The New Yorker.
The New York Times Crossword Puzzle.

Dark Sky – checking it constantly to see if I can do my walk, also to see if we can do our outdoor Greek Tragedy performance in summer!

Google Maps. 

 

BSO: What was the best advice you received when you started your non-profits?

MB:

Be prepared for the unexpected. 

BSO: What are your proudest achievements, professional & personal?

MB:

Proudest achievement professionally – starting Newton Theatre Company. And specifically, adapting and staging Madeline Miller’s novel, “Song of Achilles” with her guidance. 

Proudest personal achievement – That my three adult daughters are my best friends.

 

BSO: What are your favorite news feeds?

MB:

New York Times, New Yorker.

 

BSO: What are your most rewarding charitable involvements?

MB:

Friends of the Parents Circle

Southern Poverty Law Center

 

BSO: Who has influenced your career the most? 

MB:

Jim Symons, my professor and Chair of the Theatre Dept. at the University of Colorado, Boulder, while I was getting my Ph.D. in Theatre. He inspired my love of Greek tragedy.

BSO: What is your advice for anyone interested in a career in theatre arts and artistic direction

MB:

It’s sometimes hard to find a way in, but if you are passionate about your art, that will shine through. Keep creating and networking!

Category:

Arts/music, Entrepreneur, Non-Profit, Youth development

Tagged with:

Spencer Goodman, MBA MSF ~ Patient Advocate & Accounting Specialist, Rand Eye Institute (Deerfield Beach, FL)

(Please note: Spencer’s Biography is below his interview)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

BSO: Tell us about the inception of Rand Eye Institute where you are Patient Advocate and Accounting Dept. Specialist for the past 14 years  

SG:

The Rand Eye Institute was formed back in 1978 by founder Dr. William J. Rand, who was the protégé of the late Dr. Gerard out of Baylor Texas.

I decided that I needed a fresh new start away from the city, so I called my aunt who happened to be the administrator of the organization and she told me to come on down.

At the time, I was living with my brother in Queens, NY and I thought whole heartedly that I wanted to be a lawyer and wanted the extra time to study for the LSAT away from everything and make some extra cash on the side.

Fast forward Feb. 2006, I took the LSAT, but decided against law school.

I started to work in the accounting dept. at the office working with claims and billing and really enjoyed it. I never knew how insurance worked coming from an internship/analyst role for a real estate company. It would take some time getting used to. Everyone was great. My team, sweet as sugar, taught me the ins and outs of medical billing.

I worked in the dept. for several months, when I was needed to help with patients.

I didn’t know the first thing about taking care of people from a medical standpoint or using diagnostic equipment to help the doctors further asses the patients. Luckily, I caught on very quickly.  One machine after another, I started to learn and it became second nature to me. I developed better interpersonal skills than what I already had working as a telemarketer back from 2001-2002 for MBNA.

I would like to thank my mentor Josh C. Folds (aka the social banker) for starting me on the path of developing those skills.

Those skills would become even more fine-tuned, laser focused at Rand. You need to have great communication skills when working with people, you just have to. People want to know that everything is going to be alright and we, as an organization, treat each and every patient with care, respect, dignity and honor.

Over the 14 years, I grew as a person, learning new management skills, managing  several technicians, identifying the needs and wants of the patients and doctors, respectively.

I cherish working with people, whether it is in the medical field as an advocate for the patient or client, and for the higher ups as well. I want to take this to the next level whether I stay in healthcare or pursue financial services; during the time I have been working there, I obtained my MBA and MSc in finance to get a better understanding of the business side.

 

BSO: There is no typical day in the world of patient advocacy, especially in the Ophthalmology sector and with the elder population. Share with us your a.m. to p.m. schedule, routine.

SG:

There is no typical day working in medicine. You  see different faces every day, some people are happy, some sad or angry and you need to understand each and everyone one of them, understand them and have the utmost compassion for each and every client and colleague alike.

 

BSO: What are your ‘can’t live without’ apps?

SG:

I like Linkedin because I like to network or facebook, even though I don’t post.  I like to catch up with frineds that have moved away or still live up north.

 

BSO: What are your proudest achievements, professional & personal?

SG:

Wow, interesting question.

Hmmm, well for one, my mother always told me, when you stop learning you’re dead. So obtaining two masters degrees is a big achievement for me.  I also won an award for being with the organization for ten years. Additionally, I have developed some great relationships with people I have and currently work with.

Of course, I cannot forget about the patients. It makes me feel good that I know I am helping them. There have been numerous times that they have thanked me up and down and even requested me to help them out while being seen in the office. It feels good to know that I am making a big difference in people’s lives.

 

BSO: What are your favorite news feeds?

SG:

I really try and stay from the news, but I will catch up on current events, especially with what is going on now.

I look at the financials every day. The VIX, Dow, Nasdaq, Russell 2000 and follow futures on the app CME group, which I was told about by my prof at U of Miami,  Dr. Tie Su, CFA

 

BSO: What are your most rewarding charitable involvements?

SG:

In recent times, I have donated clothing to goodwill, donated money in my mother’s name (she passed away in 2001). My cousin, Dr. David Rand, who is not only my first cousin but a best friend, is a major influence on my life.

I strive to be better as a person, grow with Judaism. I want to be the best person I can be.

 

BSO: You have a Master’s in Finance from University of Miami. You are very passionate about the investment sector. Between your decade plus years as a healthcare professional and your finance credentials, Who has influenced your career the most and what is your future career path, in light of Covid19’s impact on your work ?

SG:

Many people have been a major influence on me.

Josh Folds, who taught me to sell, get out of my comfort zone and shyness.

Miguel Orta,Esqu. taught me while I was pursuing my MBA.

Dr. Tie Su, CFA, Dr. Indraneel Chakraborty both taught investments. I fell in love with options, derivatives, futures, etc.

Dr. Alok Kumar taught me behavioral finance. Understanding how the market moves and how people make choices in investing is very important.

There are so many others. I apologize If I am leaving anyone out. Everyone who I have come in contact with me has had some positive influence on my life.

 

BSO: What is your advice for anyone interested in a career in healthcare /patient advocacy?

SG:

Medicine is a wonderful field, whether pusuing the MD, DDS, RN, technician or any list of personnel who work in hospitals or private offices are pivotal to the frame work of the medical office.

Just to know, after the day is done, when you are laying in bed, looking up, you know that you are making an impact on someone’s life. The patient might not initially know it, but you do.

I am proud that I have been in this field for so long, It has helped me be the person I am today.

I want to thank my Aunt and Uncle, cousins and other family memebers for allowing me the opportunity to make a difference in other people’s lives.

Spencer Goodman’s Biography

For 14 plus years, I have been in Florida, working in the healthcare industry.

I feel well accomplished in my role in the patient advocacy field. I have grown to admire, understand and cherish how many many healthcare professionals put their lives on the line every day to help people. 

During this time, I decided to go one step further with my education, coming from a liberal arts background.  I wanted to step up my game. Through my MBA courses, I have learned about the global perspective of business. 

We live a globalized world and it is even more important to take into effect how culture plays a role in conducting business, whether it is financial, healthcare, education, etc. From global marketing, management and all the way to human resources, I have developed a wealth of knowledge that would guide a company in times of prosperous outcomes to what we are currently experiencing. 

In my current role, I manage several technicians for a small medical practice. Leadership is always an important aspect of business. People rely on leadership skills to get through hard and good times alike. I have the fortitude, compassion and knowledge for consulting healthcare professionals all the way to financial professionals. Additionally, with my MSc in Finance, I want to take the next step in my career, using my wisdom from life, school and work and help the next company reach its goals.

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Accounting, Finance, Healthcare, Non-Profit, Patient support

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