Episode 13 - Finding Help, Where to go - Ashley Podzius

People need help at all different times, for all different reasons, sometimes knowing who to turn to is all that is needed. People like Ashley, today's guest, is an amazing person and resource for others. Join me!  

Leighann Lovely  00:15

Let's Talk HR is a place for HR professionals, business owners and employees to come together and share experiences and talk about what's working and what's not. How we can improve best practices so that companies can better attract, train and retain all generations of workers. We all know that there has been a huge shift in what people want. generations are coming together, more than ever, on what's important. Mental health has been brought to the forefront of everyone's mind. Let's humanize these conversations. Let's talk about how the economy has been impacted, and what needs to happen to find a balance. I'm your host Leighann Lovely. So let's get this conversation started. And remember, if you enjoyed this episode, follow us like us and share us.

 

Leighann Lovely  01:04

I'm extremely excited to have our conversation have my guest on today because I have the honor and privilege of speaking with somebody who has taken instead of an HR path of the normal guests that I speak with instead of being in that corporate world and talking about HR, HR professionals or business owners or coaches. I'm going to be speaking with somebody who's really truly in the thick of it and has the opportunity to help individuals seek assistance if and when that assistance is needed. So I'm going to be talking with Ashley Podzius. This is a Chicago native who made the move to Milwaukee in 2020. She began her education at Marquette University, where she studied broadcasting. She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a minor in Fine Arts at Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. Ashley is the outreach representative at Rogers behavior health in Sheboygan. She is also an eating disorder recovery yoga instructor at allI wellness studio in Milwaukee. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys spending time outdoors playing with her three cats and traveling and doing anything that helps her creativity evolve. Ashley, I am so excited to have you here today. Thank you so much for joining me

 

Ashley Podzius  02:34

Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

 

Leighann Lovely  02:38

So why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself and your role at Rogers Behavioral Health in Sheboygan.

 

Ashley Podzius  02:44

Yeah, so I will start with my role since that's the easiest to share. Since I've shared it so many times with others. I am the Outreach Representative at Rogers in Sheboygan. So Rogers has been around for over 100 years. We started off in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin is a really small facility and since then expanded actually nationally. So we still remain as the largest nonprofit behavioral health organization in the nation, which is very exciting to share with people. But I represent the Sheboygan clinics. So I am the Outreach representative. So that means I connect with potential referrence who have folks that are looking for a higher level of care. So that can be therapists, psychiatrist, school professionals, probation and parole officers, really anyone who knows someone because everyone knows someone struggling with mental health. And if we're full, or if we have a program that a patient isn't looking for, I help support them and getting help elsewhere.

 

Leighann Lovely  03:52

Okay, so I have to say, Rogers is an amazing facility. I know my audience is aware that I have struggled with mental health. And I myself am a Rogers Memorial alumni. So they are an amazing, absolute amazing facility. And so it's it's so wonderful to talk to somebody who is is you know, working there and supporting them and to have somebody in the community who you can reach out to if and when you you need those services is just it's amazing because you during this time well during really any time but right now, you know, during a time when the world has been turned upside down, knocked on its head, more people are talking about it and more people are finally reaching out for the help that they need, or know somebody who should be reaching out. It's it's great to have somebody like you who they can call and and get direction and get information on on what they're supposed to do. So thank you for what you do. That's awesome.

 

Ashley Podzius  04:58

Yes, it's really fun. It's really not even Just refer. And sometimes we have families calling the clinic looking for just general guidance or resources. And maybe it's an age group that we don't get served. So really younger adolescents or children that we don't serve. So I even talked to families all the time, and they just need someone to listen to you. And I think that's one of my favorite parts of the job is just kind of holding space for people who are in a lot of pain.

 

Leighann Lovely  05:24

And that has to be wearing sometimes. So for you, I mean, emotionally for you, you, you're, you're dealing with a lot of people who are in pain. And how do you deal with that? I mean, is there do you have somebody to talk to?

 

Ashley Podzius  05:42

I do. So our team is very close. And my supervisor is just so amazing. And really all of the leadership on in the marketing and outreach team within Rogers is just always there to be an ear or an eye for for anyone, not even just folks on the team, but just really anyone within the system that needs somebody to chat with. Um, and I have my own self care practices that I do. And I've also I've been an outreach for quite some time now. So I think I think at the beginning, it was difficult hearing all these stories, and like, I have really good personal boundaries, like with friends and family. But I think with work since I do love my job so much, and it is very flexible. I have not so good of work boundaries. So it's, it's it's hard to kind of unplug at the end of the day. But I do I you know, I walk a lot. I mean, that sounds silly, because I live in Milwaukee. And it's like, it's 20 degrees. I would actually right now my computer says it's 18 degrees. But so after, so that's really not that bad after the heatwave that we had yesterday in the 40, 18 feels really cold. But yeah, I tried to get outside as much as I can. Walking yoga, or any kind of movement that's really healing. And I and I love to read and play video games, and I have cats. So I have a lot of I have a lot of support.

 

Leighann Lovely  07:10

That's awesome. And you're walking is probably one of the most therapeutic things. That's, that's awesome. And you mentioned Yoga, you are a yoga instructor, So tell me about this.

 

Ashley Podzius  07:22

Yeah, so I was really lucky. So I started practicing yoga in 2012. And then in 2014, I was in between jobs. So I had a really great opportunity to go to this residential yoga teacher training for a month. And Napa Valley poor me, right? Eating away in California. But that was really great. So I went there. I'm not expecting to ever teach yoga, I just wanted to learn more about myself, and really the history of the practice. And so when I got home, I'm the teacher that I had first practice with, I'm in Chicago, that's where I'm originally from. She was like, Well, I have some teaching opportunities for you. And I was like, I don't really know if I want to do that quite yet. But then I did start and I was teaching probably public classes for about three to four years. And I was like, I am just tired of teaching to a group of people that just want to learn a handstand to post on their Instagram. You know, because I feel like that Well, I feel like it's kind of simmering down right now on Instagram in terms of yoga poses and stuff, people are actually learning the meaning behind yoga and learning the the mental health benefits that come with it. And then I I'm in recovery from an eating disorder. So I had, you know, a therapist in Naperville, which is in the western suburbs of Chicago. The there was a practice down the street that had reached out to me, either on Facebook or LinkedIn, I can't remember, I'm looking for a yoga instructor for mental health. And then I typed in their address. And this practices building was just a few doors down from the therapist that I had been seeing for years. I hadn't seen her anymore at the time. But I was like, Wow, they're so close. And this facility, the place where I saw my therapist gave me so much. So I wonder if they might be looking for someone. So I called my old therapist, and I was like, Hey, this is kind of out of the blue. But this practice down the block wanted me to do yoga at their facility. I was wondering if you know, Maria, who's the owner of the practice, if she might be interested, you know, and doing kind of any yoga for eating disorders. And so she had talked to Maria and I got a call the next day I met with her and she really believed in my mission because I'm not a therapist, by trade. I have, you know, experience with recovery. And I have a yoga background and my, you know, bachelor's is in Psych. So I just, you know, I was like I don't really know if this is gonna work out. I was so nervous to meet her and she was like, yes, absolutely. We would love to have you. So I really enjoyed that one on one connection with People while doing yoga with them, and guiding them through the practice and the philosophy of the practice and all that it gave me, I just kind of wanted to share that with others.

 

Leighann Lovely  10:10

That's an amazing story, not only through the fact that you have a personal understanding of what others are experiencing, but now that you can take something that you love in yoga, and pass that along, you know, to them on a personal level to help them, you know, heal outside of just, you know, their therapy, and they're, you know, they're, they're counseling, I guess, rather. But that's, that is that's an amazing thing that that you can offer beyond, you know, being, you know, an outreach for Rogers. I mean, that's, that's awesome.

 

Ashley Podzius  10:55

Yeah, and I don't do so right now, the yoga that I do is through so I live in Milwaukee. I mean, it's, I know Sheboygan is an hour north. But so many people are still remote. So I'm up in Sheboygan a few times a week. And I'm here working from home a lot of the time. So the studio that I work out of is less, or I think it's technically 1.1 miles away, so not far at all. It's called L Wellness studio. So I do their yoga for eating disorders just once a week. So it's the perfect balance. So I have one really long day. Um, but it's good to have that on a Monday because I think Mondays are so hard to get into, but I so look forward to not just you know, my Rogers job, but also the yoga at the end. So I really look forward to Mondays. They're honestly one of my favorite days of the week aside from Sunday, which is also a weird day to love, but I love it.

 

Leighann Lovely  11:43

You're actually, you're very much like me, I love Mondays. Well, probably because I have a four year old who drives me absolutely crazy. Despite the fact that I love her fiercely and follows me everywhere I go. I can't wait to have a little bit of of self free time on my Monday. I'm sure there's other parents out there going. Yep, no, I got it. I got it. But by the time the day is over, I'm thrilled to go home to her. But I love my Mondays. I also love my job. I love my day job. You know, vaco I love my night job as podcast hosts and getting the privilege and honor of talking to people like you. So and you know, I love Sundays actually, no Saturdays, I like Saturdays. So Saturdays and Mondays, but If only more people in the world could love Mondays, wouldn't it be much happier place in the world? Because that would mean that more people would love their jobs. Right?

 

Ashley Podzius  12:46

Right. And I always hear of people who I just got the chills saying this. I always hear people saying they have the Sunday scaries. And I am so grateful to say I've never I've never experienced a Sunday scary ever.

 

Leighann Lovely  12:59

Nope, my I don't I don't even know what that is.

 

Ashley Podzius  13:02

I think it's just dreading the work week. But I've always so when I first got out of college, I was in direct care for behavioral health. So I worked at a residential center as a direct care counselor working 3pm to 11:30pm. And in the mornings, I worked at this breakfast restaurant, right downtown Chicago, which I loved both very much. I mean, I loved serving so much because I was with all of my friends, I got to socialize the whole time, there was no emotional attachment to anyone's story, it was kind of almost like a break that I was getting paid to do. You know, and like networking with different people. And just hearing all the people that travel to Chicago from other parts of the country and other parts of the world. It was it was so much fun.

 

Leighann Lovely  13:47

I truly enjoy. You know, my husband says you work too much to me all the time you spend so much time working but and I don't wear it as a badge of honor. I sometimes do work too much. But on the on the other side of that I truly truly enjoy. I love what I do. I love the aspect of networking. i i You know, when I go out network, it's not like I'm actually working. It's more like I'm out socializing with a huge group of people that I love to hang out with, and sit there and talk and chitchat. And you know, so no, if you love what you do, and you you clearly, you know, love what you do, and that's awesome. So, now you have your bachelor's. You mentioned this you have your bachelor's degree in psychology. Were you were you always interested in that area? Or was that something that one day you said you know, this, this is the area that I want to go into and was there something a personal drive to that I you know, and I asked because my brother, my brother actually went to school, you know, for for something well for that. And he one day said to me, you know that he had a home Education in that from from me. And I was like, well, I should feel proud that I drove him to the I don't know how to feel about that. So yeah, going back to my question, you know, was that always an interest of study for you

 

Ashley Podzius  15:17

I always like this study of people and that my first job in high school was I was a hostess at a restaurant. So I guess restaurants just have a special place in my heart. But my first two years of college, I actually went to Marquette, which I think is why I love Milwaukee so much. And I came back to Milwaukee. But I went to Marquette for broadcasting. So a total switch. And then it was at Marquette that I developed my eating disorder had to go home, once a community college for a little bit, and then I think what a lot of people get out of treatment right away, it's like, I want to save the world, I want to share my story. And I want to be, I want to, I want people to think that they can be better because of my sharing. And I think that I feel like right now it's almost like a, I mean, I'm so glad that people are sharing their stories, but it's almost like I feel like social media kind of pushes people to over share their stories when no one needs to share more than they want to. So when I first got into psych, you know, just studying it in school, I loved it. But then when I got out, and I got my first job, I was like, I don't know if I can do this, this isn't for me. And you hear a lot of those stories to a lot of people too, as well as in substance abuse recovery. They're, you know, recovered or sober, clean and sober for a few months, and they go right away into recovery coaching, and then they end up relapsing because they're not ready to hold that space for others, because that space hasn't been held for them for so long. So I learned that very quickly. And so I was like, I don't want to be a therapist, but I do love, you know, working with this population, but what can I do? That's, you know, kind of a step away. And that's when I found the yoga and then I was still waitressing while I was teaching yoga and doing the yoga therapy, if you will. And then I just kind of fell into the outreach marketing side of behavioral health. And I do miss Miss engaging with patients a lot. But I feel like this is the perfect place for me because I still get human connection, like, all of the days that I work. But it's not the same, you know, it's different. So if I have a tough day, I'm just I'm meeting with people, you know, as people and people that I'm not working with, through Rogers. But it's not like I'm hearing their full story. And it's not like their story that I'm hearing. It's the stories of their patients. So there's a there's more of a disconnect there. But not not a bad disconnect, but a healthy one. Does that make sense?

 

Leighann Lovely  17:50

Yes. And I was gonna follow up question to that is do you think that there is an inherent risk for somebody who is, you know, possibly in recovery, to immediately go into trying to help other people or? And I'm not saying, you know, I guess for me, it's bipolar. telling my story is one thing. I don't have a wagon to fall off of. I mean, I suppose I could stop taking my medication I could, that comes in different forms shapes. If it's somebody who's maybe recovering from drugs or alcohol or from an eating disorder, do you think that there is a possibility of a risk on talking to somebody who has that same addiction or that same? Whatever it might be? And through talking with them about theirs, that they have a possibility of? backsliding?

 

Ashley Podzius  18:50

I don't know. So I'm not an expert in how other people recover. And I think everyone recovers a little bit differently. Of course, I think there's a risk on both sides. I mean, that's just my personal opinion. But it's just an opinion. But, um, long story short, yeah, I definitely do think that there is a backsliding possibility because I actually have a few friends. So I have a very small circle of people that I talk to, I always say, I have no friends, I have friends. And there's just I don't have a lot of close friends. And I feel like at the beginning, I would share and share you know about my recovery, like when I was like, kind of fresh out of treatment A few months later, and I was like, Yes, I you know, I think if I don't share that no one's going to feel empowered to get support. And then after sharing, I feel like people were coming to me and it's like, that wasn't my intent. It was like I was sharing so that you all could, you know, do what you need to do not come to me and I think to this day, I have people that that I'm friends with, but not like my close, close friends that share a lot with me and it gets really heavy and I have to really set up boundary there and like I said before, I have really good personal boundaries. And I've learned that over time and poor work boundaries, which I'm fine with, I mean that that does not stress me out but with with other people or people that I'm close to, they'll share all of this with me. And it's like, I right now there's, there's a lot of things happening in my own life to that I also need to like with my family and close people to me, that I don't have the capacity to hold space for people. So I think I'm a big advocate for you know, if you need to kind of let something out like asking someone Hey, can I vent to you first? Or on the other side to when you know, people need safe people to share with and I want to say it was you that posted this on your LinkedIn about giving advice. Only one asked was that you? Yeah, actually, I just that is my my biggest pet peeve. And my best friend will tell you that she's also a nationally that I cannot stand when if I'm trying to share something with somebody like confidentially, you're just kind of letting things out. And someone says, Well, if I were you, I would do this. Well, first of all, you're not me. I'm not you. Everyone has different stories. Some people speak to be heard. And if and a lot, and I ask for support and advice all the time. But if I don't ask, I don't, it hurts me more to compare to compare stories, you know what I mean? Like, they just say, Well, I would do this? Well, we're different. So I wouldn't do that. You know, I think I've just kind of went on a tangent. So I'm sorry,

 

Leighann Lovely  21:37

No, I love tangents. I go on them too. And, and you are so right. Sometimes people just need exactly what you said to speak, speak to be heard, not to be to be told how the other person feels about what they're saying. They just simply need to say it because sometimes that makes somebody feel better. Sometimes I will sit down. And if I'm so angry at something, and I will write a letter to the person I'm angry at, and then I will rip that letter up, throw it away. And I'm over it. Some I mean, it's just sometimes you just need to get the words out whether that's verbally or on a piece of paper. And the worst thing that you can possibly do to somebody is when they're in that mode, and they're venting is to then turn around and start giving them advice, because then it feels like you're not validating them for how they feel. You're taking away. You're taking that away from them. And I'm guilty of this too. Oh my god, go ask my husband. They'll be like, Oh, she never shuts up. Every time I talk. She's, we're all guilty of that occasionally. So sometimes we do need to lay that down those boundaries of saying, Look, I just need to vent. And my dad will my dad will is famous for asking this. Are you venting? Or are you asking me for advice? I love that. And I'll go I'm venting. Please don't give me advice on this. Because I don't want to be slapped in the face with the reality of what I already know. I just really need to get this out. And that's it's extremely therapeutic. But you're also right in saying that you need to set those personal boundaries. Because we all have personal lives, we all have things going on. And sometimes you can't take on everything that's happening in everybody else's life. You don't have enough emotional space, you don't have enough. And I have one friend of mine that does it all the time. She'll call me and she goes, Oh, I have to do this. And I have to do this. And this is going on with this person in this and I finally said to her, you need to stop. You need to stop holding the weight of everybody else on your shoulders and start just taking care of you. When was the last time you just took care of you? I guess I haven't really thought about it. I'm like, You're You're crumbling under the weight of the world. And the only person who is responsible for that is you. You can't blame anybody else. You have to learn to say no. And there might be some hurt feelings. There might be but sometimes it has to happen for your own health. Whether that be your mental health whether that be, sorry, now I'm on a tangent.

 

Ashley Podzius  24:36

Okay, I love tangents. Right. That's one of the perks of ADHD. Right? I could just ramble on and on and on. I'm like wait, what?

 

Leighann Lovely  24:47

What shiny object shiny objects. Squirrel Yeah. Okay, moving on. Moving on. So you know I got out what is the hardest? I mean, what would you say is the hardest thing that you have to do in in your job every day because, well, I couldn't do your job. I really I just there, I don't have the capacity, I wouldn't have the capacity to to do your job because when I compare your job to mine, mine is all sunshine and rainbows. Now I love to talk to people about hope and how we're going to change the world and make it a better place you were talking about let's all tell our stories and try to influence the world which, you know, I love I love that stuff. But the reality of it is that, that's, that's what we all think life is about of go get help come out. And now it's gonna be all sunshine and rainbows, but it's not.

 

Ashley Podzius  25:55

No, it's not, it's sunshine, storms, snow, rainbows, unicorns, baths. It's everything. So I think the hardest part for me about my job is the time management because well, Rodgers is a non for profit. So the outreach I've done before, we're all for for profit organization. So it was all about filling back. So my mission was just to connect with people to fill the open slots. And each facility that I worked in. Were with Rogers, there's so many other things that we do. So yes, I think the main part of it is connecting people to treatment with Rogers connecting with the referrence the families, and then providing discharge planning, but there's a lot of data entry, there's a lot of follow up. And there's it's just there's a lot of computer things. So I think it's just it's the time management piece to and not forgetting things. And I'm old fashioned in that will my calendar is on Outlook. I used to hate Outlook. So I'm like, why don't people just use Gmail, like, it's 2022. But it's such a outlook and teams lifesaver. But, um, I have to write things down. Like it's a specific to do list outside of my, like normal calendar items. So time management, and I think too, when people know that I work for a facility like this, they are there. People that I haven't talked to in years are calling me like, I have this going on, and I just need to someone to talk to and I'm like, Okay, thank you for sharing three paragraphs, but I'm not that person for you. I can give you resources, but I think it's again, holding that, that boundary and a stiff line, like this is my job. I'm so much more than than that, you know, this is what I do for work. And I you know, I do a lot of other things I think I had mentioned before to like I have a minor in fine art. So I you know, I'm a creator, too. So I'm not just I'm not just Ashley from Rogers. I'm Ashley, who's also an artist who's also a person who's also a lover of, of life and not the outdoors and animals. Like I have so many other things that are a part of me that I feel like people fail to see.

 

Leighann Lovely  27:55

You know what I? You said that in my head flashed to you know, you walk into a room and you introduce somebody to Oh, Dr. Hurts surgeon and they're like, oh, Doctor, I've got this pain in my chest. That is so typical of, you know, you you meet somebody and you're like, Oh, you do that? Oh, yeah. Can I talk to you? And you're so right. So often people see the, and then this just came into my head. Here's the ADHD thing. You know, you see a financial accountant and you got run the other way. Oh, yeah. Sorry. And I don't have anything against financial accounts. Not at all. It's just, you know, do I want to talk about all my finances and no, that's the horrible, but I have an awesome financial account team that I work with. Anyways. But yeah, that that is you hear oh, you work for and then you know, somebody who has struggling with anxiety, you're and then you're right. They're gonna go, oh, maybe you can help me with this. And they're going to forget everything else that you are. So yeah, I can imagine that. That is that's frustrating that the conversation is probably replayed. Every time you meet somebody new when they find out what you do.

 

Ashley Podzius  29:18

Isn't another thing too is one of the first thing when you meet someone new. The first question is, so what do you do? And I used to always, you know, share my job because I just assumed that that's what they were wondering which is most likely what they are. So now, I always have a follow up question. I'm like, so what do you mean, what do I do? What do I do for work? Or what do I do like as a person? And I always say that people don't really like that question because they don't really care. They just want to know what you do. And essentially, like, what what your status quo is on the corporate ladder. I remember I was on this boat cruise with my sister in Chicago for her company. And at the time I was serving, and I was I think I had just graduated. And one of her colleagues was like, why don't you just get like a real job? And I swear, and I have the worst, I'm very sweet. But I when I get mad, I get really mad, and my face just totally changes. And I and I said like, well, what so would you just never want to go out to eat ever again. So serving not a real job as you know, a cashier, not a real job, like what is real, everything. Every job is so important. And so many people, I think, talk like that, and it grinds my gears.

 

Leighann Lovely  30:31

Right? I Oh, my God, I had the same conversation. Actually, what I think it was episode 1 when I was talking to rob Conlon. And we were talking about, I can't remember the content Anyways, my girlfriend had said to me, one day when we were in the car, we were talking and she goes, I can't remember the con, like the whole conversation, but she says, Well, Leanne, I'm just a server. And I said, What Wait, what do you mean, you're just a server, like nobody is any like, is just anything anymore? Like, or was ever, but nobody. I mean, nobody should ever be referred to as just anything. Like, because we, and with the whole pandemic, and everything that happened. We every single job out there. And if you haven't realized that by now you're living under a rock, every single job that exists, is just as essential as the next job in order to make the world completely work properly. We need everybody. Right now we're struggling as an economy because we don't have people. We don't have enough people at a gas station, that gas station has to close their doors on a certain day, or they don't have as they have limited hours. All of a sudden, you can't go to your favorite restaurant because they have to shut down on Mondays and Tuesdays because they can only run limited hours because they don't have enough servers. And people are like, Oh, I can't believe they're closed. They don't have enough people to run it yet. Those are the people that you were referring to is just a server. Right? Make sure that you're tipping them really well, because they're busting their asses right now to get you with your food because they're down to people, or three people that they normally have to run their shifts. I mean, grocery stores for a long time, they their their shelves were bare, because there wasn't enough people working production, there wasn't enough people creating the food that was going to go there or drivers to drive that product there. I mean, not to mention the supply chain issues yet we're having I mean, that has a whole nother nobody is just anything.

 

Ashley Podzius  32:59

Right? And it's not no one is just their job. People are so much more than that. And I feel like that's another conversation that needs to be which is why I love this podcast. Remember when we met at the Veterans conference, you told me about it. And you shared a little bit about your story to me. And I was like, this is so important. Like people need to know that there's so much more like people aren't just an employee number. And employee ID people are people first. First and foremost, they are people and people have feelings and people are things that come up and that happen. And they have to be treated as such.

 

Leighann Lovely  33:34

Yeah, absolutely. And that's, you know, people, I've talked to other people, they're like, why is it called H, you know, let's talk HR. And I'm like, well, people forget that. When HR started, it was human resource. It's a resource for humans. But we literally in the name, it's, but we've so soaked for so long. We've forgotten what that was originally supposed to be about. And now HR has become the, and I say this kind of jokingly, but kind of seriously, they've kind of become the enemy. Because now HR is about protecting the company. It's about getting, you know, a lot of other stuff done, it's and now they have the people leaders at companies, and those are the people who, you know, really connect with the employees and things like that. But human resources was about the humans at the company. And so yeah, let's talk HR. But let's humanize that conversation because we are humans and humans. And I've said this before are messy. Our lives are messy. And if there are ways for people to know where to go for help, if their lives become messy, then I want them to To know where to go and get help, and I want those companies to know who they should refer those employees to that, you know, and those companies need to know that they can't just wash or wipe those employees away, because they're people. And I think it's important that we're having conversations around the culture at companies, because they also need to understand that they're not going to keep those employees if they're not treating them like humans. And so, you know, why not start out by one sharing my story? letting everybody know that, hey, I'm human. So, come have this conversation with me. Talk about what makes you human. Talk about what drives you to do what you do. And what better person to have on is somebody who understands it, because, well, you know, you work at a facility who's specifically designed to help people, and better that you're a not for profit, which means that you're not reaching out to people to say, hey, I need to fill this bed to make this company money. You're doing it to truly help people.

 

Ashley Podzius  36:14

Yeah. And then yeah, we're all are totally all donor funded. And we had a big outreach summit yesterday, too. And my boss's boss, who also kind of she just got promoted to the VP of admissions in business development. And I had worked with her before at a for profit. And, um, you know, Rogers is growing, because we have a lot of people who want to donate to help open these new locations, and, you know, communities that have a need. And we put a pause on that during the pandemic. And she's like, Wait, you're really pausing. Like, I don't know, why would anyone pause, I'm not used to this, what's going on? They're like, well, people need our help. And we can't grow if people are struggling. And you know, they need us here now. And she's like, Oh, so this is what it's like to work at a nonprofit that actually cares about their employees and the people that they serve. It was it was a really warming, eye opening discussion.

 

Leighann Lovely  37:12

That's awesome. Yeah, no, and it's interesting. I, I worked, I moved to a company Vaco. And I normally don't talk about, you know, specifically the company I work out because this is very separate. I on, I think it was around the holidays, my company sent out an email, to welcome or to wish everybody a happy holiday. Just tell everybody that you know, go shut down. Don't spend a bunch of time working over the holiday season. And then went on to further say, during the time, during the holidays, we know that many can struggle from a variety of different things, if anybody needs any resources, including who to turn to for mental health, and it went down a list. And then they had a huge, like, all these resources of like, I like almost fell off my chair. Now I shouldn't have. Because that should be something that companies just offer as a resource. Like if you need help, here are resources for you. And I'm sure there are a lot of companies out there that now are good about, you know, offering resources. But they want to step farther to remind everybody at the company that yes, the holidays can be hard for some people that remember, we want you to go be with your family shutdown, close your laptop, don't answer your phone. And if you know of anybody, or if you are struggling, here are the links to the resources that this company that you work at offers. And I was stunned. And I'm just like, wow, this is, this is an amazing thing to do to for your employees to make sure that they're taken care of. And every company should be doing that. Even if it's not a paid for service, even if it's, you know, a hey, you know, just to make sure everybody's okay, if you need help. Here's a not for profit organization that could assist you. Here's their website and a phone number that you can call just to remind you that we care about you and you don't at organizations don't have to pay for resources to be available for their employees. It just it makes a difference to know that a company that you work for cares about you. Okay, we're coming to time. So I have the question of the season. If you could pinpoint a time period in your career that made a huge difference in your life or career path. Would that be and why?

 

Ashley Podzius  40:02

I think it would be when I worked at Timberline Knowles the second time so it is a residential treatment center out of Lemont, Illinois, and I met one of my favorite people in the world. Her name is Deborah Cooper. She's a published author out of Flagstaff, Arizona and a copywriter. And she's totally blind. So she's in her 60s has been blind, I think since she was 14. And she's just been the biggest inspiration to me along with my mentor, Dave Cook, who is an ex State Farm agent and mentor there I met him I was waitressing. But these two people on both sides of my career that I both love equally waitressing and outreach, I love them both. I think I can pinpoint those people as my biggest motivators that have helped me keep moving forward. Because there's been so many times where I've doubted myself and thought, is this really where I belong? And especially with for profit organizations, there's a lot of buyouts, and acquisitions, and a lot of massive layoffs. And I've been a part of three of those. So I was like, I don't know, if I could do this anymore. And I talked to both of those people, Dave and Deborah. And they both said, Ashley, this you're, you're good at what you do, cuz I talked to Dave because he knows, like everyone under the sun. And I'm like, Well, what about like pharmaceuticals or something like that. He's like, Ash, you don't want to you don't want to sell prosthetic limbs. I mean, if you do, that's great. But I don't think that that's what you want. Like, just keep doing what you're doing and find a company and stay at it. And don't worry about the money because for profit places offer a lot of money. But they don't last a very long time. They're not really sustainable. So I think hearing those words, they've helped, like me, just keep working even harder and keep doing what I'm doing. Because it's something that I am good at. I am good at building connections. And I couldn't really see myself doing anything else besides the yoga but that's on the side.

 

Leighann Lovely  42:10

That's, that's amazing. That's, that's wonderful. And thank you for sharing. And it's, you know, I've said this before, and I'm gonna say it again, whenever we need the right person to come into our life, they always find a way to stumble in. And, you know, it just seems every time I asked somebody this question, it always seems to happen at the right time, even when we don't know it's the right time. So well, I Thank you so much for coming on and talking with me today. It's been an awesome conversation. Yeah, you're such an amazing person for doing what you do. And not only as, you know, as an outreach representative, but as a yoga instructor as well. You have a wonderful day. Yeah.

 

Leighann Lovely  42:56

Thank you again for listening to Let's Talk HR. I appreciate your time and support without you the audience this would not be possible. So don't forget that if you enjoyed this episode, to follow us, like us or share us. Have a wonderful day.

 

Ashley Podzius

Linkedin – linkedin.com/in/ashleypodzius

Rogers Behavioral Health - 800-767-4411

Website - https://rogersbh.org/screening-request

 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/family-time License code: 2330NZD3BLNDKPYI

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