Leading up to International Women’s Day 2022 on March 8, members of the Rare Patient Voice leadership team reflected on female leadership, team work, role models, and lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Female leadership to me is about following the golden rule. Creating a culture of trust within my teams. Sharing information, empowering each person to grow and letting them shine at what they do best. In my current role, I feel that my leadership helps my team develop the confidence needed to deliver on our goals with the empathy, care and understanding required to make a true difference with the wonderful patients and caregivers we work with.
Debi Crist, Director of Patient Outreach and Panel Management
I am so proud that we have four women in leadership positions at Rare Patient Voice. My role is to ensure that we are all on a level playing field and to support our team so we can grow and be successful. We all come to RPV with different professional backgrounds, cultural, religious, and family experiences. All of this informs who we are and makes us uniquely valuable to the organization. I have two sons and I believe that seeing me as a leader, supporting our team and making a difference in the lives of patients and caregivers, ensures that they will support their future wives, daughters, and granddaughters as they seek to make a difference in the world.
Pam Cusick, Senior Vice President
I come from a long line of opinionated, hard-working women! Seeing my grandmother going off to work at Macy’s, or my mom coming home from a long day at her insurance job in downtown Manhattan, made growing up to be an independent professional a natural for me. I’ve been inspired by the ability of women in my life to balance a demanding career, often long commute, and responsibilities at home with finesse. My sister, for example, is an advertising executive who works partly from home and from her office an hour away, takes care of her family, attends countless practices, swim meets, and basketball games for her two teenagers, and is active in her church and community. For me, as a single professional, doing it all on my own comes with its unique set of challenges. But I know I can handle whatever comes my way, personally and professionally, just as the strong women I’ve been privileged to learn from have always done.
Laura Mullen, Director of Marketing and Communications
As a woman in the workplace, my advice to my daughters would be to stay true to who you are. There are going to be people you really love to work with and people that you don’t see eye to eye with and this is okay. Speak up and always trust your gut. Be open minded and willing to see things from a different perspective. Work harder than anyone in the room and always be willing to learn. Be fierce while remaining humble and kind. Find what motivates you and let it be your driving force. Most importantly, just be you.
Tiffany White, Director of Business Development
