Christina: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taking to Lead podcast where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Hoeppner with my cohost Leslie Hoskins and Timothy Kuo, you guys, I just spent a week in Kansas City at a really cool non-profit innovation and optimization summit, and I am so excited to bring back so many
Leslie: cool ideas, innovation.
Optimization. Optimization. Yes. Wow. I don't think I've heard that word before. Yes, I like it. Sounds like you came in super pumped this morning, so it sounds like it was a really good week. It
Christina: was awesome. And it's so cool to talk to people from other nonprofits doing the same thing. You're doing all, and these people came from all over the country.
There were people even from Canada, nonprofit. So it's so cool to learn about all of the amazing things other nonprofits are doing as well, and chat with people, get ideas from each other. It was just the perfect timing with, you know, the end of the year coming and [00:01:00] all of the fun events that are coming up for us in the next year.
And, um, ways to promote and, you know, Just do what we do every day. .
Leslie: That's awesome. I'm so glad it was a good week. Cuz sometimes, you know, conferences can be certainly draining. It's time away from work. Uh, so it certainly feels like an extra thing, but when it's worth it. That's awesome. Yeah, especially
Timothy: a long week one.
Those are fun fields sometimes.
Christina: Yeah. Don't I ask me at the end of this week how I feel, because right now I'm feeling great. It's the beginning of the week. I have a lot of stuff to go through because I barely had time to go through anything last week, but, By the end of this week, I'm sure I'm gonna be feeling trained and ready for a relaxing weekend.
Cause then I had a wedding to attend over the weekend. So it was like literally gotten late Friday night, left Saturday morning cuz the wedding was about an hour away. So yeah, long week, but. I'm, You know what? I slept over eight hours last night. I needed it, but and Coffee. Coffee this morning. [00:02:00] I am on my second co.
It is hot coffee time of year now, ,
Leslie: can't everybody now come back to normality? I can't do it again. Well, it's fall. It's cold this morning. This
Christina: is very cold. You need hot coffee to warm my body.
Leslie: Well listen, I'm glad you're back because trying to do all of these podcast things by myself this week did not enjoy it.
So welcome back and that's where you're right into it. We've got several talking points we need to just stop, right, . Cause I'm also behind from you being behind how that happens.
Christina: But she, we, this is why people think we are the same person and have the same job because. I'm gone. You're behind. You're gone.
I'm behind. I don't know
Leslie: how that works. So it seems to seriously work that way. So I'm delighted you are back. Timothy, what have you been up to? What's going on in your world?
Timothy: Oh, not much. Just getting into the, we getting ready to leave to the, See the puppy Razrs this week, flying to Wisconsin. So big weekend, next weekend.
I'm, I've [00:03:00] talked to Lions Club people before. I've talked in front of people. I've gotta talk in front of second graders and I'm more scared about that than anything. Ah, So, um, I gotta get prepared. We get through Thursday and four hours later we're, I'm at a school, so I'm prepared right off the bat. I've gotta do some talking.
So glaciers gotta get prepared and that's amazing. So it's exciting.
Leslie: Weekend coming up. My favorite thing about doing school. Little presentations is like you're talking about, you know, maybe our mission or what we do or what it's like to be blind. And then, you know, all the kids have their hand raised and you like pick on one of 'em and they're like, One time I was at the zoo and that's.
Awesome. Back to . It's so funny, uh, just to see how their minds work and kind of relate all the things together. If they do
Timothy: that, they're gonna throw me off
Christina: so my lower, I'll be prepared. Yeah. Kids ask the randomest questions too. Yeah. I think they're gonna like fall in love with [00:04:00] glacier. Absolutely.
Leslie: That'll be so much fun.
Well, I cannot wait to hear how that goes. Uh, let's see. Me, What am I doing? These , Nobody asks. Nobody me. But, uh, I'm also busy doing things. I don't know what I'm doing. Uh, just keeping up, It feels like right now. Yeah. Getting ready for fall. Um, talking about Halloween costumes and trying to get my kids to decide on one Halloween costume,
So that I can get going on it. Cuz I do like to make those myself. I just think it's like super fun and uh, yeah. So that's what I'm at. So once my kids finally decide, I will let everybody know, but I love that they
Christina: make them stop. I do. Last
Leslie: year you're such a crafty mom. Well, Liz, that's like the one time of the year I really get crafty.
Uh, last year Zach was Batman and Alice. What was Alice? Wow. You can't, Oh my gosh. I can't even remember what she was. Oh, she was Robin, duh, sorry. Batman, Robin Batman, Robin. So far they've been like, you [00:05:00] know, like a zebra and a flamingo, Batman and Robin. They've kind of like done little do things, but it sounds like this year we are splitting weight.
Yeah, they're
Christina: gonna get to that age where they're like, Nope, I don't wanna
Leslie: do that. Burn costume was really hoping Alice wanted to be like a princess or something. But the last I heard she wants to be a monster, which I absolutely love. So we'll lean into whatever she wants. Anyways. Love that. Thank you everyone, uh, for joining us today.
We are super excited to have our guest on who is a leader dog team member and a fellow podcaster, so we're excited for her to join and share her experience and expertise within the blindness community.
Christina: Yes, and Raven has been working at Leader Dogs for the Blind since the summer of 2015 with the breeding and puppy care team.
She's a guide dog handler herself with a decade of guide dog use experience under her. She currently works, her second guide dog, a female black Labrador from Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York. And outside of Leader Dog, Raven [00:06:00] Cohost two podcasts, Intersectional Insights in UN Struggling Mental Wellness for everyday People.
And she is also a passionate, creative writer in her poetry and short nonfiction has been published in several literary journals and magazines.
Timothy: Hello, Raven. It's great to have you on the podcast. Let me tell you, I love your name, that is such a cool name, but can you tell me more tidbits about your life that Christina didn't mention
Raven: about?
Thank you so much for having me on. So, I, I'm a, I have a pretty boring life, honestly, in a good way. So I just, outside of work, I play with my dog. I like to cook and. Yeah, watch a lot of YouTube videos and podcasts. I like to relax a lot. Yeah. Outside of all of my podcasting stuff that I do because, um, running two podcasts is not
Listen, [00:07:00] it's time consuming. Yeah. And so yeah,
Leslie: so you definitely can't say you have a boring life because if you are running two podcasts, that's a lot of work. Christina and I, Timothy are barely functioning with the one. We've got and there's three of us helping out with it, so Oh wow. Running two, I can't imagine how much time that takes.
How did you get started in podcasting? So
Raven: my first podcast I started was intersectional Insights, and that is turning to. On, I don't know, Thursday or Friday. Nice. Um, as of this recording anyway, so my co-host posted on Facebook and she said, Hey, does anybody wanna do a podcast? Or she said, Does anybody know of a podcast that has black blind women?
And I was like, Yeah, I don't know, but if you wanna start one, let me know. So that's how we got into it. Um, I didn't have a po a passion or interest or anything, [00:08:00] but when she put that out there I was, that peaked my interest and it's definitely been a huge learning process. I've loved it. I've loved almost every part of it.
social media is my least favorite part of doing this podcasting stuff.
Leslie: But sounds like you were necessarily like into the podcasting. You just found a topic that you were passionate about and recognized. There wasn't really anybody in that space.
Raven: Yeah, absolutely.
Christina: That's so awesome, Raven. And you know, kind of what you're doing is bringing so much knowledge to other people as well.
I mean, that's the cool thing about podcasting. I learn something every day doing this podcast, and I'm sure you do as well, doing two podcasts, which is Yeah, absolutely amazing. And Raven, so you actually, um, have. I mentioned in your bio you have a decade of guide dog use experience under your belt and, but you have a guide dog from another organization.
So what is that like for you working at Leader Dog but working with another guide dog from [00:09:00] another organization?
Raven: So yes, both guide dogs that I've had have been from guiding Eyes and. What is that like? You know, it just is, I'm not sure. Like you don't know any different . I was gonna say, I don't know any different, I don't have anything to compare it to necessarily.
I mean, I've read the class lecture materials from several different guide dog schools. , um, including Leader Dog and guiding us for the blind, but others out there. Um, for people who don't know, there's over a dozen guide dog schools in the United States. I think we have more guide dog schools than any other country.
Um, and so that means we have a lot of choices. And picking a guide dog school is an extremely personal choice, and it's like thicken a college. You don't just go anywhere. There are things that you want as a client. Out of the lecture material, out of your learning experience, out of the instructors themselves, [00:10:00] um, outta the class structure, all of these different things.
Um, Guiding Eyes is a smaller guide dog school than Leader Dogs technically in so far as class structure. Um, and that's always been appealing to me. Um, and then there are certain things they do. Training wise and graduate support wise that are also appealing to me, so, . Those are some of the things that I consider when I'm choosing a guide dog
Leslie: school.
I love that, Raven, because it's so important to do your research. We tell clients that all the time, and all of the guide dog organizations really do support one another. And so if there is a client that maybe comes to us that we can't serve for whatever reason, you know, we will certainly pass along resources to another organization.
It's just really interesting, I think when we go out to conferences and stuff and get together with other guide dog organizations and share tips and tricks and kind of what we're all into and what we're doing and trying, because we're all [00:11:00] here for the same mission. So I think that's incredible and I'm so glad that you did your research and found an organization that fits your specific needs.
It's so important to do so. I also love that you mentioned it being like researching a college. I had never thought about that, but I think that's spot on. Yeah.
Christina: Yeah. You just don't go to the college, you know, in your hometown. Cause yous right there
Leslie: don't, Yeah. You know, you think about your background, you think about what your major is, you think about the campus life, you think, I love that.
I think that's such a good way to think about it. October is Blindness Awareness Month. And did you know only 10% of people who are blind or visually impaired travel independently with a guide dog or white cane? That means that 90% of people require assistance or don't leave their home.
Christina: That is a staggering statistic.
At Leader Dogs for the Blind, we focus on mobility skills such as waking training and guide dog training to empower people to travel independently. This training is offered completely free to clients in the US and Canada, including room, board, and airfare to [00:12:00] learn more. Head to leader your dog.org.
Timothy: So, Raven, what, what vision problems do you have and how did it affect you as a child?
Raven: So I am totally blind, so zero eyesight, and. I don't know. I think I got along okay. I guess I went through the normal childhood stuff where you have really close friends and really good relationships so that I went through childhood bullying and there were times where I was the bully cuz I felt really, you know, get them before they get me type of stuff and certain schooling situations.
But I did have a really good benefit growing up. I was, I spent the first half of my childhood in Detroit and I was put into a school that had a classroom for the blind because Michigan doesn't have any schools for the blind, and I'm okay with that personally. Um, but I was put into a classroom for the blind [00:13:00] in a mainstream school, and that was really cool because I had teachers, you know, we worked on blindness skills, age appropriate blindness skills.
And this started right when I was three. And, um, that was really cool because you do have children who grow up at, you know, just as blind people and they don't know how to tie their shoes until they're 16 and things of that nature, which is gonna blow people's minds to hear that, but it's because parents don't know how to teach their children, right?
There's no manual on being a parent, and there's definitely not a manual on being a parent of a disabled child. And so I thought it was great to have this classroom for the blind, and then the way this class worked. When you hit a certain age, they would start sending you to the mainstream classroom with sighted children for certain subjects like spelling or science.
And so that you got slowly integrated into. The mainstream classroom. And um, that was really cool because I ended up moving outta Detroit when I [00:14:00] was 10, right before fifth grade. And so I was ready for the mainstream classroom at that point, um, because. The classroom for the blind was small number of people, right?
Like there's only three kids, five kids, six kids, and mainstream classrooms is upwards of 30 children, . So it's just a different experience. Socially, you get a different level of experience when you're talking about teacher interaction, teacher student interaction, and. I was ready for that. So I think that was really cool and I, I don't know how many people have that
Leslie: privilege.
That is really cool. And it's, it is unique. We actually talked to somebody just last week who was kind of talking about something similar, um, and he grew up in Chicago, but it really does sound like the best of both worlds, right? Like, so you can be around peers who are similar. Going through similar things and focus on blind skills, but also Right.
Have those peer expectations of you, the mainstream kids, and then getting, you know, exposure I guess you'll say, and being with them as well. Yes. So I love that, Raven. I think that's [00:15:00] absolutely incredible. And obviously it did you, while you're a very independent, uh, person, um Yes. And you walk to work almost every day.
Don't.
Raven: I do walk to work quite frequently. My
Leslie: work, it's quite a long walk. You and I did it one time together. I remember it's, but it's, it's a long, it's a decent walk. Or even, Well, I
Raven: walk at a good clip. I walk three and a half miles an hour. So
Leslie: I remember barely keeping up with you, so. Yes. Oh man. Raven's out.
Track it, she kills it. She is very, very independent and very confident. In your tri, you probably walk faster than
I
Christina: do running .
Leslie: A hundred percent. A hundred percent. So now, uh, and you're working with your guide dog in the the canine center. I'm just curious, what is that like for your guide dog being around all of the puppies and dogs all the time?
I'm probably at this point, he or she is just like used to it. But I would imagine that was quite the transition.
Raven: So that's an interesting question. It's something I thought. When I went to get my second dog a lot, because my first guy [00:16:00] dog, I think when I had been with him a year, I started volunteering at the animal shelter that was local to my college in Grand Rapids.
And he could kind of hear what was going on. Um, but he was more distant from the animals and then more distant from me working with the animals than my current dog is. But by the time I got to later, he was kind of used to. , but, but it's, it is different because our dogs can hear all the other dogs nearby.
Um, so even if you have a super settled bombproof dog like I've had with both dogs, fortunately they react to some stuff that happens. Now, what I did with my current dog is actually there was some time in between when I got home with her from new. and when my next shift at Leader was, and so actually I came in to work on a day that I was not working and just had her settle in the [00:17:00] crate during puppy feeding time.
nice and puppy feeding time for anybody who does not know is very loud. The Labrador is all of them. They know 15 minutes beforehand, you know, just like the adult dogs do, right? , they know what time is coming and they want you to feed them. And, um, it's very loud. So, um, and we happen to have something like 30 puppies there at the time.
Oh my goodness. So I thought, Okay, this is perfect. I get to see how this dog responds. And she, she's not a vocal dog herself, never has been. I think in the four years I've had this dog, I've only heard her bark five times, possibly. So that's just what I decided to do. She did a great job. And I was only there for, I don't know, like an hour and a half.
and I sat in the office with her the whole time she was in the crate. Mm-hmm. . So I wasn't like giving her attention or anything. I was on my computer doing whatever and I thought that was a good short introduction to work. I'm in here, I haven't left [00:18:00] you, there's all this noise, I'm just gonna see what you do.
And she didn't do anything, um, regarding those dogs. So, That was really great. So then when I came back for an eight hour shift or whatever, and you know, I can't be in there with my dog for most of that time, so sh she did a stellar
Christina: job, Raven. I think that's amazing and it really shows how dedicated you are as a guide dog handler yourself.
And you know, you've, you mentioned you brought her to work, you work in the breeding and puppy care. So tell us a little bit about your role at Leader.
Raven: As a breeding and puppy care attendant, I help with a lot of the back end of producing guide dogs, which is very interesting. I work with the baby puppies and I actually work with the breeding specialists and I help physically breed the dogs, so I literally get to help make guide dogs , and it's a lot of fun.
It is. It is trying at times, as [00:19:00] you can imagine. Breeding dogs, as you've probably heard back in the episode with Dana. It is not as easy as you might think. You don't just put two dogs in a room and then they figure it out. So that's a very interesting part of it. For me, working with the baby puppies is impressive because they all have their own little personalities.
Aww. And it's interesting to watch them grow. You know, it's interesting because I get to work with puppies from six and a half weeks old all the way up until. They're ready for training because they come in for different things. They come in for medical procedures, you know, vet checkups and behavioral interventions and things like that.
And I do a lot of the dog training stuff. Later dog when it comes to our younger puppies. So I'll do some loosely training and things of that nature just to keep a dog's skills, I guess, up to par while they're with us and they can't be with the puppy razor. So those are some of the things that I do, and I kind of [00:20:00] run the ship over with the breeding dogs and so far as their care.
I work very closely on contact with the breeding specialists regarding all of that. So that's a little bit of what I do. I could never tell you everything. I mean, no, not a single day in that kennel is ever the same .
Leslie: So I think just to circle back here, remember at the beginning when you're like, Ah, I don't know, my life's kind of boring.
I feel like you just completely contradicted that. Your work alone over in puppy care with breeding sounds really, really interesting and so many moving pieces. With your having your own guide dog there with working with puppy, with working with breeding, sounds like your role is critical to what we do at Leader Dog.
Um, yeah, but real quick, I know cuz we're already honestly getting to the end, which is kind of crazy. But would you mind telling us where can somebody find your
Raven: podcasts? Well, my podcasts are pretty much everywhere and I made sure of that cuz I'm the person who does the distribution stuff. , Apple, Samsung, Spotify, A, [00:21:00] wherever, everywhere, but YouTube.
We don't do that on either of mine yet. But yeah, pretty much anywhere you subscribe to your podcast, we are there.
Leslie: Awesome. And one of 'em, you said the first one's called Intersectional Insights.
Raven: Yes. Intersectional insights.
Leslie: Yep. Yep. And end struggling correct.
Raven: Un
Leslie: struggling. Yes. I love that title. I think that's really cool.
I'm gonna definitely be checking both of those out. Uh, Reen, thank you so much for joining us today. Your experience is absolutely incredible. I'm excited to dive into your podcast and learn more, but what you do is so important, both at work and at home and all the things. So thank you for joining us and sharing today.
Thank you for having me. Absolutely. And thank you so much for listening to the Taking the Lead podcast. I'm Leslie Haskins with host Timothy Kuo and Christina Hepner. We hope you enjoyed learning about Raven's experiences, and please join us next week as we continue to dive into the world. Apply this,
Christina: and if you'd like to learn more about applying to Leader Dog Free Services, you can head to [00:22:00] leader dog.org.
Or call us at (888) 777-5332. And don't forget, you can reach us at taking the lead@leaderdog.org with any questions or ideas. If you like today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out wherever Podcast Dream.