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The ‘Changing of the Guard’ at HAHS |
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Meet Dr. Lydia Miller, Executive Director of the Hooved Animal Humane Society by Sandy Kucharski |
 With the tumultuous times that have accompanied the changing of Executive Directors at the Hooved Animal Humane Society in Woodstock, Illinois, the focus has been on who’s not with the organization anymore and why, and not so much on their new leadership and direction. We offer this interview as a chance to get to know Dr. Lydia Miller, the new executive director of HAHS.Ambitious, confident and knowledgeable are some of the adjectives one could use to describe Dr. Lydia Miller. Despite the controversy surrounding former director/founder Donna Ewing’s departure from the HAHS farm in Woodstock, IL, Miller said, “It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that this is exactly where I want to be. This is ideal. Just look out the window.” When you look at the personal, educational and career paths that led Miller to her current position as the Executive Director of the Hooved Animal Humane Society, it’s clear to see why she says that. Raised in a small town in southern Illinois, Miller always knew she would become a veterinarian. She explained, “I’ve been volunteering in vet practices since I was about five (years old) because I knew that’s what I wanted to be.” Determination and clear goals saw that dream become a reality. Miller graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, in Champaign, Illinois, in 1994 and went to work for the Tremont Vet Clinic, a mixed practice in a farming community. She also stayed active with the vet school, mentoring students and conducting interviews for the incoming candidates. At the same time, she took classes to pursue her masters degree. “I really, really wanted a masters degree. Then it was discouraged. Now it’s all the rage to get a dual degree, simultaneously. I was told you should just go to school and be happy, but I really wanted this, so I said I’d just do my time and get out.” Miller completed her Masters degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communications in 2001. It was her connection with the university that led to the first of several “overlapping” positions. Miller explained, “I was down there (at U of I) for interviews and the Dean caught me in the hallway and asked if I wanted to come back and work for him.” She replied that her boss at the vet clinic wouldn’t be too happy about that, but the Dean said this was only a part time job. “He wanted me to develop a program for graduate veterinarians called Executive Veterinarian Program, a kind of mini MBA, and I could still practice.” She took on the job of Visiting Program Coordinator at the University, and continued to actively practice. The “visiting” status given to the university position meant that it was temporary and after three years, the position ended. It was about this time that Miller was approached by American Association of Equine Prac-titioners (AAEP) about developing a new program for them. “People were beginning to catch on that I’m not scared to go in somewhere and start something new.” Miller took on the new job and for a period of time she worked for the University, AAEP and the vet clinic at the same time, as well as taking classes for her Masters. The commute between Peoria, Springfield and Champaign became a part of her week. The AAEP position, however, was going to entail more than a part time commitment, so she would have to give up the active practice. Speaking about this career turn, Miller said, “The thing that should become clear was not that the practice was boring or hard or not what I expected. It’s just that I also wanted to do the other things. There’s nothing wrong with being a vet or being one for 30-40 years; it’s just not my career goal.” Another interest that she has cultivated since childhood is writing. Practical veterinary knowledge had been essential for the University of Illinois and AAEP positions that Miller held, and it also benefits her writing. Of her passion for this, Miller said, “I have written since I was a kid. I wrote through high school. I wrote through college. I paid my way though vet school by writing. Ironically enough, some of my horse health articles appeared in Hoofprints (the HAHS-sponsored magazine).” She held the position of Information Specialist during vet school, the first student to do this. The service provided horse health articles to many equine publications. Regarding her professional experience as it relates to her writing, she says, “I’ve always wanted to do the two; to be able to write knowledgeably. I still interview other people, but I can translate their jargon, and write the introductions and sidebars.” Miller still actively writes today; her most recent article appeared in the March issue of Horse Illustrated. She also enjoys speaking. “I concentrate on horse health, but I do business as well.” Generally staying within the focus of human resources, Miller speaks on topics such as client relations between vets and owners. She has spoken about owner education for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and still continues to do so. She explains simply, “It all works together.” Personal equine experience also fits well with Miller’s current position. She came across her first horse while she was practicing. The horse had been diagnosed with EPM and the clients were unwilling to continue his treatments, so she purchased him and continued to treat him as his owner, not his veterinarian. Upon his recovery, she gave him some dressage training and donated him to a therapeutic riding center. Her current mount is a horse she “rescued” off the track and she competes in dressage with him. Reflecting on her current position with HAHS, Miller said, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this.” The position allows her to utilize her communication and organizational skills, offers opportunities for consulting and education, as well as making use of her practical veterinary expertise. “It’s nice to have the hands on... and I get that here. I can’t do everything out there because it’s cost prohibitive to have the big equipment” (such as x-ray machines), but Miller handles day to day care like vaccinations and Coggins tests. She readily admits, “I’m not an expert on goats and potbelly pigs, so we use a mixed practice for them.” She feels that it is beneficial to have a good working relationship with several area veterinarians and she often consults with colleagues and gets second opinions. While interviewing for the position of Executive Director of HAHS, Miller became aware of the sensitive situation she was walking into. She was told there was some difficulty making the transitions of leadership since nothing was signed between the board and former director. “I was nervous. Nobody wants to go into something like that.” She did, however, appreciate a conversation she had with one of the board members when she was on her second interview. “A board member pulled me aside and said, ‘If you are selected for this position and choose to accept it, I give you my promise that I will stick with this with you.’ She had emotion in her voice and I could tell she was sincere. She kept her promise.” One of Miller’s first orders of business was to consult with each of the existing Advisory Board members to see who was still “on board” with the organization. Miller recalls, “I started (at HAHS) on June 11, 2001. On June 12, I started making calls to Advisory Board members.” Miller has documented the responses and keeps a file of the dates when various members resigned. The dates range from June 12, 2001 to January 11, 2002. She adds, “I get irritated by the claims that the Advisory Board left en mass.” In response to the resignations and in an effort to reorganize, a new Advisory Council has been established with six members with various areas of expertise. The Council’s description and responsibilities are now incorporated into the organization’s by-laws. Miller is pleased to report on her accomplishments at HAHS since she came aboard in June 2001. “We have adopted out five horses, including a very big one...GiGi the Belgian.” They’ve also placed nine goats. Six horses previously adopted out have been returned to HAHS. “I want to make it clear that these horses were not seized. The owners called and said, ‘we had a change of lifestyle.’ We took them back without any problems.” In answer to this, the adoption contract has been modified, giving HAHS has the right of first refusal. HAHS has hosted a number of educational seminars in the past year, including their first ever Youth Equine Expo, an interactive seminar exposing young horse enthusiasts to a variety of equine experts. They have scheduled two more of these successful events for 2002 (see calendar of events for details). The team at HAHS has overseen the rounding up of a stray bull, as well as two horses and one pony that were running at large, but, Miller reports, “No impoundments have been made since I’ve been here. That tells me we’ve recruited and trained a great group of investigators. We sent 16 people down to the state test. ” Miller says claims that there are 65 investigators around the state of Illinois is misleading. “We did such a good job of recruiting people with horse knowledge and people skills that we haven’t needed to impound. We have found solutions for bad cases.” In regards to the current climate of abuse in the state, Miller reports, “There’s been claims about no more abused and neglected horses in Illinois. In 2000, 169 calls were investigated. In 2001, there were 177 calls. Statistically speaking, these two years are the same. It hasn’t dropped off any.” A lot of effort has gone into establishing standard operating procedures for everything that the association does, including creating new Foster Care contracts. Miller has also established an e-newsletter for those who visit the HAHS site. Details are being worked out for an intern program where college students will live at HAHS and work at the farm for a set period of time in exchange for on-the-job experience. This is scheduled to begin in May, in conjunction with the beginning of summer hours.
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For more information about HAHS or their coming events, visit their website: http://www.hahs.org. |