Career Growth Advice from Stephanie Wettstein, Communication & PR Leader | Career Tips for Women in Communication & PR

2B Bolder Podcast – Episode 10
Featuring Stephanie Wettstein

Episode Title: #10 Career Podcast Featuring Stephanie Wettstein, Director of Internal and Executive Communications – Women In Business

Host: Mary Killelea
Guest: Stephanie Wettstein



Mary Killelea (Host): Hi there. My name is Mary Killelea. Welcome to the To Be Bolder podcast, providing career insights for the next generation of women in business and tech. To Be Bolder was created out of my love for technology and marketing, my desire to bring together like-minded women, and my hope to be a great role model and source of inspiration for my two girls and other young women like you. Encouraging you guys to show up and to be bolder and to know that anything you guys dream of, it's totally possible. On To Be Bolder, you're going to hear inspiring stories of how successful women, some I know, some I just want to bring to you guys, and they're going to talk about their careers in business and tech, and they're going to tell us their stories about their passion and their journey and their challenges, and we're going to learn some of their advice along the way too. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the conversation.

Today on the show is a dear friend I've known for over 15 years. I have admired her ability to have a successful career while being a dedicated mom. She is hardworking, ambitious, intelligent, and caring. She's been a communications professional for 23 years in various industries, including high tech and healthcare. My guest today is Stephanie Wettstein, Director of Internal and Executive Communications for Cambia Health Solutions. Steph, it's great to have you on the show.

Stephanie Wettstein (Guest): Thanks for having me. I love that you're doing this. What a cool idea.

Mary Killelea: Thank you. All right, so let's start off the conversation. Can you tell me about Cambia Health Solutions, what they do, and then also your role and responsibilities at the company?

Stephanie Wettstein: Sure, yeah. So Cambia Health Solutions is actually a parent company where we have four Blue Cross Blue Shield Regence plans, one in Oregon, one in Washington, one in Utah, and in Idaho. So we have the four health plans, but then we have a lot of other companies just health and wellness companies. To give you a kind of a flavor of the other types of companies we have is one of them is called HealthSpark. And what HealthSpark is, it's a place where people can go to see costs for different procedures, medical procedures, very transparently. So they could actually look up their doctor, find reviews on that doctor, and then also be able to compare prices for different treatments and different things that they need to have done. So it supports kind of an overall cause of the company, which is to be a catalyst for transformation, making the healthcare system more person focused and economically sustainable. That's actually our mission statement that any employee could tell you. It's a very active vision and mission that we have in the company.

Mary Killelea: What is your role and responsibilities there?

Stephanie Wettstein: So my role is that I am on our strategic communications team, which is basically our corporate communications team. And there's quite a few functions on that team, including PR and brand and stakeholder communications. And my piece of it is internal communications and executive communication. So there's some really good synergy actually between those two things. Executive communications means that I work with our executive leadership team on their internal and external communications. So that would be speeches and keynotes and panel discussions, but then also internally any sort of emails or communications that they send out. I'm the one that would be writing them and working with them on those things. I work specifically quite a bit with our CEO because he is asked to speak quite a lot. We use him both internally, but then also a lot externally. He's a pretty big thought leader in the space. And so that's where really probably about 50% of my time goes. And then internally, I have a great team that I work with where we are responsible to put out all of the communications internally to all 5,000 of our employees that also cross four states. So we have two weekly publications that we send out to managers and then to all employees. We have management calls, we have webinars, anything that is sent out. We have our internet site that lives with our team.

Mary Killelea: That must take some orchestration and like you said, strategic vision to keep everyone aligned to the vision internally and as well as when you take your external communications.

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, it does. And everything of course still kind of ladders up to the cause. So that's our, our mission that we all look to. So we think in terms of as the internal communications team, how do we support our employees so that they can help to realize our vision? So, what is the communication that we can put out to them that will help them to understand what are our business objectives? What are their role in accomplishing those objectives? Our big focus is around consumers and making sure that we're communicating externally to them as well, as well as just even their billing statements, that they're understandable and they're not hard to read. So how can we support employees that are helping to do that? Or even our customer service people who are on the front lines with our customers, how do we give them the information they need to help make their jobs easier?

Mary Killelea: That's great to see that you go to those level of details because I think those level of details are the front lines and those are so important with first impressions or even just general satisfaction from a consumer base.

Stephanie Wettstein: Absolutely. Yeah. And they often, I mean, they have the hardest jobs and they are, I have to say our customer service people are the most caring and they absolutely approach their jobs with their hearts. They go above and beyond for members to help them. And so they're not just a voice on the phone. We actually have, they develop relationships with our members where if a member has a good day, sometimes they'll call in to talk to the customer representative that they know to say, Hey, I had a good day. So, it's cool. And then we love to hear those stories because then we can communicate those out to the rest of our employees too, the people that work in IT or in the different departments or finance that everyone loves to hear those stories. So as much as we can even just highlight our own employees to other employees, we try and do that.

Mary Killelea: That's awesome. All right. So let's take a look at your career path and some of the previous roles that you've had over the years and that led you to here.

Stephanie Wettstein: It seems like it's been long, but also just gone by so, so fast. I was lucky enough where I started with a PR agency called Wagner Edstrom who had the Microsoft account for and still does, but for years and years. And so I started my career as a 24 year old, never having done public relations before. I had a degree in sociology and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with that, but I just thought it sounded interesting. And so I got on at the very lowest account level possible and learned the business of public relations, working with a company like Microsoft, which was just unbelievable. So I just got to learn what is public relations and how do you work with reporters? And then kind of grew from there because there's a lot of different areas within communications. There's the PR, but then of course there's also, and with Microsoft, we did product reviews and helped the clients kind of put together review guides that reporters and reviewers could then use to review the product. So then they would report on it positively, like a consumer reports type thing, or work with industry analysts to make sure that they were out there talking positively about Microsoft products. So it was a very sort of, it was such a way to learn just the art of communications, but in a very tactical and strategic way where this is what you do to launch a product. This is what you do to create top stories for a company. So it was just a huge learning ground in place. And so I worked there for, I want to say 10 years and just continued to kind of rise up through the account team, always working on Microsoft account, but on different parts of the Microsoft account. So, I got to learn different products, different ways to launch, but then also working with clients and understanding the importance of building relationships with those clients.

And so that really is kind of the foundation then that I've used through every role that I've had. And using those skills, I was lucky enough to then quit and work part time. And I started my own consulting business so that I could have some more flexibility so I could be home with my two girls and being able to be with them as much as I could. So I worked out of my home part time and just took on work when I could take it on. But that way I also kind of kept my foot in the door. And so I did that for about eight years. So I was able to learn as social media came up and I was able to kind of keep up with the time so that then when I re-entered my career, I was able to do that, which I also feel very lucky that I did. And I actually went back to Wagner Estrom and worked there for a couple more years and then realized I needed something else other than technology and high tech. And so I thought healthcare would be good because that felt very personal to me. And I was lucky enough to get the job I have now at Cambia and I've been there for almost six years.

Mary Killelea: What are some of the differences between high tech and healthcare when it comes to PR or communications?

Stephanie Wettstein: I think with healthcare, what I've enjoyed is that there's more of an opportunity for storytelling and to be able to get some really amazing stories that you can get out there. For instance, one of my favorite things to do is to talk about our work around palliative care, which is helping people and their families when they are dealing either with a serious illness or end of life. Some people think it's like hospice and it's just end of life, but it isn't. It's actually whenever you, if you get a diagnosis around a chronic condition or you have a serious injury or something that's going to kind of really put you on a journey through the healthcare system, that might not be very easy. This is an extra layer of care that doctors and people are trained in to really focus in on what does the patient and their family need in this. It doesn't matter what the institution needs. What does the person need? What do they need? And some of the stories that come out of that, when you get to that level and you kind of take off all of the bureaucracy of it and you really get down to facilitating a conversation between the provider who is trained in having these conversations and a family member to simply sit down, look each other in the eye and have that provider say, what is important to you? And the reaction that people in the families have are, it's so heartwarming and it's so amazing. It makes you realize, God, if, if nothing else, healthcare should be personal. Everything should be this way. All of our interactions with our healthcare should be this way. So being able to use that as an example in the work that we've done in that and the awareness that we've raised in that area, it's been so, so wonderful to have the opportunity to tell stories around that. Healthcare is that kind of personal thing. It's also really, it's not very good right now. I mean, there's so much broken about the system. And so there's so much good that still needs to be done.

Now, the thing that I'd say that I miss about high tech is that there's almost a formula in the way that you do communications for high tech where it's, yeah, you're still wanting to storytell and you're still wanting to as much as you can reach the heart, even more than the mind when you, when you have communication and you put messaging out there. But, but high tech is more about the cool whiz bang feature and the different parts of it. And you can talk about the benefits of it, but it's still really just about launching a product. And so, you know, there, there is that kind of formula that, that you take. And so in some way, sometimes I miss that formula and I wish that like in my current job, I'm trying to kind of apply that a little bit more in the way that you create a top story campaign or you there's kind of a way that you, that you do things that I'm seeing now where I can kind of start blending what I learned from high tech into healthcare and, and being able to kind of combine those two.

Mary Killelea: That's great. What does a typical day look like for you?

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah. Well, I can, I can use the example of what I'm doing right now. So, I would say with both executive and internal and trying to kind of juggle both of those things, I actually just, I want to say it was maybe on Thursday, I was putting together two different presentations for our CEO and our CEO for a sales conference that we were having. So, it was an internal event, but it was very much a very orchestrated sort of formal event that we had. I helped them with both of their presentations, and at the same time was writing a memo that we needed to prepare and send out to all employees about the coronavirus. And that has continued, that work has continued. I was still working on that memo last night and got that out. And now today I'm still working on employee communications around what we're doing for our employees, but also for our members to prepare for the virus.

Mary Killelea: So that's a lot to take on both the executive and internal. I mean, I would think there's benefits to having the same person doing both, but both seem like a full-time job.

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, they are. So thankfully I have an amazing team because there's no way I could do this on my own. So I have someone helping me with executive communications, and then I have a full team doing internal. And also there's been opportunities to be able to bring in other people to help with executive communications too, because there is so much crossover and there's so much synergy there in terms of what our CEO is saying externally. We want him to be saying the same thing internally. And so having that kind of one person and I can be that central point to be able to make sure that there's message consistency and that our employees are also hearing the same thing and even being able to update our employees on our CEO without giving this keynote and being able to share that for them or through his monthly communication that I work with him on and the team on to be able to put out to talk about where he's been and what he's been saying. So there is a lot of synergy there. So it does make sense really for one person to be in this role.

But then I also work with other people in our STRATCOM team that work with other executives that are out there speaking. And there's this sort of center of excellence around executive communications where then I can also make sure that they all know all my counterparts that are helping their executives with their communications. They know what Mark is saying, what our CEO is saying. So, there's also consistency within all of our leaders. So, we're all kind of they're all playing or singing from the same songbook so to speak.

Mary Killelea: When you look at what type of skills are required to do the job that you do, it sounds like building relationships is key in that.

Stephanie Wettstein: It absolutely 100% is, yes. You totally hit the nail on the head. It's all about relationships and that's where I was saying early in my career is able to learn how to establish relationships with clients. Well, how you establish those relationships is you kind of get in their head and you try and figure out what is important to this person. What are their needs? What's keeping them up at night? How are they saying things? What do they want to say? And that's where actually my sociology degree really kind of makes sense. So and I'm just like I just naturally I'm really fascinated with people and what makes them tick and so learning to do that and then that just becomes second nature. But that is absolutely it. It's building relationships not only with the people you work with but then and then also for internal communications trying to understand what employees need. But yes with that executive it's really what's important to them? What do they want to say and how can I help them say it in a way that is going to sound very authentic and genuine? And some of it isn't just getting in their heads it's understanding their hearts and where are their passions and how do they want to say things and what's really going to be meaningful for them so that you can set them up to say it so that the audience can start can see kind of what their heart is about too.

Mary Killelea: So how does someone who's trying to develop these skills go about it? Are there are there recommended classes or areas of expertise someone should pursue to hone in on these kind of skills like for speech writing or consumer messaging or media presentations?

Stephanie Wettstein: I can only relate to you know my own experience but for me it really helped starting in a PR agency. It's such a great training ground and you learn so fast all different types of media and how you use them and again the relationship building skills. But it also is writing. Writing is so incredibly important. Whether it's writing a blog or we used to write press releases, not as much anymore, but it's that capturing what those key messages are and how do you write it and how do you nuance it so it makes sense. And even now what we're doing it's even being that kind of that sort of average Joe, like you are the person that can help your client or your executive communicate in a way that yes they need to convey what's important to them, but also being able to see it from someone else's perspective and to say you know okay let's get all the acronyms out of this because that doesn't mean anything, that's not going to make any sense to the average employee or the average person that would be reading this. And so how do you say it in a way that's going to make sense to you so that you can then help them make help it makes sense to others? So it's really writing but then it's also kind of gut feel. It’s like what means something to you? And trusting that what means something to you is what you probably need to help your client understand, so that you can help him or her communicate it out in a way that makes sense.

Mary Killelea: Let's shift a little bit now you're on a couple different executive leadership teams tell us about each of those what your involvement is and how you identified those.

Stephanie Wettstein: You know you get to a point too in your career where you want to be a little more in touch with the community. Some of it is networking, some of it again is relationship building. I think the more that you can try and get out outside of the four walls that you work in because that can be so all-consuming, it just helps to make you see things from a broader perspective. So um I found two organizations that are just meaningful to me. One of them is March of Dimes and I was on the executive leadership team for the March for Babies that happens every year in March. That was an organization that that Cambia is very involved in as well, but also I was just always so thankful that I had healthy babies and so it's a way that you feel like you can give back. But you can also you then you build those relationships and you get to know people that are also on the in the organization, but on the executive leadership team with you, too, that all come from all different types of you know areas of the community and the business community. So you get to have exposure to that while doing something that's also meaningful to you.

And then the other organization is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and I've been on their executive leadership team for the Light the Night event which is super meaningful to me. I lost my best friend to a blood cancer, so I needed to give back in some way. So that organization I'm really approaching it more from a very personal perspective, but also has helped me kind of broaden my perspective and meet people I wouldn't have met and getting relationships that I wouldn't have met. That just helps to kind of overall help me as a human being, but then also broadens, helps me to be a better professional.

Mary Killelea: I congratulate you on your participation on those because everyone's got busy lives with work, family and making the time to dedicate to participate in these leadership teams, or even volunteer in any capacity, it really does take effort so kudos to you. When it comes to networking what advice would you give to those listening? What's one the value of it and two how has it helped you?

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, and this is the area where I think we could all be better. I definitely could do better and I think it's an area that terrifies me as an introvert, so I'm in this sort of field where it's dominated by extroverts and I can be extrovert when I need to be, but really I'm an introvert. So I have to force myself to get out there and certainly these two organizations and being on their boards have helped to do that. So it's just seeking out those sort of opportunities where you can meet you know people. And I think a little bit safer way is like on LinkedIn. That’s a nice way to be able to network and to meet people, but again it all comes down to relationships and getting to know people. So it's just finding those ways that feel safe to you. Like you only have to put the kind of the boundaries around it too because it's not like you can devote a ton of time to being able to network and get yourself out there, but finding those one or two if it's organizations or if it's meetings or something that you can find in the community, in the business community, to be able to get you out there so that you can start meeting people. Because then once you start meeting people kind of then start it can snowball too, and so then you have to kind of really pick and choose where you want to focus in on.

Mary Killelea: If you're applying for a job in communications what kind of things should they highlight on their resume?

Stephanie Wettstein: Writing.

Mary Killelea: Writing.

Stephanie Wettstein: Writing for sure. I think if there's an if they are interested in it certainly if they have any skills around social media, that's something that companies are really looking for people to know how to do and do well. And most companies don't really know how to do that. So definitely social media, definitely writing. I think why I emphasize writing is that there's so much self-publishing that companies can do on their own, on their websites. So if there's always a need for people who can write up a blog or be able to capture a recap of an event or do something that can be used internally for employees on the website. Then also it's a different industry now in terms of there's so many publications that are folding. Everything is online now and editorial staff have been continuing to be laid off and there's so much reduction in them being able to afford on staff writers. So, there’s also a great opportunity for companies to be able to write contributed and byline pieces that can be submitted into publications and outlets that they're hungry for. So if you can find someone that can write something like that, write it for an executive, or write it just kind of under the company headline, that is hugely beneficial.

Then I think it's just being relatable and being personable and showing that you can build relationships, and there's a lot there's kind of this big need now too where there's a lot of around authenticity and genuineness. And so the more you can just kind of offer who you really are um is another thing that, I think can help set you apart.

Mary Killelea: So we touched on it just briefly there in that answer, but technology has evolved so much, I mean, even when we started out, you and I, in our careers it was pre-social media. And so how has social media and even technology impacted your role?

Stephanie Wettstein: It's absolutely completely impacted it. Yeah. And there's quite a few women that at the same time that quit and started my own doing consulting and stuff, who just went full-time as full-time moms and then when they tried to re-enter the workforce, it was incredibly hard for them because they had missed out on learning about social media and about self-publishing and about all of the tools and technology that was out there. And so it's a super hard thing to try and to learn all at once because it really has fundamentally changed how we do PR. So for instance you still at some point maybe issue a press release, but that's not really as effective anymore. It really is being able to have your own blog or pitch a story that you're able to maybe package together and include a byline article or something like that, but then also you have to think about how are you going to whatever that announcement is or event that you're doing.

Or even for us when an executive is on stage speaking, what's the social amplification strategy for it so what are the tweets going to be? What's your Facebook post going to be? What's the LinkedIn? How are you going to be able to real time capture what's happening on stage, and then also how do you coordinate with the event that's happening in that hashtag to make sure that you are really thinking from a company brand perspective, as well as the brand and thought leadership around that executive or leader who's speaking. How do you kind of make sure that it's orchestrated in a way that it's amplifying it on all channels? And then what is your self-publishing model going to be? What is that blog that's going to go onto your website that then reflects that? So it's become very complex, it's also opened up doors and in different ways to think about PR and communications that we didn't have before.

Mary Killelea: Well and I think it's opened up the expectations from the consumer. I mean they want transparency, and so the companies that don't get that I think really are seeing the results of it.

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, there's a different appetite and there's a different cadence and there's a different expectation, like you said, of how people want to get their information and how they want it. I mean, it all has to be so much more real time than it used to be.

Mary Killelea: So, have you had mentors over the years that have helped you? And how did you go about like building those relationships?

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah. I think yes, I have. And I've been lucky to have some really wonderful ones. You can have you can have good and bad managers, and I think you can learn equally from both. So it's when though I think, especially when you have a manager that maybe isn't as good as you've had, then it becomes incredibly important to find mentors then that will help fill that need and I always gravitate toward other women leaders, and ones that feel like I already have a relationship with them. So you can't really force a good mentor. You have to really, if you have a connection with someone or if you already have a relationship with someone, or you feel like you could build that relationship with them and it just feels like a natural thing, then I think that works. But when you're told you need to go get a mentor, you think I have to go get one and so you just go and kind of pick who you think might be a good mentor because of the position they're in or because of what they're doing in the area of the company, that's less effective than having it try to kind of creating it more organically and more naturally so that it doesn't feel forced.

Mary Killelea: When I got into the corporate world, I guess it kind of surprised me. I only thought that mentoring was kind of the only type of support you might have, but then there's also sponsors. So it's interesting to me that there's sponsors who kind of internally when you're out of the room and a job opportunity comes up that sponsor speaks up for you. So that comes down to the importance of networking and building those relationships.

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, yeah. And actually, you touched on a point that I didn't touch on too. Networking is absolutely internally in your company. Yes, that is that is so key. And that again just goes back to, I think of it less as networking internally, and more is just building relationships internally. But being able to really think about when you're in a meeting with someone, just even thinking about the people that are in the room with you, really taking that into account, really thinking who in here am I feeling pretty connected with, or that I could learn from, or that there's some sort of a similarity there. And then just reaching out to them. I think that we spend so much time with the people that we work with that being able to build relationships in that way and even just asking someone to go have coffee with you, or asking them more about what do they do and what are their challenges? People love to be able to be asked that because it's like, oh my god, someone wants to know what is keeping me up at night. That's amazing. So it's not that hard to kind of create that common ground with someone, or to create that sort of connection with them. But you're totally right, I mean, it's that internal networking that's so important.

Mary Killelea: So we've touched on the fact that you're a working mom. What advice do you have for working moms out there?

Stephanie Wettstein: Just to make sure you find time for yourself in some way, and being patient with yourself I think. Because it's so hard for any of us that are trying to balance that because, like I said before, especially in these times depending on how old your kids are, too. But even just days where you feel like I am not doing anything very well right now. I think it's finding those, relying on your friends, just like you and I. There are so many ways we could relate to each other because we were in similar situations, and so being able to just pick up the phone and say, yeah, I’m not doing anything very well right now and asking for that help, or asking for that ear or being able to go out for a drink, or meet up with people. Because I think we tend to get in our own heads so much and we all want to be the perfect mom. Of course we do. We love our children so much. But at some point you also have to make sure that you are taking care of yourself too and giving yourself a break.

Mary Killelea: Totally agree, totally agree. What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced in your career?

Stephanie Wettstein: I think it's probably figuring out how to navigate an environment. And they're different. So an agency, for instance, when you're working at an agency, it's figuring out what who you need to know, who do you need to network with, and who do you need to get on your side, and how do you make sure that you can show up the way that you want to show up. And then it's the same then if you're working with a client and you're trying to figure out that environment. So for instance, Microsoft had its own sort of culture and environment and how do you, as quickly as possible, learn about that culture and that environment so that, again, you can show up in the way that you want to show up. And then working internally in an internal communication or in-house communications like I am now, they can be very complex sort of organizations. Or even if it's a startup, that's a whole different thing of trying to figure out because there's fewer people, there's not as much money, you really have to be thinking about the bottom line and the ROI. So, it's just kind of, I guess, it's tapping into the culture as quickly as you can and that's been something that I’ve had a lot of lessons learned and successes. And so you kind of you learn as you go how you can figure that out as quickly as you can, and kind of get into that rhythm of whatever that culture is.

So, I think that's where I probably learned the most over my career that maybe has been really hard sometimes. I haven't navigated the scene always in the right way or understood maybe who I was reporting to, thinking that they were one way or they were just not going to like me, regardless of what I do. Well maybe, but maybe not. So being extremely self-aware I think yourself is also important and I’ve learned some really tough lessons around that.

Mary Killelea: Yeah, and I think being a chameleon is something that they don't tell you in college that you need to be in order to succeed in business. But where I think women have an advantage overall because I think we are innately gifted to read a room and adapt as necessary, so I think that's kind of one of those hidden strengths we don't maybe know we have.

Stephanie Wettstein: True. It's very powerful.

Mary Killelea: Yeah, it is very powerful. So what drives you to be to be successful?

Stephanie Wettstein: That has changed in the different stages of my career. So at the beginning, at the agency, I was very, very driven by climbing the ladder and getting to that next title and more money and more people reporting to me. And that was how I spent like probably in my 20s and 30s, being very focused on that. But then then as a contractor, as a consultant, then that completely changes so then you don't have that. And so then at that stage, I was more motivated with simply just getting hours and getting work so that I could continue doing what I was doing. And I was motivated by my own goals of being able to be able to kind of break out on my own, and find those clients on my own and service them by myself, and they're much smaller clients. And I was more motivated by that and being able to kind of keep my business afloat so that I could continue the flexibility that I had and being able to be home with the kids.

And now, there's advantages with coming being be the ages that we are. I am not at all about climbing the ladder. I'm more about having balance, but also learning and being a better person overall, but also helping others. So I’m getting so much more satisfaction now out of maybe even taking the back seat and being able to help the other amazing leaders on my team have experiences and have the opportunities they need to grow in their careers. And I’m not just saying that as I’m such a great person now because I’m like trying to. It really is like almost like when you become a parent and you are more excited about watching your kids open presents than opening presents yourself. It's that kind of thing where you can feel like, oh my gosh, I feel so good because I think I actually empowered someone today, and I feel like they are doing so much more than they realized that they could do. I had a part in that.

Mary Killelea: That's a wonderful place to be in life. Where you're mature enough to really get joy and fulfillment out of the success of others.

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, and it's not to say that I still like to have those experiences and opportunities, too, but I just feel like I don't have as much importance on that.

Mary Killelea: Yeah, totally makes sense. Okay. So, if you could tell your 20 year old self one thing, what would it be?

Stephanie Wettstein: Just to relax. I don't want to say not to be so driven, because I was really driven. But I think just being more balanced, and just being able to… I probably would tell myself just to stop moving so fast and just create moments where I could see more of the world around me, appreciate more of what was going on around me, and being able to take it in more rather than I feel like I was so narrowly focused on myself, and on getting to that next title, and the next. And then when having kids too, I was so focused on making sure they had naps at the right time and that they we had a schedule, and we had to stick to the schedule. And it just feels like I wasted so much time being so overly focused on that when I should have just gone with the flow a little bit more, not been so squarely centered on being really ultra organized.

Mary Killelea: What's next for Stephanie? Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?

Stephanie Wettstein: What’s kind of cool is I have no idea, because we're kind of at this… we're gonna be empty nesters in two and a half years. And it feels like I’m right on the sort of edge of a new chapter. And I really don't know what that's gonna be. I mean, at this point I’m happy with the opportunities that I have at Cambia and I’m looking to see where that might take me. But otherwise, I don't know. I really don't. I'll still be doing communications, and I'll still be doing something like that, but I don't know if I’ll be doing exactly this.

Mary Killelea: Well it'll be exciting to watch.

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, yeah it will be.

Mary Killelea: Do you have any good books or podcasts that you listen to and that you might recommend?

Stephanie Wettstein: I feel like, and this is something where I’ve tried to be a little bit more relaxed, that when I read or the things that I listen to are simply just for me. They're just to help my brain have a break because with my job being the way it is, I'm working this weekend and it's kind of a 24/7 thing. Almost where it's hard to turn my brain off with work, and when I sleep sometimes I dream about working on a speech or something. So I really try and just read for pleasure, and i'll listen to audio books as well, just for pleasure. I'm in a book club and so I’m focused on whatever books we come up with. So i rarely listen to podcasts or read books about communications or about business.

Mary Killelea: What's your favorite book for joy that you're reading right now?

Stephanie Wettstein: Oh, gosh. Okay well the one I’m reading right now, that I’m really loving, is called Gentleman in Moscow and it's about a count that is under house arrest in a fancy hotel in Russia, because it's right after the czar, the whole kind of that revolution that happened where they kind of took away all of the royals, and so they were either killed. Like the czar and his family, they were like pushed out of the country, and so this count happened to be put on house arrest. But he basically lives in a hotel without going outside for like 26 years. And you're in his mind and you're able to see what is that like, and then what are the relationships that he builds within that little small little world that he is in within that hotel. And it's been a fascinating read.

Mary Killelea: Oh my gosh, that's awesome. Alright, well we are done. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Stephanie Wettstein: Thank you. This was fun.

Mary Killelea: I’m so glad. If someone wanted to get in touch with you or learn more about Cambia, where can they go?

Stephanie Wettstein: They can go to my LinkedIn page. I think my email should be there, too. But definitely feel free to. My email is just um wetsteinstefanie at gmail.com.

Mary Killelea: Perfect. And then Cambia Health Solutions if they want to learn more. Where would they go?

Stephanie Wettstein: On the website. It's just cambiahealth.com

Mary Killelea: Thank you, Steph.

Stephanie Wettstein: Yeah, thank you, Mary. This was so fun.

Mary Killelea: thanks for listening to the episode today it was really fun chatting with my guest if you liked our show please like it and share it with your friends if you want to learn what we're up to please go check out our website at 2bbolder.com that's the number two little b bolder.com