A Painter, a Water Polo Player and a White Water Rafter! Meet Our Latest Hidden Talents!
One of the things we love most (and what others tell us they love most) about our Hidden Talents series is that we discover impressive and amazing things about our colleagues that we never knew.
Our latest batch of Hidden Talent profiles — which were written by Sophia Fleischer, our Communications team’s summer intern — once again do just that.
To read, simply click on one of the three team member names below or just scroll down.
Do you have a hidden talent that you’d like to share in Frontline, or do you know someone else at VNS Health who does? We’d love to hear about it! Just send us a message by clicking here.
A Quiet Outlet for Creativity: Painter Ann Mary Ferrie
As Vice President of Policy and Strategy, Ann Mary Ferrie spends her days thinking big, guiding VNS Health’s organizational strategy and helping shape what comes next. Outside of work, she turns to something quieter and more personal: painting.
“I’ve always been interested in art,” she says. “Even when I was little, I used to say I wanted to be an artist.”
While her career took a different direction, that early passion never faded. Today, painting offers her both a creative outlet and a way to recharge. Working primarily with acrylics, Ann Mary paints everything from landscapes and florals to deeply personal pieces inspired by her cultural roots. Her family is originally from Kerala, India, a lush coastal region known for its natural beauty and artistic traditions. That influence is reflected in her work, including a painting of a traditional houseboat set among palm trees and still waters that hangs in her living room.
“It’s a very peaceful scene,” she says, mirroring the calm she finds in the act of painting itself.
Some of Ann Mary’s most meaningful pieces are those created for her family. One, inspired by traditional Indian dance, features a dancer adorned with jasmine flowers and anklets, made especially for her daughter. “There’s something really special about having something handmade,” she says. Her creativity also shows up in playful ways, like painting her children’s favorite Sesame Street characters.
As a working mother of two young children, finding time to paint is not always easy. “There’s always a lot on my mind,” Ann Mary says. “But when I’m painting, I can just focus on what’s in front of me, the colors, the next brushstroke. You get into a flow.”
That process has also taught her to let go of perfection. “Something might not turn out the way you planned, but you adjust,” she explains. ”You paint over it, or turn it into something else.”
At home, she is beginning to pass that mindset on to her children. Her young son, already drawn to art, is learning that creativity does not have to follow strict rules. “I tell him it doesn’t have to look a certain way,” she says. “You can try something different.”
Although time remains a challenge, Ann Mary hopes to return to painting more regularly. “It’s important to have something that brings you joy,” she says. “Something that reminds you who you are outside of work and responsibilities.”
Sometimes, all it takes is picking up a brush again.
Creating His Own Lane in the Pool: Water Polo Player Justin Bain
Justin Bain, Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, leads VNS Health’s cybersecurity program and oversees information security across the enterprise. Outside of work, his passion takes him to the pool, where he’s a competitive water polo player and mentor with Team New York Aquatics, an LGBTQ-inclusive swim and water polo team in New York City.
Justin joined the TNYA swim team in 2014 so he could learn to swim well enough to participate in practices and meets, starting off in a “low-pressure zone” for novice swimmers before moving into more competitive racing. He took up water polo several years later through a teammate’s encouragement. “I told him if he would teach a beginner’s course, I would do it,” Justin recalls. “Mind you, I was in my late 30s at that point.”
He made the transition in 2017 and competed in his first water polo tournament later that same year. “It was a disaster. I played terribly,” Justin recalls. But he stayed with it.
Nine years later, Justin has competed on four continents and in three Gay Games: Paris (2018), Guadalajara (2023), and Valencia (2026). “In Guadalajara, we won bronze in the recreational division,” he says. “This year, we earned bronze in the intermediate division.”
For Justin, water polo is about more than medals. Team New York Aquatics and the broader International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) network were created to ensure that LGBTQ athletes have a place in sports. “We’re completely inclusive to anyone who wants to join,” he says. “Anybody can show up. It doesn’t matter your background, we’ll teach you how to play.”
Because he came to the sport later in life, Justin is especially empathetic toward beginners. “I had never swum competitively before I joined,” he says. “I thought I’d be able to hold my own but quickly realized I needed to start with the basics.” Today, he helps coach and lead beginner sessions. “I find it very rewarding to teach something that I also had to learn myself.”
Water polo’s biggest challenge is remaining composed during matches, Justin notes. “It’s very physical and extremely exhausting. Everything’s happening fast. The hardest part is staying calm so I can play well.”
That mindset carries into his professional life, he adds. “Water polo has shown me that I can try something new, be bad at it at first, and still improve day by day,” he says. “If I commit and stick with it, I can develop new skills, even later in life.”
To learn more about Team New York Aquatics or get involved, visit TNYA.org.
Finding Calm in Adventure: White Water Rafter Jonelle Anderson
Jonelle Anderson has spent two decades at VNS Health. She currently serves as a Branch Director in Brooklyn, where she oversees four Home Care teams, including managers, schedulers and roughly 90 clinicians—but she has another side to her, one that comes alive on the river. For the past 15 years, white water rafting has been one of Jonnelle’s favorite ways to unwind, providing her both excitement and a sense of calm.
”The water has a way of reenergizing me,” she says, helping her return to work and life feeling refreshed.
Jonelle usually heads to the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania, especially in the spring and fall when dam releases make the water rougher and the ride more thrilling. The rafting trips typically last two and a half to three hours, giving her time to settle into the experience, get focused, and decompress.
Even the tougher moments, like capsizing, haven’t scared her away. “The water can be very intimidating,” she admits with a laugh, recalling how cold it felt. But instead of discouraging her, those experiences reinforce why she keeps coming back.
To Jonelle, white water rafting is more than a hobby—it’s an adventure sport that demands collaboration, quick thinking, and trust. “It’s also a great stress reliever,” she notes. “By the end of the day, whatever stresses you had, you kind of let them go.”
The sport’s sense of teamwork is one of the things she values most. “You’re in a raft with other people and everyone has to be in sync, because you’ve got to get that raft down the river,” she explains. There is a clear parallel to her professional life, where Jonelle supports multiple teams and helps guide them through countless daily issues. “I don’t shy away from challenges,” she says.
Jonelle’s love of adventure extends beyond rafting. She also enjoys driving ATVs and dune buggies and riding horseback, and has even looked into rafting in Belize. Still, white water rafting remains her favorite. “That’s my happy thing,” she says.
In a busy life shaped by work and family, Jonelle adds, rafting gives her something that’s just for her. “You need a balance in your life,” she says. “Sometimes you shouldn’t think too much about trying something—just do it, and you’ll be surprised that you actually enjoy it.”
