More Hidden Talents! One Is an Acupuncturist. Another Is a Musician/Producer Who Does It All…

Welcome to the latest edition of “Hidden Talents”—the Frontline series that features profiles of VNSNY staff members with special skills you may not have known about!

Do you have a hidden talent that you’d like to share in Frontline, or do you know someone else at VNSNY who does? We’d love to hear about it. Please email us with your hidden talent!

Theo Breland: Doing It All, from R & B and Hip Hop to Digital Production and Singing Baritone in Handel’s Messiah

“I’ve been singing and writing music since I was five,” says Theo Breland, Intake Coordinator for VNSNY Home Care. “Now it’s all starting to come to fruition. At the moment, I’m doing a lot of writing and production work and looking for record placement.”

Theo primarily works in R & B and hip hop, but he’s been influenced by everything from gospel to choral music to jazz. When he studied voice at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts—better known as the Fame school—he notes, “we had to sing operas in different languages—Italian, German, French, and Spanish.” Theo went on to earn an associate’s degree with a focus on music at Medgar Evers College and BAs in Music Production and Audio Engineering at Bloomfield College. He played alto sax for a number of years, then switched to piano, which he uses now when he’s composing and producing.

“I recently did digital production on a song called ‘Missing You’ by an artist named Zawandi, creating the track to lay the vocals on,” says Theo. “That’s going to be released in December—my first production ever to go up on streaming sites. Zawandi is also going to be dropping another single that I produced. And I’m completing some original songs I wrote. I like to do it all.  I was even approached recently to sing a baritone part in a performance of Handel’s Messiah.”

Theo also enjoys performing his music at clubs and parties. “I like watching it come together and seeing people enjoy it and feel something. It’s amazing to see that in an audience.” There is a special audience, though, that means the most to Theo. “I’m a single parent,” he says. “My daughter is seven, and she’s my Number One fan. I run a lot of things by her to see how she likes them. Sometimes I hear her sing my music on her own. That’s the best feeling in the world!”

His VNSNY colleagues are supportive of his music as well, adds Theo. “They like to see the things I’m doing and are very encouraging,” he says. “It’s a blessing. I think everybody should tap into their talent and explore. Anything is possible. You just have to go for it.”

Kimberly Colorito: Combining Physical Therapy and Acupuncture to Help Improve Lives

Kimberly Colorito joined VNSNY back in 1995 as a per diem physical therapist so she could have a flexible schedule to run her martial arts school. Today, she remains dedicated to parallel career paths—serving as VNSNY’s Provider and Corporate Compliance Manager, while also providing physical therapy and acupuncture to relieve pain and improve the health of her patients.

Fascinated by the integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine into Western practice, Kim has attained a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, is a Licensed Acupuncturist (LAc), and is currently studying for her Doctorate in Acupuncture. Outside of her VNSNY work hours, Kim combines PT and acupuncture to treat patients for a number of conditions, including but not limited to neurological issues, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic issues, women’s health issues, the side effects of chemotherapy, and sports-related injuries. A number of her patients are mixed martial artists who suffer from neck and joint injuries. Kim uses acupuncture to relax the body, increase circulation, decrease edema, and promote healing to the injured areas.

“I treat mostly adult patients,” says Kim. “In fact, I’m currently treating a 95-year-old living with dementia. Sometimes, dementia is heightened by decreased circulation or edema in the brain. Acupuncture has been proven to increase blood flow and decrease inflammation. After treatment, my patient appears more alert and focused.”

Kim’s most inspiring patient had a spinal cord injury in her early forties, fracturing three vertebrae in her neck and almost severing her spinal cord. “She became my patient after surgery to stabilize her vertebrae. She was unable to move her arms or legs,” Kim remembers. “I treated her with physical therapy and acupuncture, but I noticed she never spoke about her injury and didn’t show emotion toward what she was going through. When I applied acupuncture to a point called ‘survival point,’ however, she immediately released the pent-up emotions from her trauma. Her healing began at that moment. With regular treatments, she is now walking without an assistive device, bicycling, kayaking, and living a normal life.”

Kim’s own story is equally inspirational. Born with spinal issues of her own, she took up martial arts at 19 because of the positive effect it had on her body. She became proficient in several disciplines, which led her to open a martial arts school that she ran for 17 years.

“Work-life balance is so important,” Kim observes. “I feel the work we do in Compliance ensures that VNSNY follows the federal, state, and local regulations and helps ensure quality care for our patients. I have the advantage of experiencing the regulatory side of health care at VNSNY, and the clinical side of health care by working with my outside patients. The knowledge that you are impacting people’s lives for the better is incredibly rewarding.”

Seema Madhavan: Singing on Stage, in Parks, Even on NYC Subways!

The next time you come across a singer performing in a NYC park, it just may be a VNSNY colleague. Or, more specifically, it may just be Education Manager and registered nurse Seema Madhavan.

Seema’s love of singing was nurtured in school choirs starting at age four and continuing through high school, where she sang alto in jazz choir, women’s choir, and Glee Club. Over the past few years, her interest was rekindled when she acquired a karaoke app for her smartphone.

“I was attending graduate school in the evenings after my VNSNY job,” she recalls. “Whenever I needed a study break, I used the app and sang pop songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s to relieve the pressure. It reminded me of the joy that singing gave me.”

Last fall, encouraged by friends, Seema auditioned and was chosen for the International Indian Icon competition—her first time singing competitively on stage. Though primarily of Indian descent, contestants in the competition come from all over and perform music in different genres and in a variety of languages. Held in Chicago in November 2018, the competition had 126 semi-finalists. On the strength of her English-language performance of Celine Dion’s “I’m Alive,” Seema was named second-runner-up for New York State. “I felt really validated!” she says.

Seema adds that the self-confidence she gained in the competition and other performances has helped her in many ways. “I’m become more sure of myself in all life situations,” she says. “It even applies to my work at VNSNY—I’m now doing voice-overs for our training videos, and I feel happy to be contributing to onboarding new staff in that way.”

Seema practices a few times a week and on weekends with a male collaborator who plays guitar and piano. The duo have also been performing in public: This summer, they played twice in Bryant Park, once in Washington Square Park, and twice on subway trains (the N-R-Q-W line in Brooklyn). “It was really exhilarating to perform on the subway,” she notes. “We were shown a lot of warmth and appreciation, and even received some contributions.”

Next stop? Seema and her collaborator are putting the finishing touches on a song he wrote, with plans to record it.

Devon Bandison: Teaching Leadership and Communication Skills—and Having Lots of Fun

As Director of Children’s Services for VNSNY’s Community Mental Health Services (CMHS), Devon Bandison knows a lot about the importance of leaders and role models. Over the past five years, he’s been channeling these insights in his side career as a leadership and executive coach.

“In my off time, I work with both organizations and individuals to help improve their personal and professional lives,” says Devon. “It’s a lot of fun to see people have breakthroughs in their leadership!” With teams, he might do a two-day training workshop over a weekend and then conduct targeted follow-up sessions, while he typically consults with individuals through a mix of phone calls and in-person meetings.

“I employ an approach called ‘the collaborative way,’” he says. “It involves basic principles such as honoring commitments—agreeing to begin and end meetings on time, for example—and starting each meeting with positive acknowledgements of what others are doing well.”

Other principles include being consistently interested in what your colleagues are thinking and feeling, and paying careful attention to the impact your words are having. “True communication isn’t about what you say,” explains Devon, “but what others hear you saying and how your words are received.” All of these principles contribute to an ‘intentional culture,’ he adds, where team members consciously shape how they interact with each other, as opposed to a ‘default culture,’ in which people interact without any specific operating principles.

“The groups I work with usually start seeing a real culture change within a few months,” he says. “I implemented this approach recently with the front office of a professional sports organization, and they’ve totally transformed how they communicate with each other. Their satisfaction scores have risen 60%, and their employee retention is up as well.”

Over the past year, the collaborative way has also been brought to the leaders in CMHS Children’s Services, where it’s been well received. “We are seeing our leaders stepping into a whole new realm of accuracy, empathy, accountability and productivity,” notes Devon.

Devon’s coaching work has been featured in the media, including TV appearances and an article in the Wall Street Journal. He also presents frequently at various leadership conferences and even did a TED Talk several years ago on fatherhood and leadership, in which he drew on his own experience as a father of three. Many VNSNY employees have also benefited from his popular “Present Like a Pro” training course, offered annually to staff members.

“When people are struggling, often what’s getting in their way isn’t outside circumstances but themselves,” he says. “There’s nothing better than helping someone experience their real potential. To me, that’s really exciting.”