Hidden Talents
Sharks, Weddings and Pro Athletes! Here Are Our Latest Hidden Talents!
December 5, 2023–Welcome to the latest edition of Frontline’s “Hidden Talents”—featuring profiles of your colleagues 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 VNS Health who does? We’d love to hear about it! Just send us a message by clicking here. Dodging Sharks and Going the Distance: Ultramarathon Swimmer, Lori King Lori King’s VNS Health colleagues know her as a dedicated Research Analyst at the Center for Home Care Policy & Research. To the world of athletics, however—and well beyond—Lori is a trailblazing open-water ultramarathon swimmer. Here are just some of her awe-inspiring achievements: Dangerous currents and nasty sea creatures aren’t the only challenges Lori has overcome in her swimming career. “I swam all the way through school and competed in college, but I always had terrible performance anxiety and stressed
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Meet Our Latest Hidden Talents: a Documentary Filmmaker, a Blackjack Dealer and a TV Actor…
April 17, 2023–And They All Work Right Here at VNS Health! Welcome to the latest edition of Frontline’s “Hidden Talents” series—featuring profiles of your colleagues 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 VNS Health who does? We’d love to hear about it! Paul Schneider, Film Documentarian: The Art of Making People Feel Safe Both in Film and Nursing In addition to being a hospice nurse at VNS Health, Paul Schneider can claim another talent on his resume: film documentarian. Paul fell in love with film cameras at an early age, he explains, when he bonded over home movies with his father. He collaborated on his first film as a college undergraduate at Antioch College and immediately found it was a great way to spread awareness about issues he felt passionately
Meet Our Latest Hidden Talents: Fantasy Podcasters, an Archer and a 3-D Printing Craftsman… and They All Work Right Here at VNS Health!
January 19, 2023–Welcome to the latest edition of Frontline’s “Hidden Talents” series—featuring profiles of your colleagues 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 VNS Health who does? We’d love to hear about it, so please email us with your hidden talent! Talk’aran’rhiod Podcasters, Joe Perry and Tom Cocozza When it was announced a few years ago that the beloved 1990s book series Wheel of Time was being adapted for a TV show on Amazon Prime, scheduled to air in 2020, superfans of the series excitedly geared up for the release. Those superfans included two team members from Personal Care: Joe Perry, Director of Private Care and Tom Cocozza, Director of Operations. As the result of a conversation at a backyard barbecue, Tom, Joe and another friend decided to take their ideas, speculations, and free-minded
An Actor/Director, a Voiceover Specialist and an Improv Comedian … And They All Work Right Here at VNS Health! Check Out Our New Hidden Talents Report!
October 24, 2022–Welcome to the latest edition of Frontline’s “Hidden Talents” series—featuring profiles of your colleagues 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 VNS Health who does? We’d love to hear about it, so please email us with your hidden talent! Experiencing the Magic of Theatre with Lauren Campbell For Lauren Campbell, Director of Emergency Response, theatre and stage production is one of her fondest passions. Born and raised in Queens, Lauren always found herself around music growing up, which is how she got her start in the performing arts. Today, when she’s not overseeing VNS Health’s emergency preparedness, she continues to play the clarinet, baritone saxophone, and African drums (Djembe) and enjoys singing as an alto in her church’s choir. Lauren’s love for theatre began 20 years ago when she played the role
A Rock Bassist, An Orchestral Bassist, a Beatles Collector and a Yoga Instructor… And They’re All Your Colleagues! Check Out These Hidden Talents!
December 17, 2021–Welcome to the latest edition of Frontline VNSNY’s ongoing “Hidden Talents” series—featuring profiles of your colleagues 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! Rocking Out with Dan Wallis After developing an ear for music through piano lessons as a child, Dan Wallis, Vice President of Contact Center Shared Services (CCSS), has spent much of his life as a serious rock musician, playing bass in a number of groups based out of Orange County, California, where he grew up. “I originally wanted to be a drummer, but I had friends that needed a bass player for a band,” says Dan. “So I borrowed one when I was 14 or 15, played at a
More Hidden Talents! One Is an Acupuncturist. Another Is a Musician/Producer Who Does It All…
November 6, 2019–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
A Rock Guitarist, a Deep-Sea Fisherman, a Hit Music Producer and a Spiritual Artist: Meet Four More VNSNY Staffers with Hidden Talents!
February 6, 2019–Welcome to the fourth edition of Frontline VNSNY’s ongoing “Hidden Talents” series—featuring profiles of four more 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! Mike Rocks: Sharing the “Universal Language” of Music For decades, Mike Rocks, Education Manager, Business Operations in VNSNY’s Education Department, has pursued his passion for music of all types. “I try not to limit myself to specific genres,” he says. Back in the 1980s and ’90s, Mike played electric bass and sang in several rock bands, performing at clubs in New York City’s northern suburbs. “I’d describe our sound as high energy rock—Pretenders, Rush, and Heart with some punk thrown in,” he recalls. Following that, he was part of
A Birdwatcher, a Songwriter/Musician, a TV Actor and a Writer: Four More VNSNY Staffers with Hidden Talents!
September 6, 2018–In this third edition of Frontline VNSNY’s ongoing “Hidden Talents” series, we are pleased to present four more VNSNY staff members with fascinating hobbies that may surprise you! 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! Juan Flores: On the Hunt for Bird Sightings To physically strengthen himself following a 2009 hip replacement surgery, Juan Flores, Administrative Services & Facilities Project Planner, decided to take up hiking. This led him to try other outdoor activities as well, and he found that birdwatching made for an interesting hobby. “The feeling of peacefulness and learning about nature are what hooked me,” says Juan, who has been with VNSNY for 33 years. Now, he ventures out every other weekend in all seasons but summer, either with friends or
A Mystery Writer, a Fitness Instructor, a Fly Fisherman and a Memoirist: Meet Four More VNSNY Staff Members with Hidden Talents!
July 10, 2018–Welcome to this second edition of Frontline VNSNY’s “Hidden Talents” series—featuring a quartet of VNSNY employees with some fascinating outside interests that you may not have known about! Alicia Kennedy: Bringing a PT’s Eye to the World of Mystery Writing By day, Alicia Kennedy is a VNSNY physical therapist in Nassau County—but during her off-hours, she also writes award-winning fiction. Her second career started back in 2010 with a story idea that wouldn’t go away. Since then, she’s turned out eight full-length mystery novels and a number of short stories, including the winning entries in the Writers’ Police Academy short story contests for 2016 and 2017. Along the way, Alicia has found that certain skills apply to both writing and patient care. “Attention to detail are key in both activities,” she says. “You need to observe and listen to patients in order to know how to help them. And when you’re writing
A Baker, a Cyclist, a Pilot and an Ordained Minister—and All VNSNY Nurses!
May 9, 2018–VNSNY’s nurses are known for their clinical skills, but they have a wide range of interests outside the workplace as well. As part of Frontline VNSNY’s National Nurses Week coverage, here are profiles of four nurses with “hidden talents” that may just surprise you. Beverly Wade: Baking from Scratch “Baking is a science,” says Beverly Wade, a VNSNY home care nurse in the Bronx. “If you don’t follow the recipe, you might not like the results.” Beverly, who has been with VNSNY for close to 30 years, learned to bake in her high school home economics class and hasn’t stopped since. “I can follow any recipe—cakes, cookies, bread, pies,” she notes, “and except for bread, I make everything from scratch.” Beverly’s two adult sons have been taking over most of the cooking duties at home lately, she adds, leaving her with plenty of free time to bake. Her baked goods