Despite Impossible S5E4: Melissa Weisse

Episode Transcript

Tansley Stearns

Today's guest is Melissa Weisse. Melissa loves the arts and the ballet, is a person who sees both how large and small the world is and is passionate about the impact Leader Dogs for the Blind has in people's lives. Melissa is also the president and chief executive officer of Leader Dogs for the Blind, a globally recognized nonprofit empowering people who are blind or have low vision with lifelong skills for safe, independent travel through guide dog services, orientation and mobility training, and programs that remove barriers to independence. This is Melissa's story.

People who know you best will describe you as…

Melissa Weisse

I would say they would describe me as very passionate about Leader Dogs for the Blind. It's been such a part of my life over the course of the past 23 years.

Tansley Stearns

What's something you always wish you could do just a little longer?

Melissa Weisse

That's such an intriguing question. And I would say spending time talking to my dad. Just more of those family stories that are so revealing as to who we are as people. I always wish those conversations could be longer.

Tansley Stearns

Describe a moment when you felt the most like the leader you always dreamt you'd be.

Melissa Weisse

Wow. I like that. Because at Leader Dog, we have a lot of different constituencies. Puppy raisers, breeding host families, lions clubs, donors, team members, clients. And recently I was at a puppy counselor meeting. These are the people that just support all of our hundreds of puppy raisers. So they rely on us so much, and we rely on them. And one of them came up to me at the end of the session and said, “Melissa, I so appreciate the fact that you stayed with us for this entire event and education session.” And I just feel so appreciated and valued, and that meant so much, so much to me because I think it's the time we spend with others that we get so much from and we're able to give so much. And I really appreciated that feedback. And being in those moments with different Leader Dog supporters means everything to me.

Tansley Stearns

When was the last time you danced so hard your feet were sore?

Melissa Weisse

The last time I danced so hard that my feet were sore. I'm fortunately able to answer this because we have a wonderful group of supporters. The GMC Corvette set. They've supported Leader Dog for over 40 years. They bring all their Corvettes to Leader Dog and host events. So they have fun together and they fundraise and they have an annual Christmas party at which we always dance for hours. So much fun.

Tansley Stearns

I love this.

What's an important insight you came back to repeatedly across situations in both your work and personal life that guides your approach to change?

Melissa Weisse

You know, I didn't grow up in the United States. I grew up overseas in East Asia and New Zealand and Europe. And I think we always say it's a small world, but it is in fact a big world with people who have different cultures and backgrounds. The way we were raised, the art that we've been exposed to really makes us very different people. Though we have commonalities, it's always important to remember that there is such breadth and scope in this world and I keep coming back to that when I think about communicating with team members or constituents. Everyone's experiences is very different.

Tansley Stearns

If you have a bad day, which one song or artist on your playlist lightens you up immediately? So may I ask for your indulgence on this?

Melissa Weisse

For me, music is books. I am a huge reader so I tend to always look for literature to brighten my day. So I am a big non fiction reader and I will always look for memoirs of really interesting people. That always makes me feel better when I see their life journeys and paths.

Tansley Stearns

I love that. What's something you wish you knew about growth over time in the early days of your journey?

Melissa Weisse

Do you know? Something I have found so true that I wish I had understood more fully early in my career is that the difficult moments are the moments that make you those are the moments that encourage growth and the next elevation and the next chapter. And it's so painful at the time, you don't realize it. But they are those elevation moments in your career.

Tansley Stearns

What's one thing people wrongly assume about you?

Melissa Weisse

I think that I have had the privilege of living in many different places. I feel I have a very gentle way of speaking and often people don't understand that being gentle can be the greatest strength, especially because we all need to be a little bit like water and move around hard rocks in our lives and if we can have the strength of water and really understand our environment, I feel that's what I wish people understood more of me.

Tansley Stearns

What do you enjoy doing that you don't get to do often?

Melissa Weisse

So my career prior to coming to Leader Dogs for the Blind was at Christie's in London, the auction house. I spent a lot of my career in the art world and I would say going to exhibitions. I wish I could spend more time in that. I'm very, very busy and full on in my position here, but I wish I had more time for exhibitions.

Tansley Stearns

Who haven't you seen perform live in concert that you've been planning to see and haven't yet?

Melissa Weisse

So I would again ask for some indulgence on this answer. And I would say New York City Ballet, Tyler Peck, I would love to see her perform on stage. That would be a dream. Love that.

Tansley Stearns

What's one thing that inspires hope in you?

Melissa Weisse

So I feel so privileged that we work with university students in multiple universities, Oakland University, University of Michigan, Michigan State, Central Michigan, that raise puppies on their college campuses. And perhaps the strongest example of a partnership we have is Oakland University, our neighbors here, and they have over 300 students in their puppy clubs. So to see students in all these universities raising puppies while doing a really rigorous course load, they're doing social good and giving back and studying. I find so much hope that young people are doing something as significant.

Tansley Stearns

If you could share advice with students graduating from university, what might it be?

Melissa Weisse

So I would say: do it now. Time moves very quickly. So if you are interested in pursuing additional certifications, additional degrees, sitting on a board, you know, reaching out to that contact, do it now. Time moves fast. And the earlier in your career, you get really excited about getting those things and having those experiences. I would say do it now is my advice.

Tansley Stearns

What's something that still makes you nervous even though you've done it many times?

Melissa Weisse

So I would say to that, anyone who's interested in a non-profit career, we work with a board that is the governing body of any nonprofit organization. And even though I've been at Leader Dog 23 years, worked with many, many boards, I sit on a board, I think, preparing for a board meeting, the gravitas of it really appreciating that. I always feel a healthy sense of nerves and I think that's a good thing because it shows there's gravitas and seriousness to this.

Tansley Stearns

Tell us about your impossible.

Melissa Weisse

So I appreciate that question. In my role as CEO of Leader Dog, I have the fortune of walking beside and with people who are blind. So my goal, my impossible would be that people who are blind have access to services, that have resources, that don't face the bias in, in employment that's so evident today. So that's what we fight for every day here.

Tansley Stearns

What do you look forward to most in the next 12 months?

Melissa Weisse

I think here at Leader Dog, we are embarking upon our next chapter. We will be celebrating 25 years of white cane training here at Leader Dog. We're approaching our 90th anniversary and we are doing a multimillion dollar redesign of our Leader Dog residents on our training building in downtown Rochester, which will make an environment that meets the needs of our clients of today and the future. Sort of that evolving, accessible environments that we want to have the foremost in accessibility on our campus. So I am very excited about all those things.

Tansley Stearns

What do you secretly worry might stay unfinished if your impossible is not addressed?

Melissa Weisse

I think that if we cannot come together and advocate more for people in the disability community, if we can, we need to find young people to go into vision rehabilitation professions. I worry if that's not addressed, we'll have people all over the country in communities without access to services. So this is an important mission and there's work that needs to be done.

Tansley Stearns

Who's someone else who should be talking with us on the podcast?

Melissa Weisse

So I will tell you and urge you to please reach out to people who are blind and give them a voice on this platform. We have clients that are doing extraordinary things all around the country and the world and I would love to have their voice on your show.

Tansley Stearns

What's your next impossible, my friend?

Melissa Weisse

So what is my next impossible? That is such an exciting question. So my next impossible really is going to be getting this massive capital campaign really infused through the culture of our community and launching new services. Here at Leader Dog, we're piloting some new offerings that serve the whole person in assistive technology and skills of daily living. Which would mean how do I label my medication? How do I label my dog's medication? How do I know this is my black leader dog jumper? So things that help people in addition to having a leader dog or having a white cane, we're really excited about that. And that's my next big thing.

Tansley Stearns

Melissa talked about how we show up as leaders in moments that matter. And I believe in that fully. I never feel like there is enough time for that and often feel a great sense of shame probably in how pulled I feel. You know, we have branches in our northern region, for example, and while we go there regularly, I know that I'm not there as much as I'd like to be. And when I am there, I know the team wishes we were staying longer. And it matters deeply to me when we have events to be able to see people we just said are in this. And I've thought at least 15 times since that event was over, oh, I didn't spend enough time with this person. And gosh, I wish I had had more time with that person. And you know, what I do really attempt to do is as much as I am attached to this thing on my hip, I really do try my darndest to be present with people and to ignore the taps on my wrist and to make eye contact and to really listen and to also understand the moments that matter to people and be in those. You know, from a personal perspective. I know that I miss my daughter's events at times, and I try really hard at the ones that I can attend to be fully there and make sure that she feels that. So I believe in it fully. I fail at it often. And I think the best that we can do is make sure that the moments that we choose are the ones that were really there. What I thought was really interesting about Melissa talking about being like water and maybe people misunderstanding her gentleness as maybe not being as strong potentially is. I often say that people mistake my kindness as stupidity.

And, you know, I think that it's very possible to be kind and generous and not yell and still have hard conversations and make tough decisions and be a very strong leader. And I think as women, often the way that we show up in the world is misunderstood. And I'm not exactly sure how Melissa sees that come to life for her. What I can speak about is that for me, I have often had people really misunderstand who I am and I think underestimate me. And as Margaret Thatcher invites, I hope that people continue to do so because they will be surprised. And I hope that those of us, whether we are male, female, however we identify, however we show up, can be seen as strong leaders in our own right and in the way that we do that. Because for us at orsa, we believe in belonging and being grounded in belonging. And what that means is that all of us approach the world a little differently. And simply because our stereotypical thoughts about what it means to be a leader might not show up doesn't mean that somebody isn't darn strong. Melissa talked about time moving quickly and we should do things now. I think the thing that's top of mind that I need to do is get my book published. It's darn close, and I've been promising it, and I very rarely miss deadlines, and that one is hanging. So that's probably the one that I should get done pretty quickly, and it's on my list. It'll happen.