Why São Paulo?

Have you ever felt a strong sense of purpose but struggled to find a career that aligns with your values?

Many professionals seek fulfilling work that allows them to make a meaningful impact, but it can be challenging to navigate the transition into a different field, especially one as demanding as public interest law.

In this episode you will:

• Gain insights into the rewarding journey of a public interest attorney dedicated to serving immigrant communities.
• Discover practical strategies for exploring new career paths while maintaining work-life balance.
• Learn how to leverage networking and mentorship opportunities to pursue your passion.

Tune in to this inspiring conversation with Ernie Collette, a dedicated public interest attorney, as he shares his transformative journey and offers invaluable advice for those seeking purposeful work.

Topics Discussed

• Ernie's personal journey and what led him to public interest law
• Balancing passion and preventing burnout in demanding legal work
• The importance of mentorship and representation in the legal profession
• Practical advice for exploring new career paths through networking
• The emotional fulfillment of helping clients in immigration law
• Navigating the transition into public interest work
• Strategies for maintaining work-life balance
• The role of curiosity and continuous learning in career growth
• Overcoming the fear of saying "no" and setting boundaries
• Building a supportive community for underrepresented groups in law

Mysty Blagg is a second-career healthcare advocate that brings over twenty years of prior healthcare industry experience into the practice of law. She offers clients a unique and valued perspective derived from her previous careers as a health care compliance investigator, Medicaid appeals specialist, and a registered dental hygienist. Mysty has a passion for healthcare innovation and advises clients on regulatory, reimbursement, licensing, and litigation matters in the healthcare industry.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mystyblagg/

Learn more about Emily's work helping health tech and life sciences lawyers find their dream careers at her website, or on her LinkedIn profile.

This conversation was recorded on August 26, 2022. Veronica McFall is the Director, Northeast Corridor Engagement at Cornell University. She is also a children's book author, and in 2020, she published her first children's book,A Visit to The Bahamas from A to Z. Veronica is a graduate of Colgate University and Teachers College, Columbia University. She resides in New Jersey with her husband, and they have three adult children. For more information about Veronica, please visit her website veronicamcfall.com

About Emily:

https://www.whistlerpartners.com/team/emily-witt

Elecia Byrd is a native Texan with a passion for helping others. A member of the firm’s personal injury section in Austin, this talented litigator focuses her practice on automobile accidents, product injuries, traumatic brain injuries, premises liability, dog bites, and more. Elecia finds purpose as a personal injury lawyer, dedicating herself to helping injury victims who cannot help themselves. She takes great pride in her ability to bond with clients and enjoys not only acting as a legal counselor but also helping people with their recovery. Having dealt with very close family loss in the past, Elecia can deeply relate to clients who are suffering from catastrophic injuries or a loss of a loved one. She devotes herself to guiding her clients through their recovery, checking up on them, and making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Elecia graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. After beginning her career as a teacher in the Belton Independent School District, she decided that her true calling was to be a lawyer and eventually earned her Juris Doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law. During law school, Elecia served as Staff Editor of the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, as president of the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society, and as a member of Youth Court, helping at-risk youths from entering the school-to-prison pipeline. She also worked as a student attorney in both the Children’s Rights Clinic and the Domestic Violence Clinic, where she represented clients in court under the supervision of a licensed attorney. It was this experience that solidified her desire to better the lives of individuals through her advocacy skills. Elecia has benefited her industry as a member of the Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Austin Black Lawyers Association. In her free time, Elecia enjoys exploring Austin’s various food and music festivals, spending time with her family and her church group, and volunteering once a week with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid to provide pro bono legal services to those in need. She is also an avid football fan – Go Texans! Go Longhorns!

About Emily:

https://www.whistlerpartners.com/team/emily-witt

Edited and Produced by Mark McDonald. Launch your podcast at https://yourbusinesspodcast.net

My guest this week, Ashleigh Giovannini, partners with domestic and international health care, digital health, health care innovation and life sciences businesses at all stages of development, to build solid legal and regulatory compliance foundations while balancing risk tolerance and acceleration toward strategic business goals.

Additionally, she helps her clients devise creative approaches to complying with state, federal and international privacy and cybersecurity frameworks for health and other sensitive data and partners with a wide array of businesses to develop and negotiate unique data, technology and health care services contracts to optimize growth.

As a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), Ashleigh has a clear understanding of emerging privacy and security issues in the health care industry. With this knowledge, Ashleigh makes it a point to deeply immerse herself in the business models of her clients to help them establish sustainable consumer trust while maximizing growth potential.

Ashleigh values mentorship and has made it a personal mission to uplift up and coming professionals in the fields of law, digital health and health care innovation, and data privacy and cybersecurity.

She is especially passionate about raising awareness for neurodivergence in the workplace. In her free time, Ashleigh enjoys resistance training, travel, antiquing, and crafting. She is in constant pursuit of new knowledge and is currently learning calculus and Italian.

You can connect with Ashleigh on LinkedIn where she shares insightful commentary on emerging issues in tech, health care, data privacy and security, and Artificial Intelligence.

Learn more about Emily's work helping lawyers find their dream careers at her website, or on her LinkedIn profile.