Katie Reed is Referral and Specialty Marketing Coordinator at VCA Regional Institute for Veterinary Emergencies and Referrals in Chattanooga, Tenn. With June being Pride Month and Katie being a passionate Pride supporter, we asked her about her role and how she promotes inclusivity at work year-round.

I started in veterinary medicine five years ago.
I previously taught pre-school but needed an “out” to finish my degrees. My sister is a veterinary technician, so she brought me into her clinic as a receptionist so I could take night classes and finish my psychology degree. I fell in love with veterinary medicine and decided it was a career I wanted to pursue.

My current job is to take care of our specialists and help get their appointments through the door. I also communicate regularly with other hospitals that are part of our referral community. On the marketing side, I manage all of our hospital’s internal and external marketing, including social media and graphic design.

My favorite part of my job is meeting and learning about the people who come into our hospital.
I started in emergency veterinary medicine, so I saw the trauma and how it affected people and their pets. And I was able to connect with a lot of my team members, so I saw just what a toll their jobs can take on their mental health. We see a lot and go through a lot.

So, I like to have an open atmosphere and let people know we are here for them. We see people from all walks of life and we’re not here to judge. We have stickers on our windows that indicate “all are welcome” and clients have told us how much they appreciate it.

I started celebrating Pride in our hospital with my last supervisor.
I am a part of the LGBTQ+ community and identify as lesbian. I moved hospitals from California to Southern Tennessee. Not knowing if the culture would be different, I felt really accepted when my supervisor supported me as an ally, and we attended the first pride parade together as a team.

Last year, we were really lucky to get connected with other VCA Associates from around Tennessee. They came from two hours away to march in the parade with us. Every June, our clients thank us when they walk into the building and see that we have a giant area in our lobby where we decorate for pride month.

We received a VCA Pride in a Box kit the year we first marched in the parade.
The box includes little flags and pins. This year’s box also includes how to handle negative comments in public or in a hospital setting. We shared the contents with our managers, like tips for how to ask people what their pronouns are and how to be more comfortable with clients.

Since I’m on the leadership team of VCA’s Pride Diversity Resource Group, I celebrate Pride year-round by regularly wearing my VCA Pride shirt and sending out a quarterly newsletter to our hospital that includes a blurb about all the Associate resource groups VCA offers. I try to be a voice of reason for my colleagues, and I do have some Associates who will confide in me.

All we can do is be ourselves and have our allies with us.
Knowing that VCA actually has “Being Real” as a cultural value and many mental health and other support resources gives me even more freedom to be who I want to be. Being here has given me a sense of having another family.