The Honest by VETAHEAD

Bonus Episode! This is the original Portuguese version of the last episode with my grandma Clelia Proença! Enjoy! Episódio bonus do nosso podcast em Português!  Esse episódio foi lançado em inglês semana passada, e hoje trazemos a versão original da conversa. Minha vóvis é minha pessoa favorita no mundo! Ela é uma mulher a frente do seu tempo, abrindo seu primeiro negócio quando tinha 62 anos, se tornando uma empreendedora de sucesso! Ela nunca deixou nada parar seu crescimento e lutou contra o patriarcado sem o patriarcado perceber o que estava acontecendo! Muita inteligência emocional nessa jornada, que ela tem de sobra. Ano passado eu fiz uma tatuagem no meu antebraço em homenagem a minha vóvis. A tatuagem tem as flores que ela ama e que me lembram da sua presença. Na noite anterior ao evento ela me enviou a seguinte nota: “Laila, esta noite não consegui dormir. A sua atitude é muito profunda, não consigo imaginar por onde e quando me imprimi na sua trajetória firme e gloriosa. Isso me fez buscar, no passado, pessoas que tatuaram a minha alma, tornando-me melhor. Você é uma tatuagem linda, colorida e carinhosa que carrego, alegremente, desde o dia em que você nasceu.” Boa sorte tentando não chorar. Muito obrigada a todos que nos acompanharam nessa jornada da primeira temporada do nosso podcast. Fazemos esse trabalho com muito carinho e amor. Que venham muitas outras tenporadas! Abraços, Laila.

Clelia Proença is my favorite person in the world. She happens to be my grandma, but above all, she is a woman ahead of her time. She is an entrepreneur and a real estate investor. She opened her first and incredibly successful business at the age of 62! She never let anything stop her and she had to find ways to fight the patriarchy without the patriarchy even noticing it. It takes a lot of emotional intelligence, which she has plenty, I guarantee you. My grandma does not speak English, so my sister and actress, Luana Proença, kindly accepted to play my grandma during today’s episode. The original interview happened in Portuguese, and today you will hear the English version. Last year I had a tattoo done on my left forearm on her honor. The tattoo has all the flowers she loves. The night prior to the event she wrote me the following note: “Laila, I couldn’t sleep last night. Your attitude is so profound, I can’t imagine where and when I was able to engrave myself in your glorious and determined trajectory. That made me search, in my own past, people that have tattooed my soul, making it better. You are a beautiful, colorful and loving tattoo, that I gladly carry with me since the day you were born” Are you guys crying yet?
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Today is the last episode of the many seasons we will have of The Honest podcast. I wanted to send a special thanks to the Tumpats team, the podcast producing company. Flavio Ferrer, the strategist, Kelly Gequelin, the manager, Lucas Panisson, the incredible editor, that together with Gustavo Slomp created our amazing podcast song! I couldn’t have done without you guys! You are a delight to work with! Thank you all of you that listen to our podcast, it is made with pure love and joy! To many more podcasts! Love, Laila. 🥰

Monica Gaga is a British-born black African queer improviser, facilitator, host and scripted actor and performer. So much to unpack just there! I had the pleasure to talk to Monica about all of those things! We talked about taking breaks and pausing, looking after yourself, diversity, improv, feminism, black lives matter, code switching, LGBTQIA+, and much more. According to Monica, even though it might look like the world has paused, it hasn’t, and we are still menstruating. But don’t you worry, she also gave the solution, 'If coconut oil can't fix it, improv can”. I couldn’t have said it better. With that I leave you to enjoy the podcast.

It is June 2020. We have skipped a week of our podcast in respect to the current events. The times are unprecedented. The #BlackLivesMatter movement is happening with people on the streets fighting for racial freedom, liberation and justice. On the background, we are still fighting COVID-19. 
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Today’s episode was recorded prior to the protests, but the topics of our conversation couldn’t be timelier. I had the opportunity to spend some virtual time with Dr. Anitha Srinivasa., an outstanding physician and human being. Through her lenses, I became aware of how discriminatory human medicine can be to women, people of color, and immigrants. How those moments affected her personal and professional life. We talked about being judged and downgraded for choosing to be a working mother and the fears and challenges first responders and essential workers face daily during COVID pandemic times. Dr. Srinivasa alludes to the unfortunate political battle this came to be, when lives are at risk. The change really starts at home.

We need to build a bridge, not a wall. That was the essence of today’s podcast with Christina Lopes. Christina is the CEO and co-founder of The One Health Company, the leader in precision medicine for dogs with cancer. Christina has been recognized as young global leader by the World Economic Forum at Davos for her pioneering efforts in both deal making and women’s health. She was advisory board director for international planned parenthood (Western Hemisphere), participated in The United Nations Commission for the status of women. With that background talking about feminism, equality, social justice, and entrepreneurship was easy, natural, and a true privileged. Christina brilliance will certainly inspire you! Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands and enjoy the podcast!

Jenny Januszewski is a dear friend and animal lover, more specifically a hamster lover.  Jenny is an actress, writer, director, photographer, and a fellow adoptive mom. During this time of social distancing we virtually set together and talked about the love that binds us together, humans and also animals. Jenny has beautifully experienced both, starting with her furry family members, her beloved hamsters. “My hamster is the exact same size as my heart” says Jenny during our conversation. She was also incredibly generous to share her personal story as an adoptee as well as an adoptive mom, and the power of the bond love can create between human beings. Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands and enjoy the podcast!

Dr. Oded "Odie" Marcovici is a veterinarian working on recruiting and professional relations. Odie and I have a unique friendship, which I am sure you will pick up very quickly! He travels the world finding the right position for the right candidate, and is away from home more often than he is at home. Today we talked about sibling rivalry, bulling, raising kids without a religious orientation, and what to expect when you eat pink popcorn in Brazil! He likes to play tough, but his heart is made out of cotton candy - soft and sweet. He mentioned a great quoted from Soren Kierkegaard “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward”. Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands and enjoy the podcast!

Dr. Courtney Campbell is a board certified veterinary surgeon and animal lover. He is the host of “Anything Pawsible” podcast and former co-host of “Pet Talk” on Nat Geo. He also describes himself as an eccentric thousandaire with a matcha problem. Dr. Cortney is not only a highly accomplished professional, but also a kind heart. We talked about career bumps, not passing tests first time, race in veterinary medicine, representation, and how our profession can impact our lives. As Dr. Campbell best described “your career trajectory can fundamentally change your personality”. Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands and enjoy the podcast!
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Host: Laila Proença
Guest: Dr. Courtney Campbell
Production: Tumpats

Christine Molter is a veterinarian diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine.  I was thinking on how to best explain the mood and feeling of our conversation, and I guess the best way is to describe it is to say “it felt like a romantic comedy”. Talking to Christine is always so warm and calming, but funny at the same time. She has this way of seeing life that is so positive and light. We talked about the power of community, helping each other, impostor syndrome, and even how to use the bathroom to destress. We also couldn’t avoid talking about how navigate the world as a career woman, from meeting your significant other online to pregnancy while working in a zoo. Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands and enjoy the podcast!

Trina Hazzah is a veterinarian diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology). While Trina is a renowned professional, her human side is by far my favorite aspect of her. She sat down with me on her office floor while sipping on a cup of warm tea and talking about life. Full disclosure, this conversation happened pre COVID-19 quarantine. Trina was so generous sharing with us her life as a college student, her Egyptian heritage, her journey to become a parent with her wife through IVF, raising kids to be kind and feminists, the use of cannabis and much, much more. Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands and enjoy the podcast!