Her Story
About Emma
Emma Lindsay serves as Assistance Program Director and chief administrator and licensee of the program at the Great Lakes Center for Autism. With nearly 10 years in behavioral health disability services, she oversees managers, collaborates on program improvements, and works with senior leadership on organizational changes. Lindsay earned her bachelor's in psychology with a minor in management and recently completed her master's in public administration while working full time. Her passion for the field was sparked during a volunteer experience at a school for special education in Battle Creek, Michigan, and further solidified at the Great Lakes Center for Autism. She is a member of the National Society for Leadership and Success and emphasizes self-care, boundary-setting, and delegation as key leadership practices. Lindsay advises young women entering the field to be agile, kind, humble, and optimistic while leaning on their teams.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Emma
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
As leaders, we need to realize when we are not taking enough time to talk about things other than work and how toxic that can become. Really taking the time to do self-care outside of work, but also within work, being able to set boundaries and know when to delegate to take care of yourself as a leader.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's very challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. Be agile and adaptive, but also make sure to be kind and humble with the people around you, try to see their perspectives, take the time to listen and collaborate with others. Be strong, things will get hard and feel impossible sometimes, but try to find the optimism that you can and lean on your team to help get through things.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is reform in terms of what types of services funders are willing to pay for. There's a push for community-based services and trauma-informed care, but not enough understanding of what people who were previously institutionalized need now that those services aren't there. The opportunity is research in the field for leaders to learn from about trauma-informed care and good community integrated services, and advocate for real tangible changes.
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