Her Story
About Stefani
My journey in veterinary medicine began 22 years ago when I was in college studying music therapy. I've always had three passions - people, music, and animals - and while I was doing a lot of music work in college, I was also working in animal medicine. I fell in love with it and have stuck with animal medicine ever since. I initially left college in my junior year to work full-time, but starting in 2025, I decided to go back to finish my degree. I'll graduate in December with a degree in Business and Women's Studies - 20 years later, but now I'm more focused on it and take it more seriously than I did when I was younger. In my current role as a national business manager, I lead a team of 10 people who are nationally placed. I manage the team, do ride-alongs, work with other leaders, make sure all training is completed, and ensure everybody is up to speed on anything new. But what I love most is building other leaders and helping each of my direct reports become better leaders so they can continue to move on in whatever they choose to do. I'm known within upper leadership as a strong culture builder, and I'm working to prove that I'm capable of doing things across the board - whether it's sales, marketing, or things outside of just the technical role. One of my biggest accomplishments has been receiving the Lead Dog Award as a regional operations person and being selected as one of only 17 people in the company to be part of the emerging sales leader program at Zoetis, which is a very large company. I was also recently inducted into the National Success and Leadership Society. The reason I went back to school, particularly for women's studies, is that I want to break through that glass ceiling.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Stefani
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The biggest piece of advice I would give is never let someone tell you that you can't do something. For me, not having a bachelor's degree and being at this level is one of those things - it's because I stood up and I made sure that people knew what I was capable of doing with my experience, by showing up and really being that person that people could count on. I think a lot of people don't go for the job because they're like, oh, well, but they're asking for this degree, or they're asking for this. Until they can talk to you and see your experience and get a better idea, I don't think you should ever let someone tell you that you're not capable of doing something. That's actually the reason for going back to school - yes, I wanted to finish it as an accomplishment for myself, but the women's studies aspect of it is that now I want to break through that glass ceiling.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My values are very much surrounded by being honest, transparent, and making sure that the team comes first. It's never about what I need to grow or what I want to accomplish. I feel like if I can build my team and show that my team is capable of doing things individually and as a team, that will kind of fall back and say, oh, well, she was the leader of that team, we know what she's capable of. It's always been about making sure that others are seen, and I think that's important as a leader, just in general - that I'm not self-serving. I am a very empathetic leader who makes sure that everybody has what they need, and I'm genuinely concerned about making sure that everybody is taken care of before me. I can take care of myself, but I want to make sure that everybody else has what they need to be successful.
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