Send us a text

Host: Jarvis T. Gray, The Quality Coaching Co.
Guest: Dr. Cie Armstead, Founder of Owlservations, DEI Expert

Episode Overview

In this inspiring episode, Jarvis T. Gray sits down with Dr. Cie Armstead, a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in healthcare leadership. Dr. Cie shares her personal leadership philosophies, her unique career journey, and offers practical insights on how healthcare leaders can navigate the evolving landscape with authenticity and resilience.

Key Topics & Takeaways

1. Leadership Mindset & Favorite Quote

• Dr. Cie's Core Value: Actively seek out, see, and amplify the positive—even in challenging conditions.
• Favorite Leadership Quote: From Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry:
• “Go forth with a spoonful of fear and return with a wagon full of competence. I stay comfortably afraid.”

2. Career Journey & Passion

• She previously held executive DEI roles at the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Healthcare Executives, and spent 24 years with the American Bar Association.
• Her career has been devoted to building and leading diversity initiatives from the ground up.

3. DEI in Healthcare: Trends & Challenges

• Diversity is a permanent part of healthcare—it's not just a trend.
• A key trend today: separating genuine DEI champions from those who only gave lip service, especially with changing political climates.
• Healthcare leaders must be steadfast in their commitment to inclusion, equity, and diversity, regardless of external pressures.

4. Personal Leadership Lessons

• Dr. Cie overcame personal doubts about her accent and background, learning to embrace her identity as a leader.
• Self-reflection and authentic self-acceptance are vital parts of effective leadership.

5. Biggest Challenge & Opportunity in Healthcare

• The workforce: nurturing psychologically safe, inclusive environments so everyone can deliver their best.
• The opportunity lies in leadership creating these healthy workplace cultures, especially after gaining new skills through challenges like COVID-19.

6. Looking Ahead

• Dr. C is excited to pursue international travel (Dubai, Ghana, Australia), including a solo trip, and celebrates both big and small achievements regularly.

7. Special Project

• Owlservations is launching a new research study on how professionals of color are navigating 2025. Participation is open for virtual focus groups and an online survey.

Connect with Dr. C. Armstead

• Website: Owlservations LLC
• Participate in the 2025 Professionals of Color research study via the website.

Final Thoughts:
Dr. Cie reminds us that leadership is ultimately about influence and integrity—staying true to core values, championing others, and striving for inclusivity even when it’s tough. Her optimism and faith light the way for healthcare leaders

Is your healthcare organization ready for excellence? Take the Healthcare Excellence Readiness Assessment and find out! Evaluate your leadership, strategy, and operations.

• Start now: Healthcare Excellence Readiness Assessment

Thank you for tuning in! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast for more insights into achieving healthcare excellence.

New episodes of the "Excellence In Healthcare" podcast are released every Tuesday at 02:00 a.m. (est). Don't miss out on the latest insights and strategies for Mastering Healthcare Excellence.

Send us a text

Hosts: Jarvis T. Gray, Vella Catania
Guest: Vella Catania (she/her), Founder of Love Vella Ayurveda Healing with Heart

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, hosts Jarvis T. Gray and Vella Catania delve into the intersection of healthcare excellence and entrepreneurship through the lens of Ayurveda. Vella shares her deeply personal journey from schoolteacher to holistic healer, describing how a life-altering injury led her to Ayurveda and ultimately inspired her to start her own business. This episode is packed with practical advice for wellness entrepreneurs and healthcare leaders looking to diversify their approach and make a deeper impact.

Key Topics Covered

• Vella’s Journey Into Ayurveda:
  Vella discusses her upbringing in Buffalo, her career as a teacher, and a traumatic injury that pushed her to seek holistic healing. Her powerful experience with Panchakarma and Vedic yoga became the catalyst for launching her practice.
• Ayurveda as a Healing Modality:
  Vella explains the depth and ancient wisdom behind Ayurveda, emphasizing that it's not a fad but a way of life. She shares how Ayurveda can help with chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and overall well-being.
• Services & Unique Offerings:
  Learn about Vella’s approach, which includes personalized Ayurvedic consultations, seasonal cleanses, rejuvenative body therapies (like Shirodhara and Marma point therapy), culinary workshops (famous for her healing khichdi!), and intimate half-day retreats in her Buffalo-based ashram.
• Core Personal Values:
  Vella highlights the importance of integrity, deep connection, privacy, vulnerability, authenticity, and relationship-building in her healing practice.
• Business Coaching Conversation:
  Jarvis and Vella shift gears to discuss business strategy, including the challenges of doing everything alone, the importance of building a team, branding consistency, and setting quarterly revenue and operational goals.
• Sales & Marketing for Wellness Entrepreneurs:
  The hosts explore effective lead generation, the importance of community events and networking, and the value of both local and online marketing.

Actionable Takeaways

• Prioritize Connection: Healing and transformative work thrive in safe, private, and deeply connected environments.
• Quarterly Goal Setting is Key: Especially for small business owners, focus on realistic, 12-week goals rather than year-long projections.
• Focus on Sales & Marketing: For new businesses, spend 80% of your energy on finding, serving, and keeping clients.
• Event Marketing Works: Regular attendance at networking and community events is crucial for growth, especially at a local level.
• Know Your Ideal Client: Spend time building customer avatars to target your offerings and marketing more effectively.

Let's Connect:

• Vella Catania: Love Vella Ayurveda Healing with Heart
• Jarvis T. Gray: Excellence In Healthcare Podcas

Is your healthcare organization ready for excellence? Take the Healthcare Excellence Readiness Assessment and find out! Evaluate your leadership, strategy, and operations.

• Start now: Healthcare Excellence Readiness Assessment

Thank you for tuning in! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast for more insights into achieving healthcare excellence.

New episodes of the "Excellence In Healthcare" podcast are released every Tuesday at 02:00 a.m. (est). Don't miss out on the latest insights and strategies for Mastering Healthcare Excellence.

Send us a text

Episode Overview

In this special live edition of the Excellence in Healthcare podcast, host Jarvis T. Gray brings together healthcare leaders, including private practice owner Tracy (Shades of Resilience Counseling) and nurse/leader Soulara, for an engaging discussion on who truly benefits when healthcare leaders “level up” in mindset, behavior, and presence. The conversation highlights the ripple effects of leadership growth—from the patient experience to team dynamics and broader community impact.

Key Discussion Points

• Starting with the Patient Experience
  • Jarvis sets the stage by asking how advanced leadership tangibly improves the experience for patients and their families. Discussion centers on how better leadership leads to improved quality, safety, communication, and trust.
  • Tracy emphasizes that clients “show up different” when they trust the quality and safety of their care.
• Trickle-Down Leadership Impact
  • Leadership growth impacts the entire care team. Improved processes and environments stem from leaders who set clear expectations and foster psychological safety.
• Building Team Culture
  • Jarvis underscores that growth in leadership is more than managing tasks—it’s about creating an environment of psychological safety and resilience.
  • Guests discuss the importance of accountability and emotional intelligence, sharing personal experiences from the front lines.
• Community Engagement & Advocacy
  • Leadership growth isn’t limited to internal operations—it extends to the community. Tracy shares her efforts in legislative advocacy to increase care access, while Solar highlights public health and wellness workshops.
• Actionable Reflection & Call to Action
  • Throughout the episode, Jarvis poses reflection questions for listeners:
    • Where are your leadership strengths visible in patient or team outcomes?
    • How can you connect your organizational leadership growth to community-facing initiatives?
  • The episode closes with a powerful invitation for listeners to commit to a tangible leadership growth action for the coming week.

Memorable Quotes

• “When leaders grow, leaders also build better systems, better businesses.” — Jarvis T. Gray
• “Staff will go over and above with quality of service. That’s the feeling we want.” — Tracy
• “The time that we become stagnant is when we die. When things die.” — Solar
• “Your growth is really a gift to others.” — Jarvis T. Gray

Connect & Participate

• Engage with Jarvis and the Excellence in Healthcare community during future live episodes.
• Share your leadership insights or responses to reflection questions via LinkedIn or the podcast community spaces.

Closing Thoughts

Leadership growth in healthcare isn’t just an individual pursuit—it cultivates better outcomes for patients, improves team culture, and enhances community well-being. “Keep growing, keep giving, and keep leading with courage, clarity and purpose.”

Is your healthcare organization ready for excellence? Take the Healthcare Excellence Readiness Assessment and find out! Evaluate your leadership, strategy, and operations.

• Start now: Healthcare Excellence Readiness Assessment

Thank you for tuning in! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast for more insights into achieving healthcare excellence.

New episodes of the "Excellence In Healthcare" podcast are released every Tuesday at 02:00 a.m. (est). Don't miss out on the latest insights and strategies for Mastering Healthcare Excellence.