Catherine Pope, Senior Manager, was EMPLOYEE #1 (after Matt, of course!). With us for eight years and counting, the story of her climb up the ladder and what keeps her going, both here and at home, is sure to inspire you.
Get to know Catherine; she’s a delightful person and an amazing role model. We’re very pleased to share her story, and hope you’ll take a few minutes to introduce yourself to her.
- How long have you been at VBA? I have been with VBA since Day 1, so it has been 8 years. I was the first employee with VBA . I started as a Behavior Interventionist and then moved into a Clinical Manager position. Now I am a Senior Manager.
- What about VBA inspires you? I am inspired by our ability to improve the lives of our clients and their families using the most current research in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. It makes me happy to see our clients progress and the happiness it brings their parents and caregivers. It is truly life changing. I am also proud of our team of clinicians and all of their hard work and dedication to our families.
- What in your personal life inspires you? Life itself! Taking time to be in nature. Whether I am hiking, camping, or going to the beach I am grounded by my experiences in nature and it feeds my soul.
- What is the most challenging aspect about your role? Trying to balance wearing so many different hats! I love to problem solve and I like to help facilitate problem-solving between our clinical and operational department.
- What do you like the most about your position and the least? Most: Continuing to build our capacity to provide exceptional ABA services to individuals who need them. I love training our Behavior Interventionists and our Clinical Managers to be the best clinicians possible, Least: Dealing with the paperwork on my desk.
- If you weren’t at the office, what would you be doing instead? Either gallivanting the globe or hiking/backpacking in the mountains.
- How do you define success? By finding your passion and using that passion to pursue your goals and aspirations.
- What three books would we find on your bookshelf at home? This one is tough as I tend to give my most favorite books away. The others are in a box in my garage. On the small shelf I have these are the following books you would find: 1) In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, 2) Investing for Dummies, 3) The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
- How has outside knowledge or experiences prepared you for this role? I think that all my job experiences since my college years and to this point have prepared me for this role in one facet or another. During and just after I finished college I was a server at two different restaurants. I attribute my ability to multitask, be personal, resolve conflicts, and problem solve to my experience working in the food and hospitality industry. Since then, I have worked as a paraprofessional in the field of special education in the school setting. This initial experience is what inspired me to pursue a teaching credential in early childhood special education. After pursuing my credential, I furthered my education by pursuing a masters degree and ultimately my BCBA. It has been a great journey and I am grateful for all the experiences I have had along the way.
- If you could pick one person to travel the world with, who would it be and why? My husband because he is on board for any adventure.
- Who is your personal hero and why? There are so many, but if I have to pick one it would be Amelia Earhart. I love her passion for adventure and her perseverance to keep reaching higher and pushing herself to achieve her dreams.
- What is one thing nobody at VBA knows about you? My first experience traveling internationally was with a small private school I attended (I was in 7th grade at the time) and we went to Russia! It was quite the experience to be in Russia in the middle of the cold war and without my parents. I have memories of being the ‘first Americans’ to visit elementary schools and families homes to learn about the culture and the people. I was officially bitten by the travel bug and have since been inspired to see and experience the world.