From Columbus Business First.
First off, Rachel Finney is not hanging it up.
But after more than two decades working on behalf of all creatures great and small, Finney is looking for something new.
"Yeah, not exactly retiring, but ready to make a change," she said. "I've been in animal welfare for 21 years and it's just time. ... I've always said I wanted to go out on a high note and unbroken – those things are still true.
"It just it felt like the right time."
Finney, who has been CEO of Columbus Humane for 16 years (she was executive director at the Union County Humane Society before that), recently sat down to talk about her career, her health and her undying love for animals.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Do you already have plans? Something that you can share or are you still working that out? I'm still finalizing details, but interestingly enough, I'm moving into the human wellbeing space, so I'll be in a leadership position for an organization that helps teach individual wellbeing.
OK, let's talk about Columbus Humane. What is your typical day like? Is there a typical day? Our organization has so many different lines of business. We're a law enforcement agency that fundraises. We're a nonprofit and it comes with all the complexities of running a nonprofit organization, but the fact is that we don't know what's coming in – whether that's through animal cruelty investigations or just a demand for service from the community.
Every day it requires an enormous amount of flexibility, elasticity – I think is a good word.
One of the most demanding things about my job is that I'll go from one meeting to the next that are drastically different. We'll have major donors coming for a tour and that takes one kind of the energy. Then immediately we're planning a dog-fighting warrant and ... then back to a budget conversation. There is a lot of variety in the topics, the energy level and the tone.
What is your favorite part? Oh, there are so many elements of the job that I love. That connection between people and pets that is really authentic. The joy, sometimes even the heartache – that's probably my favorite part of the job. I love the variety.
And and the leadership development ... being able to be with my team or with volunteers.
What about fundraising? Creating opportunities for people who really feel very passionate and giving them a way to make the impact that they want to make is very cool. ... You create those opportunities for them to feel connected to the mission and feel a sense of accomplishment in something they're passionate about. That's really magical.
What's the worst part of your job? The intensity that people can have around animals and animal welfare and when people see such a tiny sliver and make really harsh judgments. Oh man, that's hard.
Whether that's someone from outside the organization saying 'You're not doing enough for this individual or this situation, that's painful.
Some who make complaints about animal cruelty, abuse or neglect and kind of ready with those pitchforks, torches and the angry villager approach.
And really, that family, that owner is incredibly loving and generous and has a wonderful relationship with their pet, but they don't have money or they don't look like everyone else in the neighborhood.
That's a gross part of human nature, and I wish that we didn't have to see that. If your neighbor's dog is skinny, you should really check on your neighbor ... Probably the family struggling in some way.
These things that you see, how do you deal with it? Two ways. One, I've experienced a lot of tragedy in my life and I've come to understand the advantages that you experience as a result of going through hard times and and having having those difficult experiences. I know whatever I face today at some level, this is good for me and good for others around me.
And the second thing is that, yes, I do see like absolute worst in human beings from time to time and even more than that, probably 100 times more, I see the best.
An individual animal could come to us or, or maybe it's a homeless person who's really grieving the loss of a pet. All the intensity of emotions, and we're empathetic people, so we absorb that.
We see those really difficult things ... but you can't see it and not recognize all of the abundance and the generosity and the kindness and the good things in the world that are there.
When you're completely burned out, when you are tired, when you're at your lowest, those things are can be hard to remember.
Are you good at recognizing when you're burned out and tired and at the end? I absolutely am. Perhaps earlier in my career that wasn't true for me. I think way back in the beginning of my career in animal welfare ... I think I was like 110 pounds, only ate dinner and drank black coffee all day long. I don't think I could have been more depleted as a human being in terms of pouring everything into my work.
This was before kids.
So so when you are finding yourself in those positions, is there somebody that you talk to about this? I don't process it all out loud. You can cause harm in sharing some of the really difficult things we see. ... It's just a part of my work.
I will say in animal welfare – but it's true in a lot of nonprofit organizations, –you are exposed to trauma a lot, you've formed pretty intense bonds with your coworkers because there aren't things that you can't just go for a walk with a friend and mention. ... I have spent a lot of time preaching to my team about recognizing stress and fatigue and advocating for them.
But you can go into a room full of puppies. Does that cheer you up pretty quickly? Absolutely. And we call each other to it sometimes. You know, it's hard to pull your head out of what you're doing, especially when there's a lot of intensity. But then here comes someone who says, 'Look, it's a newborn guinea pig.'
So those things are sprinkled throughout our day for sure.
What kind of pets did you have as a child? Growing up, I had a cat. I had rabbits. I had beautiful fish tanks. We had cockatiels. I had fire belly newts and I had mice and we had ferrets.
Tell me about your day. I wake up at 6:20. I used to be a five o'clock person and go for a run in the morning. That's not in me anymore, and as my kids stay up later, I'm staying up later.
I'm usually at the office between 7:30 and 7:45. Whatever the day brings me, I'm dressed and ready. Sometimes it's a jeans day and I get to go about the building and maybe even get to touch the animals. Other times, it's high heels and suits.
I leave work about 5:30.
But in the middle of the night, I'm still the person who gets the phone call when the fire suppression system's leaking or am at work on Christmas squeegeeing the floor. The work doesn't stop. It's 365 and all hours.
Let's talk about work-life balance. Have you started to even those scales? Having children has balanced that a lot for me.
Sometimes work is just all consuming and my family needs to hang tight for a minute and then sometimes my family life demands that kind of energy and you flex. ... I'm also incredibly mindful of the fact that I am modeling choices for my staff.
What do you do to relax when you leave the office? I see you have sewing materials behind you. Are you making outfits for your dogs? I tend to make really utilitarian things, but cute. A lot of bags. Anybody on my team who has a baby gets a diaper bag.
I'm really into detailed things that help me sort of check out. I love to read. I read about 25 books a year. And I have time with my kids and time in nature. And certainly time with my animals.
Let's talk about food. What is your relationship with food? Is this something that and is this something that brings you joy? I am very passionate about my love for vegetables. I'm a pescatarian, but I don't cook a lot of fish at home, so I have a heavily plant-based diet. My mother is an incredible gourmet chef. That's her love language ... she taught me the ways of working with food.
I am also passionate about takeout on Fridays and Saturdays. ... I like it when people cook for me .
I have a quick breakfast in the morning. I always have coffee. Then I eat lunch or don't and have a healthy dinner.
And hot tea at night every night.
I need to ask your pets' names. First of all, all of these animals have been adapted at Columbus Humane.
My eldest dog's name is Phyllis. She is some sort of doodly something. I have a golden retriever named Fern. And I have a corgi named Ted. ... And my cats are Norman, Nick McBean and Syrus.
What animals do you not like? So I love all animals, but I do not like surprise animals. By that I mean anything that jumps out at you. I don't wanna put my foot in a boot and feel a mouse in there.
What is your advice for the person who will take your role? My ultimate wish is that the next leader really sees where we are organizationally as the starting line. ... And I want that commitment to seeing all of the goodness, even on days where it's a choice you have to make really intentionally. ... I really want someone who can all of the incredible and goodness.
How do you feel going forward? I have a sense of refresh and energy.