On today’s episode we are joined by three amazing guests: Jill Wheeler, Dr. Heather Ettinger and Dr. Valerie Weiss. Jill is an adventure guide, outdoor educator, athlete, licensed professional counselor, and the founder & owner of Wellfit Girls: a non-profit with the mission to introduce girls to physical challenges and travel experiences that build confidence and self-esteem. Heather is an IP Lawyer and partner at an NY law firm and avid mountain climber. Valerie is an award-winning film director and scientist. On August 20th through the 22nd, they will participate in the World Wildlife Foundation's Panda Paddle: a virtual paddle event and fundraiser to protect the planet and raise awareness. Jill, Valerie, and Heather will discuss the importance of carving out time for fitness and hobbies while balancing a busy career and family, training for the Panda Paddle and supporting one another in the process. They will also share how their love for activities is so valuable to their mental and physical well-being and self-confidence.
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On The Madeline & Becca Podcast, we chat with leading women from a variety of industries about their career journeys and how they developed professional self-confidence.
Produced by Madeline and Becca
[00:00:00.000] - Valerie Weiss
Being able to take time away from your work and your family and saying this is a priority, my fitness, my mental health. Focusing on my longevity through a sport that I can do for a long time is something that I never felt empowered to do. And so having these ladies as role models that continue to not just let me know it's okay but keep setting the bar higher and higher for where I want to reach has just been tremendous.
[00:00:32.810] - Heather Ettinger
If I feel good about myself mentally, which comes with being outdoors, then I can handle the challenges that come through work.
[00:00:43.200] - Jill Wheeler
What I believe is in moving our bodies. I believe in the process of incremental successes to build on small victories which lead to climbing higher summits.
[00:00:59.060] - Madeline & Becca
Welcome to the Madeline and Becca Podcast. The mission of our podcast is simple: to inspire professional self-confidence in women everywhere. I'm Madeline. And I'm Becca. On our podcast, you will hear stories from real world influencers, women who have experienced tremendous success in their careers by building self-confidence.
[00:01:21.260] - Becca
Thanks for joining us on today's episode. We are joined by three amazing guests, Jill Wheeler, Dr Heather Ettinger and Dr. Valerie Weiss. Jill is an adventure guide, outdoor educator, athlete, licensed professional counselor, and the founder and owner of WellFit Girls, a non-profit with the mission to introduce girls to physical challenges and travel experiences that build confidence and self-esteem. Heather is an IP lawyer and partner at a New York law firm and an avid mountain climber. Valerie is an award winning film director and scientists. On August 20 through the 22nd, they will participate in the World Wildlife Foundation's Panda Paddle, a virtual paddle event and fundraiser to protect the planet and raise awareness. Jill, Valerie and Heather will discuss the importance of carving out time for fitness and hobbies while balancing a busy career and family, training for the Panda Paddle and supporting one another in the process. They will also share how their love for activities is so valuable to their mental and physical wellbeing and self-confidence. Here's Madeline.
[00:02:52.780] - Madeline
We are so excited to welcome our amazing guests today, Jill Wheeler, Dr. Heather Ettinger and Valerie Weiss to today's episode. Jill, Heather, Valerie and Becca are participating in a team for the World Wildlife Foundation's Virtual Panda Paddle coming up this weekend, and they are Team Water Bears. So, welcome to everyone. And thank you for joining us today to discuss both the event and also the importance of teamwork and fitness.
[00:03:20.080] - Jill Wheeler
Thank you.
[00:03:21.140] - Valerie Weiss
Thanks for having us.
[00:03:22.310] - Madeline
So, let's start Valerie. Can you just tell us a little bit about how you got involved in the Panda Paddle and how you came up with a team name?
[00:03:31.520] - Valerie Weiss
Sure. As a former scientist and now I'm a TV and film director, but I think once a scientist, always a scientist, I've had concerns about the environment for a long time, and it's always tricky to think about what can you do beyond recycling or your diet or your sort of local impact. And so, a few years ago, my kids fell in love with the World Wildlife Fund as a charity that they really wanted to champion and in their early years when they were little instead of doing goody bags at their birthday parties, where we would give a bunch of, you know, excuse the language, but plastic crap that was just going to end up in the oceans, we encourage them to give out what we call 'Tabby Bucks' for my daughter Tabby. Each kid would get a little buck that we would then exchange for donation and their name to the World Wildlife Fund. So, that started years ago and instilled in my kids the value of giving to a charity that matters to you. And so, two years ago, when the pandemic started, they did the WWF virtual 5k around our neighborhood. And they raised a ton of money and they just loved it. They got t-shirts and were so into it. And so, then I was on the mailing list and got this email about the Panda Paddle. And I had just started getting more serious about paddleboarding. About seven years ago, I was in Naples, Florida, for a film festival and met Jill Wheeler. And she took me out on my very first paddle board on the Atlantic Ocean. And she was such a badass and great teacher. We even did some yoga that day. And I had always been hankering to get back out on the water. And here and there I would try it on vacation in Hawaii or Big Bear Lake. And then when the pandemic happened, it was a really good excuse. Everything was shut down. It couldn't work. And it was a great socially distanced activity to just drive ten minutes to Marina del Rey in California and rent a paddle board and just go out. And so I started to do that, like every weekend and got really into it. And so last year I did my first one a virtual Panda Paddle, a did it in Santa Barbara. And Jill joined the team last year. And so did Heather. So, meanwhile, I was talking to Heather, who was living in Florida, Florida. Excuse me who was living in New York, and had moved from New York City to the country outside of New York. And she was paddling on her Lake. And so I recruited these fine women to join me last year. And we came in, I think we came in second place for fundraising and named ourselves the Water Bears, which is an amazing geeky name because it's actually a synonym for these creatures called Tardigrades, which are the most resilient creatures on Earth. They can live in the deep ocean and heat vents. They can survive extreme cold. They can even survive a nuclear explosion. And in the face of this pandemic, with so much that was unknown, we wanted to christen ourselves a creature that would survive anything that was going to come our way. So, we became the Water Bears last year, and we are gearing up for the next Panda Paddle next weekend, as we said. And we were lucky enough to recruit Becca. And I think our team has probably about eight members now. We've grown, which is really exciting.
[00:07:07.580] - Madeline
That's wonderful. So let's shift to you, Jill, if you want to tell us a little bit about your background and what you enjoy about paddling.
[00:07:17.680] - Jill Wheeler
Thank you. Well, so I think my love for paddling started with surfing, actually, back in , I was in College, and I grew up on a, I should go way back. Really, my love for the water grew up or I grew up on a boat. I was homeschooled a good portion of my life. Valerie, I don't even know if you knew that.
[00:07:39.400] - Valerie Weiss
No, I'm so excited to hear your story.
[00:07:43.860] - Jill Wheeler
I spent part of the year up in New England area and the islands and off the coast of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nantucket that whole area. And then in the winters, I never really had a true winter my entire life until about 8th grade. We were always in Florida, and we were down in the island of the Bahamas. So I grew up with a lot of water and animals, and I just had such a fascination and love for dolphins and manatees and sharks. Even, of course, probably was scared. I never was allowed to watch Jaws as a kid because we spent so much time in those waters. And we had a very adventurous person that worked for us, and I adored him. I loved this man. He was a real adventurer. He was a wind surfer and a surfer, and he was a water skier. He did all the things, but I was never allowed. Or my parents thought, well, you know, that's not reality. You're not going to grow up and be like pro athlete at this water sports. So, we didn't really do that. And so when I went off to college, I really wanted to learn to surf. And I started surfing and then rock climbing. And that led to a part of me that was really about adventure. I was a professional rock climbing guide back in my twenties, and I led outdoor adventure programs, including rock climbing, mountaineering backpacking and, but primarily the surfing in the water until I moved to Naples, which is where I met, Valerie. And there was, it was actually the Gulf of Mexico Val, not the Atlantic.
[00:09:24.790] - Valerie Weiss
Right! Oh forgive me! That's why it was so nice. It was so warm and beautiful, white sand.
[00:09:37.360] - Jill Wheeler
Right. And there were no waves. So, the minute paddle boarding came out, it was just such a great family activity to do with kids. So, I put my girls right on the board with me. And, you know, when I started teaching yoga in about 2010ish, 2010-11, I had already started kite surfing at that point around 2011, and the man, a guy in Naples that taught me how to kite surf, said there's this new thing people are doing in Miami. He had a lot of friends in the kite surfing world in Miami. And he says we have to be the first to do it here in Naples. So, we put the paddle boards and the yoga together. He had all the paddle boards in his company because he owned a surfing or a kite surfing a paddleboard company. And I did all the yoga, and we had a really great partnership for many years. And so what Valerie is saying about bringing people together in nature, it was something I did for several years, about five years in Naples, every single week, people of all backgrounds. It's a low barrier of entry to the sport, and almost anybody could do it really on their knees, even sitting down, standing up. And it was just an awesome, empowering way for people to get on the water.
[00:10:54.280] - Madeline
I love it. Thank you so much. Heather, can we turn to you and have you tell us just a little bit about your background and how you got involved in Paddling?
[00:11:03.930] - Heather Ettinger
Sure, yes. So, I actually met Valerie in graduate school, so I'm also a scientist in my heart and really committed to trying to help better the environmental mess we're in. One of the ways that I like to do that is to just be outside and to echo what Jill said, paddling is such a great sport for families, and I have three kids, and so one of the ways I try to help install them with a love of outdoors and respect for the environment is paddle boarding with them. I got the chance to paddle board a few times at random vacations. But then when I was lucky enough to have a house in upstate New York, we immediately got inflatable paddle boards and just have so much fun with my kids. They mostly swim, and I paddle, andget frustrated sometimes when they don't want to actually go somewhere. But when I do have the chance to actually, for example, explore waterways. And the Adirondacks is one of my really favorite things, different than Valerie and Jill, I don't do so much of ocean paddling, but more again, like on lakes or waterways like rivers and small creeks. But the Panda Paddle I got involved through Valerie, and that, too has been a wonderful thing to do with the kids because we get excited about the fundraising. Of course, they like the occasional shirt or free socks that come their way. But again, it's just a really nice way to connect with them and connect with the outdoors. And like Jill, or maybe she was, but I'm a super avid rock climber, so paddle boarding is more what I do on my off days or when it's too cold to climb.
[00:13:08.040] - Madeline
I love that. Becca and I both went to college up at St. Lawrence University. So, on the edge of the Adirondack Park, so we know that area well, it's just stunning and so beautiful. The nature up there.
[00:13:20.920] - Heather Ettinger
Nice.
[00:13:22.670] - Madeline
So, let's talk a little bit about how much fun and the importance of teamwork. I think as you are an adult and sometimes you can be sort of disconnected from teams and communities and sports. So, obviously you ladies have all had the opportunity now to be part of a team, even though it's virtual this year with Covid, but can you speak a little bit to and the fun of teamwork as an adult, we'll start with you, Valerie.
[00:13:49.120] - Valerie Weiss
Sure, I think one of the most rewarding parts of this, besides all the obvious things we said of helping a powerhouse organization that helps the Earth and getting out to paddle, is this feeling of camaraderie and community. And it's given me a reason and an opportunity to connect with Jill and Heather and other team members more than I would have otherwise. We're all so busy. I mean the three of us are moms and very hard working professionals, and it can feel self indulgent sometimes to pick up the phone and call a friend or take some time for yourself to connect socially. And so, one of the things that I think it's initiated from me and Heather is we use this app called Marco Polo, and it's like a video chat where you just send a video when you have time and you pick up your friends video when you have time. So, we've been doing that probably about as long as we start, since we started the first Panda Paddle. I think they coincided. And so it's really become not just something that's really strengthened our friendship, but almost like a form of therapy. We literally like anything that's happening in our day that it feels like other people in our life can't necessarily understand. Having this female friendship of this person who's not involved in your industry or even in your own town or social circle, having them as a sounding board and someone who understands has been amazing. And I feel like that's kind of the spirit of this virtual paddle team is we're there to encourage each other through fitness and fundraising. But also just to say, hey, I really value that you've chosen this activity for the minimum amount of free time you have. And so in return, you have my friendship, you know, completely at your disposal. Please use it. So, I think that's been really cool.
[00:15:48.530] - Madeline
And how about for you Jill.
[00:15:50.760] - Jill Wheeler
I love this because I run, you know my leadership, my non-profit is leadership based program for teen girls. So, we stress this all the time. And even my daughters, I have two teens, one's starting high school tomorrow and one is going to be a junior, and they're so like, "enough with the team work mom." Well, this is very interesting because I was sharing with my neighbor just today how much I miss field hockey because it was being a part of something bigger than myself. Nobody scores against an entire team of field hockey players. You all have to work together. So, she and I were actually talking about putting together a field hockey team. Here we are in our 40s. Like, how funny is that? Because we don't have anything like that, you can't pick up field hockey. So, I think it's present to be a part of something bigger than myself. It's present in I do a lot of fundraising. I love being invited to this. I get excited about it. For me, what it has inspired encouraged me to do is to offer my my talent or my gift, which is paddle board yoga. It's something that I've been practicing for a very long time. I lead retreats doing it a lot. I do a lot of community or connection based work in my groups. My retreats, my adventure retreats for women, and I can get pretty, I wouldn't want to say complacent, but busy. We all get busy in our professional lives. And I don't teach paddleboard yoga classes as much as I used to. And this, doing this for charity for a good cause is more exciting to me than doing it for money, because I don't need to do it for the money. So, it's motivating to me to get people out and being connected. And it means more to me that it's for our environment, for connection, really connection to each other, connection to ourselves, and to connection in nature and for nature.
[00:17:55.150] - Madeline
That's great. And how about for you, Heather? Can you speak to teamwork?
[00:17:59.060] - Heather Ettinger
Yeah, absolutely. I think sort of on opposite poles. One is I've mentioned that my kids are doing this with me. I also use this as an opportunity to continue to bond with my sister, Nancy Wicking, who's on the team as well. And in fact, we're going to, one of my daughters and my sister will do the challenge together on Saturday. And the opposite of that is some people joined our team who none of us in the immediate team have any connection to, except these people were super excited by our team, our team name, and our fundraising prowess.So, we got some people from actually from Florida who are really big paddlers, who are really enthusiastic about our team. So, it's been really cool to have very close family members as well as people that we don't know at all now, connected in this team work.
[00:18:59.266] - Madeline
That's great.
[00:19:00.560] - Valerie Weiss
I'll add one more team story. One of our team members, Dan Novotny, is the production designer on a show that I direct called Outer Banks. And one of the environments that strengthened my commitment to paddle boarding was Charleston, South Carolina, where we shoot it. That's actually where I bought my first paddle board and had it shipped. And Dan and I would go out on the ocean in the Atlantic this time, and the waves can be pretty big. So, I was pretty nervous about going by myself. And so he would grab his board, we'd go out together, and then some days he'd have to go to work earlier than me. And so, I would text him and say, I'm heading out. If you don't hear for me in 30 minutes, please tell somebody. And so, and I still as a joke now that I'm back in LA, I'll still text him, he's on another job and say, I'm going battle boarding. And he's joined the team, and we're actually going to do the Panda Paddle together. Our two families were all going kayaking in the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. So, it's cool because he's a team at work. We've done three episodes together and work really closely that way professionally. And then it's just really touching when you see that somebody recruits their whole family to join you. Like Heather bringing her sister, and it's very touching to see how this thing has grown.
[00:20:21.210] - Madeline
Thank you all to speaking about teamwork. And I'd like to shift now to self- confidence and talk a little bit, have you each speak to the importance of a connection between fitness and developing self-confidence and other facets of your life, such as your career. Valerie, do you want to start with that?
[00:20:41.090] - Valerie Weiss
Sure. So, you know, these ladies have always been much more adventurous than me. Heather used to or. Maybe she still does, mountain bike, and now she's a climber. And Jill obviously was like the superstar like athlete climber everything that I know and is always such a hero to me. And so the extent of my sports were always more tame, like tennis and just felt a lot safer. And so, when I embarked on paddle boarding in the first place, it really was because I had these ladies to look up to. I mean, Jill taking me out as a guide on my first time. If she hadn't, I don't think I would have felt comfortable trying it. And then in terms of continuing to make this part of my life, Heather has been such a role model. I mean, she's a partner at a law firm with three kids. And about four years ago, she found climbing and has dedicated so much of her life to it. She travels to Europe to climb. And that also has been inspiring to me, being able to take time away from your work and your family and saying this is a priority, my fitness, my mental health. Focusing on my longevity through a sport that I can for a long time is something that I never felt empowered to do. So, having these ladies as role models that continue to not just let me know it's okay, but keep setting the bar higher and higher for where I want to reach has just been tremendous.
[00:22:20.690] - Madeline
And how about for you, Jill, can you talk a little bit about the importance of fitness and developing self-confidence in other areas of your life?
[00:22:29.210] - Jill Wheeler
What I believe is in moving our bodies. I believe in the process of incremental successes to build on small victories which lead to climbing higher summits. So for instance, in my non-profit, which is leadership program, an integrated leadership program for teen girls, the end or the culminating experience is an expedition we took them to prove for seven years, six years in a row. This year we were in Montana, and it's a very intentional, incrementally focused program leading up to many successes. So it's a 5k. We'll take the girls on an overnight, so they are building the muscle of confidence so that they can go and do bigger things. And that's just how I feel about anything. And a lot of times for me, being a part of something like this and being asked to raise money, it's always daunting to me, especially since I feel like I'm doing that for a living. I'm always asking for people, but more, the more way I've reframed it is and it helps my confidence is you're allowing people to be a part of something bigger, that they can have an impact that has meaning. So, what I love about taking on a challenge like this, be it, you know, part of a fundraising team is I know I'm going to actually put myself out there in that uncomfortable place to elevate the team, to elevate the people around me, like creating, so for my challenge, what I did last year and what I'm doing this year is I'm leading a paddle board yoga class. And, of course, all pro bono. Everything goes towards the the mission, towards the fundraising and just seeing people take small steps. I've even had people come out on paddleboards over many years, even on my retreats that don't know how to swim. They literally and they'll say, I don't know how to swim. I can't do this. And I'll say, well, you've got the best vehicle, the best opportunity to learn how to swim or not even to learn how to swim, but to be safe. If you're willing to just breathe and stay close to me, you know, you can always hold up, hold on to that board. If you fall off, are you willing to hold on to the board and get help getting on? They say, yes, of course, we stay in very shallow water. And I've seen peoples just confidence just skyrocket. If they're willing to do that, then they're willing to do so many other things that metaphoric leap to I can do this. I feel strong and empowered in my body. I can take on a business challenge. I can take that next level of asking for, you know, a new position or getting a raise or having that courageous conversation with my colleagues or securing that next opportunity in my life. So, I feel they're just inextricably bound, actually practicing a physical challenge, taking it on getting incrementally to the next level and metaphorically taking that into your everyday life in all areas of your life.
[00:25:38.940] - Madeline
I love that. Thank you. And how about for you, Heather? Self-confidence and tying that into other facets of your life, like your career through fitness.
[00:25:47.720] - Heather Ettinger
Yeah. Thank you. So, as Valerie mentioned, I'm a partner at a law firm, and I'm an intellectual property attorney, which typically means you're sitting and working in front of your computer a lot. So, being physically active allows me to not go nuts doing that, but also to feel good about my body and be mentally strong I think and as Jill was saying, there's so much adversity and challenge that can come up if you're challenging your body, whether it's through paddling, I just was recently battling in the ocean and got very sea sick and had to really push through that or rock climbing and trying to get to the top of a route that you've been working on for a long time. And so, I definitely apply those lessons I learned in the variety of activities that I do physically in my career. I also find that again, if I feel good about myself mentally, which comes with being outdoors, then I can handle the challenges that come through work. And I'm also, I think, a more well balanced person than maybe some of my colleagues or peers. And that makes me, I think, a little bit have an edge sometimes from a business development perspective, because I have something to talk about other than the most recent decision in patent law and I think that a lot of my clients appreciate that we can talk about other things.
[00:27:28.720] - Madeline
That's fantastic. And I have one question. Just sort of before we wrap up here, I was thinking about for some of our listeners who maybe want to get back into fitness and outdoors and things like that, a lot of women, as we all know you get busy with careers and lives and other things and haven't made it a priority, but want to take that first step back into being active? Do you ladies have any suggestions about how to do that? We'll start with you Valerie.
[00:27:59.810] - Valerie Weiss
It's a good question. I mean, I think doing something with a friend and hikes are a great way to start because there's no equipment and you can do that at any fitness level. And just for me, it's really the camaraderie is why I do any of this. I mean, also to feel good in my body and the meditative aspect. The water is the only place where my mind is not running a million miles an hour. There's something about those waves working with the Alpha waves in my brain that just there's, I guess, destructive interference, maybe, like there's no waves than when I'm on the water, and it feels so good. And so I don't know that many people in LA that paddle board as much as I do. So, I'll post something on Facebook every weekend and say, hey, who wants to go? Or if you donate to the Panda Paddle, I'll take you out and teach you. I have two boards, and so I every weekend have been taking friends who are novices and introducing them to it. And for some it sticks. Some it doesn't. But then they've gotten the confidence that we've all talked about because they were all pretty nervous before they tried it. So, I think just finding a buddy and either being the mentor or being the protege to someone else's mentorship is a great way to get your foot in there.
[00:29:22.370] - Madeline
That's great. How about for you Jill ?
[00:29:24.960] - Jill Wheeler
I would concur with that is to have a fit buddy. Or sometimes in our group culture, we call that our accountability buddy. And you know you're going to bail so much less or maybe not at all if you know, somebody is counting on you and you're going together. So, I am 100% for that. What I've learned most recently is to create manageable, reasonable goals that feel in incremental successes, creating the opportunity for again, those incremental successes. So. Instead of I'm going to join, you know, this program or a gym, or I'm going to sign up for a marathon in two months and you've never run a 5k, like have it be reasonable and achievable in the beginning, so you get that sense of success and can build off of that and ride that wave.
[00:30:14.880] - Madeline
That's great. And how about for you, Heather?
[00:30:17.530] - Heather Ettinger
Yeah, I would say definitely you want some sort of mentor and or friend and or accountability partner, as Valerie and Jill mentioned, because so much of this can be social. That being said, it can be a really nice way to also find some alone time. So, taking a long hike without any kids or husband around or whoever it is, you know, it can be a really nice way to work out whatever is going on in your head or just again, have some quiet time. But I would also say yes, Jill is absolutely, of course, right about having reasonable goals, setting yourself up for success rather than failure. And then there's so many different activities. So to find the one that you want or ones that you like, you might hate paddleboarding. That doesn't mean you don't, might not enjoy being active. It's a little bit maybe, like dating. You can try hiking, paddleboarding, running, swimming, roller, blading, mountain biking, kite surfing, like there's so many different sports, and you'll find one that you like and you really need to like it. So, if you don't like running, don't sign up for a marathon. Just because a lot of people run doesn't mean you're going to like it. Just try a lot of different things, maybe take some classes, like with a yoga instructor or whatever it is. And I guarantee you'll find something you like.
[00:32:03.820] - Becca
Thanks for tuning in. If you enjoyed our podcast hit subscribe and Leave US a review. Thank you always to our home team of friends and family for supporting us in our mission. This episode was produced and edited by Madeline and Becca. Thanks for tuning in. And remember, you are somebody.