Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Scarlett Magda. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Scarlett, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I sat on the board of Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB) Canada while I was in veterinary school at the University of Guelph, where I learned a great deal about international veterinary medicine, organizational management, and the importance of working towards culturally appropriate solutions. At that time, I was recruited by Veterinary Centers of America (VCA) to pursue an internship in small animal medicine and surgery. While looking into my options, I ascertained that there was a tremendous opportunity in the US to unite and mobilize the veterinary profession to share resources and expertise with countries in need. I also discovered that New York City is a global hub of philanthropy. I felt I could gain support there in achieving my mission.
So I went to New York City not knowing a soul, spent a couple of days at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists (FAVS, a VCA hospital at the time), to get to know the staff, and to build the best possible reputation for myself, then I waited patiently for the internship matching program to give me the response I was hoping for – acceptance to FAVS.
Finally, the fateful day arrived. I was filled with excitement, anticipation, hope and prayers. I went to the computer lab with a few other students who were also keen to find out their futures and one by one we opened our profiles. When at long last it was my turn; I saw my future layed out right there in black and white, “Scarlett Magda – Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists.” This was a defining moment in my career. I was now moving to the United States to gain further training in small animal medicine while laying the foundation for an international charity.
When I next arrived in NYC, I had two goals: to learn as much as I could about being a good doctor while finding my allies to build an international charity. I had a short list of experts I had gathered during my time at VWB, the most important being Dr. William Karesh, an international icon and one of the most respected veterinarians globally. I tracked him down at a reception he was hosting, told him my vision and asked if he would be interested to help me. I was stunned when he graciously obliged.
For the next 6 years we brainstormed over how we could build an international charity while recruiting other experts to join our cause. During this time, I wanted to gain some experience running an organization, raising money and organizing an event so I became the Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation Film Festivals (WCFF). Finally in 2014, Dr. Karesh asked me when I was going to submit the papers to the charities bureau and I responded “when I am ready”. He wisely told me, “You’re never going to be ready, you might as well submit those papers now as it may take a couple of years before we get charitable status.” I listened to him, found a remarkable lawyer named Gayle Boyle to help and within 5 months we were an official US charity!
Our first program was a partnership with the Global Alliance for Animals and People in Chile as I had known them from our days at VWB Canada and they were looking for support. It was a natural fit for us to partner. Within months we had planned our first trip to Guatemala creating a rabies vaccination and spay/neuter clinic in the remote mountainous region of Todos Santos. Our second program was to provide veterinary equipment and supplies to the rescued elephants at Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand. Now came the tough part – how were we going to fund our programs?
I thought of all the kind souls I met through my time at WCFF and started to let them know what Dr. Karesh and I were up to. We also recruited a wonderful board member named Erika Mansourian who was our founding board secretary, and chef Mauricio Marfoglia, together we planned our first fundraiser at one of Mauricio’s restaurants, Tutto il Giorno in Tribeca.
Starting a charity is about building a tribe of like-minded souls, gathering folks of various backgrounds to fulfill all the needs: legal, marketing, finance, programmatic experts. Over the years I gathered a list of all the folks I knew while holding space for those I hadn’t yet met. I had faith that all would step up, join us and help. I went to various events from charity fundraisers, dinners and outings like the Hampton Classic and built my network. While I was at the Hampton Classic I saw Mayor Bloomberg watching the grand prix horse show. I thought it was a good idea for me to introduce myself as I knew he was a big philanthropist. He was so kind and immediately introduced me to Georgina his daughter. We became friends, soon she was graciously supporting our events.
Getting press was one of the hardest challenges. I remembered I knew Graydon Carter’s brother back from my college waitressing days in Toronto. It just so happened that very week I was walking by the Waverly Inn. One day I saw Graydon, who at the time was the editor of Vanity Fair, standing in the garden hosting a reception. I had no idea who or what the reception was for, I just knew I had to talk to him. So I gathered myself together, and walked right into the restaurant, introduced myself, told him I knew his brother and shared what I was up to and asked if he would like to attend our launch reception of Veterinarians International. He gave me his contact information and I followed up with an invitation, he graciously responded saying he couldn’t attend but to keep him posted on future opportunities. In the meantime I had reached out to other influential philanthropists like Cornelia Guest as I knew I needed more notable figures to represent us and garner attention. Cornelia graciously accepted to host our opening reception and invited some of her friends.
It was such a journey to find these influential souls one by one and invite them to be a part of our movement, but it was all so worth it as they truly loved our cause. Then on the day of our launch, I was overwhelmed to see an email from a writer at Vanity Fair apologizing for the late notice but graciously asking if she could come and cover our launch event! It was my dream to be included in Vanity Fair and I felt this surreal energy overcome me as I responded to her. In my veterinary practice I’d had celebrity clients like Bobby Flay, he also offered to participate in our event, offering tickets to see his show live. The stars were aligning, bringing us all the right people to garner the support we needed to get the word out about VI. We raised over $65 000 that night which was a great start.
Over time, I learned my biggest mistake was not asking for the right help to build out the organization. I was doing everything on my own. I needed to begin to stand in my worthiness, to hold people accountable and attract the dedicated kind souls, not just those who want a title on their resume, or something to mention at a cocktail party. I’d been attracting people who love to give advice but not actually do the work needed to allow the organization to thrive.
The pressure became too much and finally I asked the universe to bring me someone who could scale VI and build teams. This is when Lauren Steinberg, our CEO came to the picture. Since then we have experienced beautiful harmony. My advice to a young entrepreneur is to claim your worthiness. Call in the most dedicated, kind impeccable souls to help you, you cannot build a business or charity alone without burning out, teamwork is dreamwork. Trust and give up control.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a veterinarian who practices emergency medicine and co-founded a charity called Veterinarians International (VI). When I was 17, I volunteered at the Belize Zoo and looked after a 10-week old spider monkey named Chania, who won my heart. She lit a flame in me to guide my path of dedication to serving animals. That flame has grown to serve countries in need where VI now works around the globe to care for animals and protect fragile ecosystems by empowering veterinarians with critically needed equipment, medicine and training.
We find the most dedicated, promising vets in countries with high biodiversity facing poverty. We perform a needs analysis with various leaders and stakeholders, and respond to these needs. In Kenya, we learned that few vets ever have a chance to even see a rhino, elephant or giraffe. We also learned there wasn’t an official link between the 2 vet schools and the Kenya Wildlife Service. We found this to be an important gap to fill. So together with Ol Pejeta and Loisaba conservancy we created a training program for veterinary students to have opportunities to learn about wildlife medicine and one health, that is the health of humans, animals and the environment as one.
The topics in which vet school requests input from our program committee are supplemented to enrich their learning experience. The students who perform well in class then have an opportunity to go the bush to learn alongside KWS vets. It’s a beautiful program of knowledge and resource exchange as each participant brings valuable information to the collective.
What sets VI apart is that we operate in a collaborative framework to listen to the needs from a country, and allow the leaders there to tell us what they need rather than us westerners dictating to them what we think they need. I am most proud of our accomplishments and the unity we were able to establish bringing government, academia and community together in Kenya, while mobilizing resources and expertise in the United States.
Some of our achievements include:
Supporting the vaccination of over 50,000 cats and dogs globally against rabies and distemper virus.
Building two mobile elephant clinics in Surin, Thailand, enabling hundreds of elephants to receive daily veterinary care.
Training law enforcement officials in forensic investigation to help with the illegal poaching of Asian elephants in Myanmar.
Helping enable the largest Asian elephant release back into to the wild after treatment and rehabilitation in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka.
Providing food and medical aid for chimpanzees rescued from illegal pet and bushmeat trades in partnership with Liberia Chimpanzee and Rescue.
Providing health care services including vaccinations to over a half a million sheep, goats and donkeys in Kenya in partnership with the Marsabit county government and local NGO Sauti Moja.
Enabling the first elephant blood transfusion to take place in Sri Lanka and are attempting to create the first biomechanically sound hind-limb prosthesis with 3-D printed components for an Asian elephant.
Supporting veterinarians from Sri Lanka to receive advanced training in wildlife anesthesia (avian, reptile and mammalian medicine) and a masters in wildlife health and management from the Royal Veterinary College.
Having this work recognized by the AVMA through the 2023 AVMA Global Veterinary Service Award, brings me pride as we now have a larger platform to share our work with and garner further support and participated.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
To me, building a notable reputation is about delivering what I promised with kindness and integrity. My focus has been to find resources such as quality expertise and money from sources that are aligned with goodness, impeccability, love and compassion, and pair them with needs who are aligned with the same virtues. This way energetically the outcomes enable all to feel proud and the animals to receive optimal care. I have been blessed to be surrounded by loyal donors and the most dedicated, kind, brilliant veterinarians throughout my life, they gave me the motivation and ability to continue no matter how challenging the circumstances. Together we have accomplished extraordinary achievements to help animals and heal our planet.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
For me, believing in myself while also honoring and loving myself has been crucial. This understanding ensures that I will succeed no matter what. Once I realized I am capable of anything, and that I deserve to be fully supported, I stopped sacrificing my own well-being for the cause. It took me years to learn this as I used to think there wasn’t enough help and that nobody was going to be able to work as fast, as dedicated, or as hard as I could because when I gave them a chance they proved me right. What I needed to learn is that this burden isn’t mine to carry alone, it’s a team effort.
I also needed to appreciate my own worthiness given everything we have accomplished and the remarkable people involved. I needed to learn not to be desperate and act from a place of lack and settle for whoever came my way offering to help. I needed to learn to ask important questions to confirm their intentions and what accountability they were willing to own. I had many people show up who just wanted the notoriety of serving a charity and do as little as possible for it. I felt drained from these types of people but it was my own medicine to learn from and hold everyone accountable to their commitments. This worthiness ended up attracting folks who are aligned with me and the mission and fully supported me working like a team. You are only as good as your team. Choose only the authentic ones who are willing to roll up their sleeves and own their part of the work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vetsinternational.org
- Instagram: @vetsinternational, @drscarlett
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vetsinternational
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scarlett-magda
- Twitter: @vetintl
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vetsinternational
- Other: https://www.avma.org/news/press-releases/dr-scarlett-magda-named-recipient-2023-avma-global-veterinary-service-award
Image Credits
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