We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Colin Ferro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Colin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

I always felt coming out of college that I was going to go into the field of advertising or sales. Little did I know that having my brother and best friend diagnosed with cancer in college that it would change my entire career path. Out of college I got a job working as a agent for Northwestern Mutual, after a few months I realized that job was not for me. I went back to working in a restaurant just as I did all through college, serving, bartending and managing part time. That then took me into operations for the restaurant group in which I worked in the corporate side for 2+ years. In 2012 my Mom, Nancy Ferro founded Epic Experience to support those that have been impacted by cancer much like my brother had been in 2007. One day, I had the idea of asking my Mom if I could have a interview and work with her. She looked at me like I was crazy. She went to the board and what started as a part time position, has evolved into a full time job going on eight years of commitment and passion.

Colin , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Throughout my time with Epic Experience we have always focused on ensuring no cancer survivor, thriver or caregiver goes through cancer alone. We partner with so many other organizations with that similar mindset. We do not have to be everything to everyone but if we are supporting the cancer community the right way, we can direct individuals to the type of support they need when they might not know what they need. I came to work for this non profit because I wanted to join in the effort that my Mom started, ensuring anyone who comes across Epic Experience does not feel alone in their cancer journey.
We know the impact our programs provide and have heard it first hand from our community but we are all stronger together .

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I came from a corporate office of over 400 employees to a working environment of now 2 employees. There were no job descriptions for my role, training of staff or roles and responsibilities. There was a lot of information that was needed that was great to support our volunteers and others but one person can only do so much. I had to come in and change my mindset. I first came in wanting to support with so many ideas but not understanding we did not have the same bandwidth of people to do so. I had to really focus on what were the top priorities at that time and most of all learn I need to walk before I can run. The organization had built a strong reputation within the industry in its first two years, my job was to support that and understand the rest can also come but over time. The biggest thing we have is our reputation of our peer organizations and our participants.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My first program I came into I had asked to just be a fly on the wall, I did not want to suggest any changes or best practices without seeing the program in person first. Within 48 hours we had a situation in which the head of the organization had to leave for multiple days and now I was thrust in charge. I had to quickly switch my mindset and now manage our vendors to ensure all of our participants have that same transformational experience we have provided to so many others. The camp was a huge success with an amazing group of people.

Contact Info:

• Website: epicexperience.org
• Instagram: @epicexperience
• Facebook: @epicexperience
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/colin-ferro-640b1326
• Twitter: @epicxperience