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

Alright, Ricky thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.

During my senior year of high school, I worked at the local feed store, loading bales of hay and bags of feed. I had the honor of working for a man named Justin Nulisch. Although he was a very strong personality, he always pushed me to be better. He demanded the best out of me on a daily basis, and he showed me the way. He wasn’t a boss, he’s a leader. He’s the owner of the store, but he certainly will put in the same work as everyone else. Words do not do this man justice, but I hope he knows how much of an impact he has made in my life.

Ricky, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

A big part of my life is my recovery. I have a sobriety rate of June 17, 2020. Because of that, I found myself working at Rise Recovery, providing substance use recovery support services to teens, adults, and their families that are struggling with the effects of drugs and alcohol. There, I have served as the Youth Program Manager for the past 2 years.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I would absolutely choose the same profession. Not every day is sunshine and rainbows, but I pour my heart and soul into my work.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I learned that you don’t treat everybody equally, you treat them fairly. Everyone is unique and requires different approaches. This has helped me tremendously in my career as a supervisor and recovery coach.