Meet Booz Allen Consultant and CANTER Volunteer Allison Conrad

Title: Senior Consultant

Joined Booz Allen: 2000

What type of work do you do at Booz Allen Hamilton?

Currently, I manage operations and maintenance releases and the help desk for a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) client.  I’m a release manager for a team that manages a reporting database and front-end system.

Tell us about the organization for which you volunteer.

I serve as executive director of a non-profit I founded in 2001 called the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses (CANTER). Many racetrack owners and trainers aren’t aware that horses that retire from racing can have a productive life off the track as trail or dressage horses, family pets, or jumpers. Instead, horses are often sent to auction and subsequently slaughtered for meat. CANTER’s mission is to find these animals homes after their careers at the track are over.

What type of volunteer services do you provide to the organization?

I oversee a volunteer staff of about 35 people in six states who educate and encourage owners and trainers at racetracks about helping the horses make a transition to good homes rather than sending them to slaughter. In this way, CANTER has saved about 4,000 horses, and we’ve retrained and placed more than 90 in permanent homes. We also board some of the horses we rescue at farms and ranches, where they rest and receive veterinary care to nurture them back to health. In addition, CANTER’s website helps match prospective horse buyers with owners.

How has Booz Allen supported your volunteer commitment?

My managers at Booz Allen have always been very supportive of my creative scheduling. I usually work a modified or early schedule to fit in the needs of the organization. If I was not provided with these schedule changes, I would not be able to meet the needs of CANTER.

How are you able to leverage your skill set as a Booz Allen consultant to assist this organization?

Growing an organization from the ground up has been an amazing learning experience, and the skills I use to support Booz Allen’s clients are leveraged every day at CANTER. Motivating, inspiring, and leading a team of volunteers is a difficult task, and I rely on my experience working with great teams at Booz Allen for the skills I need. I have also found myself in a position of authority in the greater horse community and am often asked to speak publicly. In 2008, I testified to Congress at a hearing about the welfare of thoroughbreds. I told them about the horses I’ve rescued and advocated for racehorses and for the hundreds of people around the country who do what I do. Quite simply, my experience at Booz Allen allowed me to present my ideas clearly and with confidence. The firm taught me to think on my feet—a skill I value greatly.

Has your volunteer experience helped you with your professional development?

Just as my work at Booz Allen has helped me interact with a large group of volunteers, so have my volunteers assisted my relations with my team at Booz Allen. Volunteers come from all walks of life, education levels, and beliefs about the way things are and the way they should be. My involvement with such a varied group of personalities helped me see what works and what doesn’t in communications and delegation in my workplace.

What have you learned about yourself as a result of your volunteer experience?

I’ve learned that one person can have an amazing impact on the world, and a group of like-minded people can actually change it. I’ve learned how to stretch my day, manage my time, and set realistic goals. I’ve learned that people are kind and want to do kind things, and that my devotion to a cause has roused thousands of people in support. I’ve learned that “thank you” is the most important phrase in the world. Mostly, I’ve learned to be humble. The fact that thousands of people believe in the organization that I’ve grown and what my volunteers have built, and care enough to support it… That can be overwhelming, and so humbling.

What is the primary message you’d like your Booz Allen colleagues to know about your volunteer commitment?

I’d like to say thank you, for allowing me to pursue and support a cause that I so deeply believe in.

profile posted February 24, 2009