PROFESSIONAL INSIGHT
Rachel Davis
Teacher, Washoe County School District
I met Gayla while I was searching for supplemental income and volunteer opportunities. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience Gayla's passion for the work completed with her for many years. I was hired by her in 2014 and worked until 2019 at Amplify Life's yearly programs and summer camp, Camp Lotsafun. She was not just my boss but also became a mentor with each and every interaction with her over the years. She truly cares about every one around her and their own successes.
The leadership qualities she possesses are far beyond many supervisors I have had lead me. She empowers people to succeed by guiding them instead of telling them, she let me make my own decisions while working for her that created an enhanced learning environment for myself. I felt as if I had the authority and trust from her to make the right decisions she had instilled in me from day one as a camp counselor. She is a leader who earns the respect of others around her, she does not just expect it. She also shows those around her the respect they deserve and makes sure to treat all with equality and compassion.
Her passion for the work she does shines through in her attitude and work ethic, she goes above and beyond to make anything she does more than successful. She strives to exceed expectations in anything she puts effort into and it shows in many ways. She juggled more tasks than had been seen behind the scenes. She is very organized and it was apparent to those around her that she did it effortlessly so that the program succeeded without a glitch. Even if problems did arise she handled them with grace and managed them very efficiently.
Her amazing qualities of respect, rapport, work effort, and leadership shown through numerous interactions with her, even though this can be seen within a few hours of seeing her work. She goes above and beyond the call of duty to make every venture she pursues extremely successful. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Gayla and she will always be someone I admire and see as a mentor. Even though the work we did together was very challenging, it was her that empowered me to return year after year.
Renae Paholke
Parent of child with special needs
I am writing this letter of reference for Gayla because of the outstanding person inside and out that she is. I met Gayla six years ago when my son, Jordan, was going to summer camp with Camp Lotsafun. He went his first year and misbehaved so they said he could not go the next year. The following year, when it was time for summer camp again, is when I first talked to Gayla. She was very compassionate about the matter, and went to bat for Jordan. She convinced the powers that be to give him another chance. She did not even know him, but she was there for him. Jordan fell in love with Gayla, as did our whole family. Jordan gives her hugs every time he sees her and she hugs him right back. Jordan talks about going to summer camp all year long.
Gayla has made every event fun for everyone. She cares deeply for people with special needs and has so much compassion for them, and it is obvious that they all love her too. She is always surrounded by “campers.” Gayla is enthusiastic, dedicated, and has a passion for life. She always has a positive, outgoing attitude and has a great personality. She is witty and fun and her great spirit makes everyone around her feel comfortable. She is always working hard at events but still has time to greet everyone. There were times that were financially difficult for us, and Gayla always made sure Jordan could attend camp events with grants and scholarships; we are very grateful to her for that.
I cannot think of a better person in life with which I would want to work with or know.
Michael Graham
Former Amplify Life Counselor
Gayla I am truly grateful for the opportunity to work for you and the wonderful organization you run. Each time I work for you I learn something new about myself. I never in my life saw myself working in this population and as I move forward with my journey cannot imagine myself not being knee deep in this type of work. My heart has grown so much from the warmth I get from your staff. The relationships with the campers I’ve met over the past year of working camps are memories that will live on within my heart and soul for forever. Somethings in life seem so unbelievable until you’re standing face to face with them. The job you’ve given me falls into this category of disbelief. This summer in particular has been ground breaking for me. I have you to thank for that. The amount of passion you display for working with this population is something special, one of a kind in many ways. Each time I see you talk to a camper I witness a light in your eyes that one day I hope to find.
You’ve definitely been an amazing boss to work for and I know the ability to help others will expand to more than just the campers that have returned from previous years of being affiliated with Camp Lotsafun. Your vision of expansion is visible through the actions and dedication you have. In the beginning I questioned whether or not this was the right fit for me. You’ve helped unearth a part of me I never knew existed and at the same time revitalized my level of hope for others. I know from my experience that this job is extremely difficult and I can only imagine what it’s like for you. While at the same time you have the ability to make it look so easy or in another way of saying it, you make it look natural.
You’re such an amazing individual. You continue to inspire me to reach new heights of living and the giving of love, compassion, and empathy to others. I am forever appreciative for what you’ve taught me during my time working for you. From my heart, thank you for being you. Your thumbprint on the world, already has and will continue to change the lives of people living in it.
Karina Davis
Teacher
I met Gayla during my first summer as a counselor for Camp Lotsafun in 2014. Camp Lotsafun is a summer camp for people of all ages with special needs. She was very organized and confident in her position, however, I would discover it was her first year being in charge of camp; one would have never known.
At first, I was very nervous to attend camp and to take on the responsibilities of a counselor. Gayla was very encouraging and assured me I would be supported by her and the other counselors at camp. Her persuasion changed my summers forever. I look forward to camp every summer now and no longer doubt my abilities. Gayla is such a supportive person to her peers and subordinates. She treats everyone as an equal and never makes anyone feel less than their worth. I admire how she interacts with the campers at camp. Being an educator myself, one would think she had a background in education. I have seen her handle every kind of emotional situation skillfully and calmly. I am so amazed by her abilities. She is such a professional person to work for, but she knows how to have fun and is very interactive with the campers. Gayla makes sure to include everyone in everything in which they desire to participate. She can also be positively persuasive enough to get those that may not want to engage in activities, to take part.
I can do nothing short of aspire to be as caring as Gayla. During the summer of 2017, my husband was deployed and she heard there had been an accident involving a naval ship. Gayla called me on the phone just to make sure he was safe. We ended up talking for over an hour. Her compassion for people if just astonishing.
I consider myself privileged to know and work with Gayla. She is so professional, fun, and kind. She is devoted to her job no matter her title. It is without hesitation I refer Gayla to your organization, and am confident that Gayla will serve as a valuable asset to any organization.
Christopher Ripke
Amplify Life Client
I have been attending Camp Lotsafun (Amplify Life) Since 2011. I met Gayla at a fall camp in 2013. She had become the Executive Director. Ever since Gayla took her position as Executive Director she has done nothing but an amazing Job making Amplify Life what it is Today! She has helped transform and shape not only our campers but the counselors too! Gayla looked out for the best of all of us. Gayla has been there for us when we needed her the most. She acted as a mother figure to all of us and made sure we had fun at each event, whether it be a movie night at the theater or a craft night in the program office. She would accommodate us to make sure we would have Lotsafun!
Darren Warren, PhD
VP & General Manager at Comparative Biosciences
Gayla is a gifted marketing organizer, coordinator and director, and has a magnetic personality. She is a valued asset to any team needing marketing skills. I strongly recommend Gayla.
Cathie Haas
Retired Executive Assistant
Any company that has the opportunity to work with Gayla will be grateful for her insight and experience. Her enthusiastic and positive personality adds a breath of fresh air to all whom she is around. Her work ethics are to be admired, and her professionalism is to be emulated. Gayla excels at everything she does. She has an entrepreneurial spirit....one who can organize, operate and assume the risk for a business venture. I have the deepest respect for Gayla and recommend her for whatever position she may be interested in.
Patrick Lappin, PhD, DVM
Investigative Pathology Lead at Pfizer
During my 12 year tenure at Charles River Laboratories in Reno, Nevada (1997-2008), I had the opportunity to work with Gayla in her role of Marketing Manager for the site. I found Gayla to be uniquely suited to this role as an outgoing, positive, and results-oriented individual. While being individually innovative and highly productive, Gayla was the consummate team player with a very high level of loyalty to the company; she frequently used her innate ability to engage the appropriate individuals/talents to drive an assigned (or volunteered) process to an outstanding product. Her attention to detail resulted in some extraordinary job outcomes, including both site-based and corporate marketing brochures/sales tools which expanded the visible CRL footprint in the Contract Research Organization (CRO) marketplace.
Despite her strong results-driven work ethic, Gayla has always been cognizant of the needs of others, and has repeatedly made a concerted effort to reach out and help, both in and outside of work; this is done unselfishly and with no expectation of reward or reimbursement.
Deborah Curry
Global Director, Event Management at Charles River Laboratories
Gayla is the ultimate professional. She is extremely creative, organized, proactive and strategy-driven. She leaves a unique finger print on all she manages. She is the entire "Marketing" package. Any one who includes her on their Team is fortunate indeed.
Kristen Eisenhauer
Corporate Vice President, Global Client Services at Charles River Laboratories
Gayla is an incredibly creative and hard working individual. Her dedication to providing the highest quality product is second to none. Gayla only works with the highest set of standards and ethics. You can be sure that if Gayla is providing a service for you it will come in on-time, under budget and over your highest expectations.
Doug Kornbrust, PhD, DABT
President, Preclinsight
Gayla is a unique person both in terms of capabilities and core values. She is committed to personal enrichment, career achievements and family. She is one of the most creative persons I have known when it comes to problem-solving. Her resourcefulness and ingenuity are truly remarkable, and she succeeds in completing complex tasks, all without an ounce of complaining and with an amazingly bright disposition. Her enthusiasm for projects (i.e., "can do" disposition) is contagious, and she can breathe life into a lackluster initiative. Gayla's accomplishments of this sort are too numerous to describe, but she was invaluable to the company we worked for throughout the years. For all of these reasons, she was not only a pleasure to work with, but an extremely valuable "asset". It should also be mentioned that Gayla is very skillful at team-building and imparting her knowledge to others, and she can be relied upon in mentoring situations and in contributing to important decision-making. She is anything but shy and will clearly communicate her insights with impressive clarity and diplomacy. I can't count the number of times that she served as the major impetus on challenging projects.
To be a little more specific in citing an example of her ingenuity and resourcefulness, in the early days at Sierra Biomedical, when we were in dire need of better customer relations, Gayla not only identified that need, but took the initiative to develop a "sponsor relations" unit that featured much improved processes for client interactions and ultimately greatly benefited the company's flow of work. This strategy was later adopted on a much broader scale within the network of laboratories acquired by the parent company, Charles River Laboratories. Her "outside-of-the-box" thinking was also reflected in her approach to marketing the organization. At a time when many contract research labs were focused on traditional marketing tactics, i.e., touting services, facilities, execution, and/or quality in a manner that sounded like the same old "pitch", Gayla took a novel approach. She recognized that the company had made a concerted effort to recruit key thought leaders in the industry but was not effectively communicating the value of those assets to prospective customers. She devised a way of strategically placing this human intellect at the forefront of the company's marketing initiatives, but without incurring any major preoccupation on the part of those key scientists. These marketing efforts emphasized the collective scientific talent that the company had quietly and deliberately assembled as the ballast of the organization, positioning SBi in a unique light and fostering a rate of business development that yielded a 20-fold increase in the company's revenue over a roughly 10-year period. Gayla is a 'hands on' marketer, as she cuts right through to the heart of what makes an organization thrive, and effectively leverages those resources in developing her strategic marketing plans.
Gayla also possesses a strong entrepreneurial spirit. She has contributed to establishing numerous businesses. One recent example is Bomber Dogs, LLC. Gayla lent her product development experience and marketing talent to assist in the start-up of this web-based sneaker company, created by her daughter. I'm sure her daughter has acquired some of Gayla's skill set, but I could tell that Gayla was masterfully crafting the marketing materials and otherwise lending her invaluable support. She has also been instrumental in her husband's business initiatives.
In summary, Gayla possesses a unique set of communication and leadership skills, imbued with exceptional intelligence and creativity, and delivered in a "fun" package. I can't emphasize enough what a pleasure it has been to work with her. She truly stands out as an exceptional individual, among all of the many I have known over the years, and I am confident that any company lucky enough to bring her on board will be quite thrilled with that decision.