Amy Lasher
Episode 149

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of the Story and Experience podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of Story and Experience podcast. In this particular episode, I'm in the studio sitting opposite the guest, which is nice. Much better than being online, virtual, which is fine, but it's just great to see this person. They are smiling, beaming, so this is a good sign that it's going to go well. We have a hundred questions and they progressively become more vulnerable, close to 100 about stories and experiences that shape this person into the leader that they are today. So I'm going to begin with the first 10. Then I'll hand over to them and I'll ask the first one, what's your name? And does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Amy Lasher: Oh, that's a good one. So I'll start with my proper name, given-

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, your proper name.

Amy Lasher: My proper name.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, I didn't know you had a proper name.

Amy Lasher: Since I'm speaking to ... It makes me want to use that word proper, speaking to you with your accent. My proper name. My name is Amanjit Kaur Lasher.

Japhet De Oliveira: No way.

Amy Lasher: Oh yeah. This was a good place to start.

Japhet De Oliveira: No way.

Amy Lasher: You thought it was a simple question.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no way.

Amy Lasher: Number one.

Japhet De Oliveira: Say it again.

Amy Lasher: Amanjit Kaur Lasher.

Japhet De Oliveira: Amanjit?

Amy Lasher: Amanjit.

Japhet De Oliveira: Amanjit.

Amy Lasher: Correct. Yeah. Kaur Lasher. Uh-huh.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh wow. Beautiful.

Amy Lasher: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: I just called you Amy.

Amy Lasher: We went deep on the first question.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah. We did.

Amy Lasher: Yeah. That is my name given as part of my Sikh faith and heritage by my parents. And they decided back when I was ... It's funny, back when I was born, there was more of a push to assimilate. It's very different from these days, the culture, but so they went with Amy.

Japhet De Oliveira: And you were born 500 years ago apparently. It was another millennia.

Amy Lasher: As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Amy Lasher: Yes. Yeah so-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Back in 1903.

Amy Lasher: Back in the 20th century.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Back in the 20...

Japhet De Oliveira: That's interesting.

Amy Lasher: Yes. So Amanjit is my proper name. I go by Amy.

Japhet De Oliveira: And does your family call you Amy or do they call you Amanjit?

Amy Lasher: Oh, my mom calls me Amani, which is a little nickname. And yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Amy Lasher: Amy is pretty broad because I got it, I don't even remember how it came about, who created that nickname, but it's been there my whole life. But yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. So now I got to ask, in your ID.

Amy Lasher: Oh, okay. If you want to talk about an identity crisis right now.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Amy Lasher: So I have on my ID, Amanjit Lasher. That is my proper name and my maiden name. So all my legal documents.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Amy Lasher: I haven't legally changed my name after marriage yet and I'm getting around to it eventually.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay. Are you planning to or maybe not?

Amy Lasher: Originally, I didn't see the need so much.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: But after becoming a mother, now I have a different name from my children and it's-

Japhet De Oliveira: You have to explain it every time.

Amy Lasher: Yeah, every time. I love keeping people guessing, who's family am I a part... Am I related to my kids or not? So yeah. I'll have to get there once I figure out ...

Japhet De Oliveira: She's a great nanny.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Looks just like them. It's amazing.

Amy Lasher: Right.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Well Amy, that's good. All right, thank you. Amy ...

Amy Lasher: Now that you know who I am.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no. I mean, I'm curious as to how all these questions will go. Share what you do for your work. "Well, I don't work."

Amy Lasher: Well the real answer there, so I am Director of Community Impact. System Director of Community Impact here.

Japhet De Oliveira: For ....

Amy Lasher: For ...

Japhet De Oliveira: Adventist Health. [inaudible 00:04:13].

Amy Lasher: For Adventist Health. For Adventist Health. Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Community impact.

Amy Lasher: Community impact. Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow. And community impact is not like an impact drill. So what is community impact?

Amy Lasher: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Yes. I will say the philosophy behind everything we do is the fact that in order to best meet the needs of the communities we serve, we need to reach outside of the walls of our hospitals and our facilities and meet our communities where they're at. And that is the underlying philosophy behind everything we do on our community impact team and everything we do to support our markets. A lot of the things that we do, people will have heard about Community Health Needs Assessments, which are very active project right now. Community benefit reporting, and then we have community-based projects. But everything is about, how do we reach people where they're at before they enter the walls of our health system.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay.

Amy Lasher: And get them what they need.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. So you guys are actively seeking community, irrespective whether they're connected to the hospital or not?

Amy Lasher: Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Lasher: Exactly. With the assumption that-

Japhet De Oliveira: Within footprint of ...

Amy Lasher: Within the footprint, exactly. With the assumption that we are serving our communities eventually, whether they are actively engaging with our health system or have once in a while engaged or maybe in the future, we are the hospital.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Amy Lasher: Yeah. We serve that community.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. So you help them out whether they come to our clinics or hospitals or they go somewhere else.

Amy Lasher: Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's about doing good for them.

Amy Lasher: Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like that. That's great. And how long have you been doing this?

Amy Lasher: Oh, I've been on this team for five years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Lasher: So I was doing a little bit of this work prior to AH with a different organization, but it's been amazing, rewarding, hard. And I love it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's fantastic. Especially through COVID.

Amy Lasher: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Yeah. As you can imagine.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. That blip. Yeah, I know. Changed the world. Hey, that's great. In the morning when you get up, Amy ... Well actually, let me ask you this. Are you an early riser or late night owl?

Amy Lasher: Oh. So I have two young kids and you can imagine.

Japhet De Oliveira: So you're a late night owl and a ...

Amy Lasher: And an early riser. Yeah, I get up pretty early.

Japhet De Oliveira: And what's pretty early? Like 10 o'clock?

Amy Lasher: Oh yeah. Hey, if my alarm clock would let me sleep until 10 A.M.

Japhet De Oliveira: [inaudible 00:06:43] maybe.

Amy Lasher: Yeah, that would be amazing. Probably anywhere between five to six. Maybe 6:30 if I'm pushing it.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. All right.

Amy Lasher: If I'm sleeping in.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. And then late nights still?

Amy Lasher: Late nights. That is dictated by my sixteen-month-old at home. So it's really whatever he's in the mood for. If it's an early night, I'm headed in early with him. If it's a late night, then we're partying.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, I hear you. I hear you.

Amy Lasher: We're doing that too.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's good. That's good. So in the morning, five o'clock, you get up. What's your drink of the day? Do you have water, coffee, tea, liquid green smoothie?

Amy Lasher: Oh, I enjoy a good coffee in the mornings.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah? Black or with ...

Amy Lasher: With little milk.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah? Yeah?

Amy Lasher: Yeah. With a little milk. And that's a practice I started after having kids. I was never a coffee drinker before.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really?

Amy Lasher: But now it's ...

Japhet De Oliveira: You're like, "This is my go-to."

Amy Lasher: I'm saying good night to my Nespresso machine every night. "I'll see you in the morning."

Japhet De Oliveira: I'll see you in the morning. It's good that you have a relationship with the coffee machine. That's great. Hey. When you woke up this morning five-ish or so, first thought that went through your mind?

Amy Lasher: I'll share a little tidbit of my life here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Lasher: So I co-sleep with my son, my younger son. And often, most days when I wake up, he's the first thing I see. His little ...

Japhet De Oliveira: That's amazing. That's amazing.

Amy Lasher: Precious little face. And I feel so, so lucky when I see that. I wake up and I see him, I'm just like, "Wow, this is ..."

Japhet De Oliveira: I felt the same way about my two boys.

Amy Lasher: This is the life. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: And it's just that, just immense gratitude. It probably sounds a little bit different every day, but I look at him and I think, "Wow, this is my life. I have this beautiful child here with me that ..." or if he's sleeping and then I'm saying, "Oh, I wish I were him right now. I'm glad you're able to sleep. Thank you for waking me up."

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. Hey, that's good.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's really good. That's really good. If people were to describe your personality, Amy, would they say you're an introvert or an extrovert? Would you agree with them?

Amy Lasher: I think that probably that depends on the person. I'll say I'm probably more introverted in that I really like reflecting and I really like questioning things and really working out, what is the truth of a situation, however that sounds. That sounds a little cliche when I say that out loud, but I think how reflective I am is, yeah, I would say a more introverted.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's a reflective part of your life. You do that with everything? With work, with your personal stuff?

Amy Lasher: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Reflective person?

Amy Lasher: Yes, absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: You soak it in?

Amy Lasher: Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: Not a quick reaction. You enjoy to process.

Amy Lasher: I do.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Lasher: And when I do have a quick reaction, it's probably because it's something I've already processed. Just in full disclosure.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. No, no, no, no. That's fine, that's fine. That's good. I like that. That's good. All right, where were you born?

Amy Lasher: Oh, I was born in Yuba City, California.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. All right.

Amy Lasher: What's called previously Fremont Hospital, part of Fremont right out hospital. So in our service area, one of our service areas.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's fantastic. Now, when you were a child there, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Amy Lasher: Oh, different things.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah?

Amy Lasher: Gosh. So I am born to immigrants from India. So I've always had that immense pressure of, whatever it was, I need to be making it worth that journey. It better be worth.

Japhet De Oliveira: [inaudible 00:10:39]. All right, all right. Crossing on content.

Amy Lasher: Yes, yes. It has to better be worth that. That was a long trip. So I had it drilled in me from an early age. My mother was the one that was more disciplined and discerning in that way around career. So from her perspective, I got it. It always had to be something with financial security and something that would provide for me and give me a good life.

My dad was always, he was a fun lover. So it was a good balance. But director was up there. We would watch Bollywood films growing up and I was like, "I want to create this. I want to do this."

Japhet De Oliveira: Lots of color.

Amy Lasher: Yeah, lots of color and movement and dancing.

Japhet De Oliveira: Lots of dancing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: What's not to like? And I was a big fan. Oh, I'm completely jumping to a-

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's okay.

Amy Lasher: Different side of things. I was a big fan of Judge Judy.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. So director or Judge Judy. Film director or judge.

Amy Lasher: Or Judge Judy. Really admired and still do, Jane Goodall. And so primatologist was thrown in the mix. And then I eventually, with some life experiences, landed in healthcare.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. The perfect combination.

Amy Lasher: The perfect combination of those three things. The culmination.

Japhet De Oliveira: Lots of color.

Amy Lasher: Yeah, of primatologist, TV judge personality, and yeah, director.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really cool. That's great. That's fantastic. All right. Hey, this is the leadership question. Are you a backseat driver with your team?

Amy Lasher: Sometimes I fake it till I make it with these phrases. I mentioned, I was born to Indian immigrants and these terms were never used in my household.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're like, "What is that?"

Amy Lasher: So I'm going to ask you to confirm that so I answer it exactly right.

Japhet De Oliveira: What I mean by backseat driver?

Amy Lasher: Backseat driver.

Japhet De Oliveira: I've tried to not actually answer that for anybody. So to honor you, I'm going to say-

Amy Lasher: Thank you. Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. I'm going to say that it's a phrase to describe how you see other people in your team. Do you actually have to be with them or do you like to co-pilot with them? Do you like to remove them out of seat and drive everything? Or do you like to actually be at the backseat and let them do their own thing?

Amy Lasher: Oh, okay. Yes. Yeah, I could have taken that in a few different directions.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know. I know. It's fun. Yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome.

Amy Lasher: Thank you. You really, thanks.

Japhet De Oliveira: All of them are good answers by the way.

Amy Lasher: Okay, great.

Japhet De Oliveira: None of them are bad. It's not like, "Oh."

Amy Lasher: Okay, let me write that down in my ... So I let my team be very autonomous.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Lasher: I think that's my leadership style. I would much rather my team be fast and furious, move forward and iterate and correct rather than waiting for me to tell them exactly how to do it. So I make sure to share my leadership philosophy, my philosophy on a project and what I hear of other leaders. I make sure to set them up with a project. And then from my perspective, that's what they're here for. They're bringing their vision, their bringing their creativity to the craft, and it's worked really well.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. I like that a lot. That's good. All right. So floor is open now. You get to pick between 11 and 100 where you want to go and yeah.

Amy Lasher: Oh, okay. Let's ...

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. What number? Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Sure. Let's go with a 13, a soft ...

Japhet De Oliveira: 13. Walk us through the ideal end of your day.

Amy Lasher: Oh, ideal end of the day.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Amy Lasher: Oh gosh. When people talk about work-life balance, this is something that, I'm not the type that has a hard line between my work and my life. I'll put it that way.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. You blend them.

Amy Lasher: I blend them and I make sure there is a symbiotic relationship there. Meaning if there are times where my work needs a little bit more of me, I'll be there. If there are times where my family needs a little bit more of me, I will be there. And so, end of day looks a little bit different just depending on who needs me that day.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure. Sure. Sure.

Amy Lasher: And so I would say it's always a soft launch into my family life. So I do look forward to spending that downtime with my family and so I'll wrap up with the most pressing items I need to complete in my work day. I've been trying to cook meals and be really intentional about that.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: At home. And really trying to slow down.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good luck.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Let me know how that goes for you.

Amy Lasher: Yes. Really trying to. That's one thing after having kids is just the realization that any small moments that we might, after years, consider monotonous, there's potential for thrill and enthusiasm and happiness and joy in any small thing. But it's when you have a million things meshed together in routine and you miss that. There's potential to be excited about making dinner.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. There is.

Amy Lasher: There is potential. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, no, no. There is. There is. Because dinner is an art and it's creative. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Amy Lasher: It is. And I'm wrestling with making time for it so that I can be. So that's something I've been trying to do with my days. And in the end of day, it really shows up because beginning of day and end of day, it feels like there's so many things to do.

Japhet De Oliveira: Always. Always. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Beginning and end. So that's where simplicity really comes into play is making sure I slow down, focus on a couple things at a time and try and enjoy them even though dinner has to happen, the kids need to be at the dinner table. All of these things need to happen at the end of the day. But how do I eliminate the noise however I can, focus on one thing at a time, and try and slow down?

Japhet De Oliveira: I've got to ask you, just because I'm learning to cook myself right now, so I'm just going to ask you, do you find it easy to bring all the items together, that they're all hot at the right time? Or do you find they're off a little bit?

Amy Lasher: Oh my gosh. This is something where I'm trying to eliminate pressure from myself a little bit.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Okay. You're welcome.

Amy Lasher: I'm like, "Put it on the table. Whoever's ready to eat, eat it. Whatever. Order it." It's like, "Okay, it's ready. So come and get it." So from an ease of doing things, I do like prepping everything.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's good.

Amy Lasher: I felt that just makes things go way quicker.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So you're a preparer. Reflective and preparing. Okay. That's good. That's good.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good. Theme coming out here. All right, where do you want to go next? Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Let's go with, let's go with 20.

Japhet De Oliveira: 20. All right. Tell us about something you would give a rate, 10 out of 10.

Amy Lasher: Oh.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: A 10 out of 10.

Japhet De Oliveira: A 10 out of 10 from Amy Lasher.

Amy Lasher: Oh, I have to think about this one. A product?

Japhet De Oliveira: Could be.

Amy Lasher: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Oh, I took the kids, I vacation with my kids. The first flight.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's usually not a good 10 out 10 experience.

Amy Lasher: No, it's usually not. And I think my expectations were not that it would be a 10 out 10. Maybe that's why it did end up being a 10 out of 10. We went to Oahu.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah. Nice.

Amy Lasher: And we stayed on Waikiki. I have a 16-month-old and an almost 4-year-old, so a 3-year-old. And it was my husband and myself and my mother-in-law. So we had an extra set of hands, but gosh. We had just an amazing time. And I was joking with Christine out there right before our call saying, "When you're a parent and you go on vacation, you're just watching your kids somewhere else."

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure. Sure, sure. Let's be honest. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: We were reflecting on the term, is it a vacation or is it a trip? So I'll use those words in interchangeably now. So maybe it was just a trip. But there is something about just the change in energy. And I admit, it doesn't have to be, you have to jump to different islands to get this, but the change in energy that comes from being in a different place. The difference in the way that, if you're a parent, the way you see your kids when you're out of routine and the expectation of routine is not there. And it's almost like you get to see your kids in a different ...

Japhet De Oliveira: Responding to different environments,

Amy Lasher: Respond to different environment. Almost in their true form. That sounds a little heavy, but it's almost like, if they weren't inundated with routine and expectation, what would they do? What would their day be like?

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you have a lot of expectations for your kids already?

Amy Lasher: I try not to. I really, really might not to.

Japhet De Oliveira: You try not to.

Amy Lasher: And I would say I don't think I do. I think I'm using the term expectation even to mean things like putting toys away or very innocent. The eating breakfast is an expectation I have. Eating breakfast it's a pretty low bar, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Okay.

Amy Lasher: It's a pretty low bar, but when you go on on vacation or a trip, you let go of some of those things that you're holding onto when it's a school day. "Oh, everyone's got to eat breakfast before you head out the door." And maybe sometimes things don't have to happen.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Amy Lasher: In that exact way.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's insightful. I like that. Good. All right. Where next?

Amy Lasher: Oh, let's go with 25.

Japhet De Oliveira: 25. All right. Oh, share the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

Amy Lasher: Oh, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Amy's now thinking ...

Amy Lasher: There's too many things now. There's too many things.

Japhet De Oliveira: She's thinking, "Do I say my first child, my second child?" No, no. When they listen to this in a few years time from now, what did mommy say?

Amy Lasher: Yeah. Choose a different topic.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Oh my goodness. Yeah. Bringing children into this world is, for those who've been privileged to experience that can probably understand, there's nothing like it. Nothing can prepare you for it. It's just bliss on earth. It's just, yeah. The most beautiful thing has been bringing my children into onto earth. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Hey, I understand. That's fantastic. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. Where next, Amy?

Amy Lasher: Oh, let's go. We'll go progressive.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, sure.

Amy Lasher: Let's go. 27.

Japhet De Oliveira: 27? All right. Bring us into your kitchen. You make a special meal.

Amy Lasher: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: What would it be?

Amy Lasher: Okay, so I'll share something. I've been recently trying to incorporate more dishes from my heritage that I grew up in.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh wow. Isn't that hard? Indian food is not easy.

Amy Lasher: It's not.

Japhet De Oliveira: No.

Amy Lasher: It's intimidating.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Oh. I'm going to give you a secret.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Lasher: Okay. I'm going to give you a secret. A [inaudible 00:23:17].

Japhet De Oliveira: [inaudible 00:23:17].

Amy Lasher: Yeah. There's these ready-made meals you can get from Walmart. You can ...

Japhet De Oliveira: Amazing.

Amy Lasher: Anywhere. They're actually pretty good now. If you buy these days, they really cracked the code there. So actually, the trick to Indian food, and I don't know why my mom waited so long to share this with me, maybe she-

Japhet De Oliveira: Secret.

Amy Lasher: Yeah. And it wasn't even her sharing it. I was like, "Mom, is it this?" And she goes, "Yeah, that's what it is." So you really just do, I think in English it'd be called a saute of the spices, the aromatics, onion, garlic, ginger, your spices, salt, pepper, turmeric.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure.

Amy Lasher: And then you mix that with whatever vegetable or meat you want to cook.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Lasher: So it's the same base you can use for any dish.

Japhet De Oliveira: Everything.

Amy Lasher: And you just change out the vegetables and meats. And you could tweak the spice mix a little bit. Does that make it easier at all?

Japhet De Oliveira: No, it does not.

Amy Lasher: No? It doesn't? Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Because that little sauce is the thing that's really difficult to make. Right? So yeah. Yeah. We are recording this. Just for the record, I just don't know if this is actually going to work. Everybody's listening like, "Yeah, sure. That sounds easy." That was a great secret. Thank you for sharing that.

Amy Lasher: Very helpful.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're very helpful. Amy, that was very helpful. All right, good. You changed the world.

Amy Lasher: I'm glad.

Japhet De Oliveira: You can go back to your mom and let her know.

Amy Lasher: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. All right, where next after 27's great answer?

Amy Lasher: Let's go to 30.

Japhet De Oliveira: 30. All right. Tell us about something you're really looking forward to.

Amy Lasher: Oh, so speaking of trips, we're going on another one.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, good.

Amy Lasher: So the first one went very well. And so my husband and I, we hadn't traveled since, so 2019 was the last time we traveled together on a vacation or a trip.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh wow. Yeah. Pre-COVID.

Amy Lasher: Pre-COVID. So 2019. In early 2020, I was expecting our first son. And of course, with young children, we were just delaying trips. With COVID, we were delaying trips. And so now we're going on our second flight. We're going to England.

Japhet De Oliveira: I was going to say, fantastic. What a great choice. And that was what you would rate 10 out 10.

Amy Lasher: The choice.

Japhet De Oliveira: The choice. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: The choice of selecting England as a ... Yeah,

Japhet De Oliveira: I may be biased.

Amy Lasher: Maybe.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's good. Where in England are you from?

Southeast London.

Amy Lasher: Southeast London. Okay. So where-

Japhet De Oliveira: I pointed at it like there was a map on the table.

Amy Lasher: Like there's a map right here.

Japhet De Oliveira: [inaudible 00:26:16].

Amy Lasher: Well, thank goodness. Now I know.

Japhet De Oliveira: Just in case you didn't know, it was right there. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: So yeah. Really looking forward to it.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Amy Lasher: Both my husband and I have family in England, outskirts of Birmingham.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, it's going to be great. You're going to have great. And the food. I mean, English food.

Amy Lasher: What it's known for.

Japhet De Oliveira: Indian.

Amy Lasher: Yeah. Yeah, you're right.

Japhet De Oliveira: What can I say?

Amy Lasher: You're right. Yeah, that's it. I'll bring better tips. I'll bring better tips from England.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Bring back, another episode. Another tip is that you heat it up. It's amazing. I'm like, that's again, very insightful. Okay. All right. Let's go to the next one, shall you?

Amy Lasher: I'm working on my cookbook.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, it's going to be a bestseller. Once you make the base.

Amy Lasher: Oh, brutal.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, everything else is just easy. Okay, so what next? Which number?

Amy Lasher: Let's go with 35.

Japhet De Oliveira: 35. Oh. Share a special interest or talent that you have.

Amy Lasher: Oh, special interest or talent. Maybe I'll go with interest. Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Right. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: So I guess this is getting into professional a little bit.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure.

Amy Lasher: One, it's a big personal and professional interest. And that is around, I'm trying not to make it sound boring. I'm trying to choose words that are more exciting. But really ...

Japhet De Oliveira: But really, it's boring. No.

Amy Lasher: No, what a good preface.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Lasher: The intersection of nutrition and our food systems in America.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes. That actually is a real issue.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's not boring. That's actually a real issue.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Now, unpack that because that's a real issue right now that's come up in recent times.

Amy Lasher: Yeah. And it's really connected to my background. I come from a family long line in history of farming that goes back to India. So I can't even count how many generations, but my family, when they came to America, both my mom and dad were farm workers and my late father was a farm worker up until when he passed away. And just having a glimpse into that part of our food systems, how food is grown. My husband is a farmer, and everything it takes to get to the table. And then in healthcare, we see the flip side about the impact of what consumption actually looks like of our food systems.

Japhet De Oliveira: Right. Yeah. Or lack of it.

Amy Lasher: Or lack of food systems. Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Right.

Amy Lasher: Exactly. And is it's just a complete mess that's uninspiring. It's a complete mess. And here's the thing. There is so much potential.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true.

Amy Lasher: We live in the food capital, one of the food capitals of America, of the world. There's not a shortage of supply. One of the things I wrestle with is, and this relates back to healthcare, growing up here, there's been such an emphasis on clinical studies and what's been clinically proven to be effective in health. And in recent years in my health, what I've seen is the massive impact that food has on health. And it's just wild to me that we're not sharing that messaging.

There's no way for a young person, let's say, in the school system. We're not sharing the impact of food and lifestyle and how all those things can change a person's world, that information is not out there the way that information around therapeutics is out there. So we couldn't touch on all the things that impact people's choices in this space. It's everything from financial stability to education to access. I mean, there's so many things that touch on nutrition and food systems and how people make the choices that they can make.

That said, organizations and people in authority or in seats where people look to you for information, there is a huge gap in sharing things that a lot of us might see as obvious as, food does impact health.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, it does.

Amy Lasher: And that has been neglected in healthcare. That has been neglected. That fact has been neglected in our society for so long. And it's time to acknowledge that really boldly. It's time to empower people, empower our communities because this is a place where people can take control of their lives and make changes. This is one place in a world where it feels like you don't have control over things. You may not have control over what income you make or what job you have. Of course, food access is different, but there are some things when it comes to what we put in our bodies, there's a bigger sense of control there. And if we can empower our community with resources to be able to make the right choices ...

Japhet De Oliveira: You can transform it.

Amy Lasher: It can be transformative.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's great. That's great. Amy, we time for just two more numbers.

Amy Lasher: Oh my goodness.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know. Crazy.

Amy Lasher: Let's go. Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, so where do you want to go with the last two numbers? Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Okay, let's go a little deeper. 70.

Japhet De Oliveira: 70. All right, here we go. Tell us about one thing that you're determined to accomplish. One thing you are determined to accomplish.

Amy Lasher: Okay. So I touched on empowering our communities with that food systems and nutrition. Philosophically, that is such a low hanging fruit if you think about it. We have everything we need in, I'll say our country, to solve that problem. The challenge and the devastation there is the incentives are not lined up to do so.

Japhet De Oliveira: Right.

Amy Lasher: So that's a place where I can't turn my back to that. We see all the time working in healthcare the impacts of people not being able to secure what they need for their families. Not being able to feed their families, not being able to feed the right foods to their families. We know a lot of our communities are in food deserts. We know the impacts of these things, not just in healthcare, but beyond that. And that's something I'm motivated about and I'm excited about some partnerships I'm working on in that space, but there's just tremendous potential there. And yeah, something I'm really ...

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, in part, knowing you, this is actually what drives you in your work.

Amy Lasher: Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Right? Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: You want to see those changes and education. Yeah.

Amy Lasher: Exactly. Yes. And it's about, part of our Community Health Needs Assessments, the goal is to understand our communities. Who are we serving? Who are the people in our communities? And when you get a glimpse into that and you see who are those families and who are those people, I think all of us could see a part of ourselves in those communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: I love the reports you guys create for the entire Adventist Health. It's open to the public. People get to read about what's happening every quarter and on community impact. It's fantastic to see things are happening. So it's good. It's good. I know you like putting that stuff together as well, so it's good. That's good. I appreciate it.

Amy Lasher: This guy makes us, he emails us for ...

Japhet De Oliveira: Somebody does, I don't know. We're going to say but let's go to last number.

Amy Lasher: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Last number. Where do you want to go?

Amy Lasher: Do I want to do a hundred? Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Your choice.

Amy Lasher: Let's do 100.

Japhet De Oliveira: 100. All right. Tell us about one question you don't want to answer.

Amy Lasher: Maybe if you were to ask me what keeps you up night?

Japhet De Oliveira: That's a tough one for lots of people.

Amy Lasher: Yeah. That's a tough one. Mm-hmm.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's a real one. There are things that wake us up. Before I ask you, can I ask you this? Have you found a secret of how to go back to bed when you wake up with something like that?

Amy Lasher: No, but if you have a tip. I don't know if you want to hear any more of my tips.

Japhet De Oliveira: Apparently it requires power. Yeah. So Amy, what actually does wake you up?

Amy Lasher: You'd think I'd have the answer to this. I would say, I'll preface this with saying, I am a huge empath, which you could probably gather from the line of work I'm in.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know.

Amy Lasher: And so, one of the challenges, I'll keep this broad. One of the challenges with how we all ... And it goes back to slowing down. How we all live these days is we have a constant source of information at all times. And it's information that, in different times in history, we would've never had access to impacting all parts of the world. And I would never want to live in, what's the phrase? Ignorance is bliss. I don't know. I don't know if I would want to live in complete ignorance.

Japhet De Oliveira: You'd rather know.

Amy Lasher: I would rather know. And I believe the heart is a muscle. And yeah. We could turn a blind eye to pain and suffering in the world or we could use that to build our muscles, build our tolerance and our resilience to tackle big problems in a way that the world needs us to. And so to answer your question around, how do you go back to sleep? I don't.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know. When you have something that deep and heavy, I can understand why it would wake you up.

Amy Lasher: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: It does seem impossible, but informing in the way that people need to hear is hard. I'm glad it wakes you up.

Amy Lasher: Thank you. Me too.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm sad it wakes you up, but I'm glad it wakes you up. I mean, that's actually who you are. So that's true and that's tough and that's the thing to carry. Amy, it has been a privilege and honor to be able to speak with you. And thank you for taking the time to do this. I want to encourage people to do the same thing. When we ask questions of each other, we learn not only about the person, but it actually makes us think reflectively as well about ourselves.

Amy Lasher: Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: Right.

Amy Lasher: Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: And you being a reflective person ...

Amy Lasher: I loved this exercise.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, you have a lot.

Amy Lasher: This is great.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Lot to think about as well. So thank you so much for that time.

Amy Lasher: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm going to encourage people to do the same thing as well. And until we meet again, God bless you and God bless all listeners as well.

Amy Lasher: Thank you.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for the Story and Experience podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story and Experience podcast was bought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.