Meet Mary Kazmir

We recently connected with Mary Kazmir and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I believe the purpose I found to create and develop the persona of CLE Goose Girl and her educational program for elementary school students, adults and recovering addicts came from an unlikely place and unique set of circumstances. I was working as a dog handler for a company that manages nuisance Canada geese. A job I didn’t know existed 3 years ago. I was at a client site when a homeowner, who we had issues with before – threatened to kill us (dog handlers and the dog) because she was an “animal lover” and disagreed with what we were doing, In that moment, something fired off in my brain saying, “Not only is this woman crazy, but she seriously has no idea what we are actually doing, or why we are doing it.” She wasn’t the first person to verbally express their displeasure, but the only one who threatened to kill us. Most people use their phone to record and shame us on social media, hurl insults at us or call the police. These people who want to finger point and shame were the same ones feeding the birds bread and other human food that will eventually kill these birds. So through their own ignorance in thinking they were doing something to help the birds, they were setting these birds up for serious health problems and short lifespans. I wasn’t the villain, they were. Who knew the Canada goose would spark such passion in people? I knew that day I was going to develop an educational program to help the public understand the bird, its behaviors, the job of “goose chasing’ , the smarter than smart border collie who chases, and when human intervention – like feeding wildlife – can have catastrophic consequences. When some creative people say the idea fell into their lap, I feel similar to that concept, in that woman’s serious threat was a gift to me. An idea on how to educate and create understanding, I was driven beyond anything previously in my life, to move forward – to create, develop and market this educational approach with such conviction and confidence that I didn’t recognize it within myself. It was a contradiction to my usual negative self-talk leading to nowhere – to full speed ahead and getting an LLC, developing a lesson plan that fit into existing curriculum and mass emails to schools and social organizations.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

CLE Goose Girl is the expert on everything Canada goose and border collies. She offers local teachers the opportunity to enhance their established curriculums with an outside expert bringing in real world experience and examples of animal and human behaviors, the consequences of ecosystem destruction, human and animal adaptation and why many species of wildlife need to be managed based on available resources and negative human interaction. It sounds like a lot, however the students and adults I have had the pleasure to speak with are open minded and ask a lot of questions. I’m encouraged with the younger students as in my experience as CLE Goose Girl, the younger students are more in tune with the impacts of wildlife eating the wrong diet – and I attribute that to many stories relating to plastic in the oceans and other areas, where wildlife is ingesting it causing pain and death for the animals. I have a permanent image of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose – so no doubt our younger generation is subjected to these types of images daily. In my conversations with younger students, there appears to be a more healthy respect for wildlife, whereas some of the audiences more my age, have a more Disney-like approach to wildlife where birds will land on your finger while you sing together in the woods. It’s just not realistic. The hands-off approach is best, yet we also see daily images and videos of adults in national parks not respecting boundaries and getting too close. Animals react with aggression when they feel threatened. Despite the warnings, it continues to happen. For me success will be a steady increase in brand awareness and an eagerness to have me speak with their group. I have modified the presentation to appeal to STEM students in discussing more complex science and math. I also created a specific presentation for adults in transition from addiction giving them a different perspective on changing behavior. I relate it to the stories of dog and goose behavior and how quickly it is changed or modified when things get uncomfortable. Sometimes for a mental lightbulb to turn on or a moment of clarity to strike, it takes a different approach from conventional teaching. CLE Goose Girl has developed a math test, reading list and general quiz for students – to enhance the educational concepts. She also leaves behind a stuffed border collie to encourage young students to read out loud with a non judgmental reading buddy. Everyone also receives a small packet of wildflowers to plant, in lieu of feeding wildlife. Wild flowers provide food for pollinators as well as seeds to encourage natural foraging behaviors.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Research, confidence and story telling. I knew once I was going to create an educational presentation, I launched myself into research. I already had learned quite a bit from just daily exposure to these animals, but I knew I needed to be the expert in the room. I spent hours doing online research, anticipating questions people would ask and making sure the information fit into existing school curriculum – again making it a positive enhancement for what teachers were already required to teach. I did test presentations to my target age groups to judge if I had the right ages based on how long I could keep their attention and the types of questions they asked. I knew I wanted to have the reading list, the quiz and the math test as bonus pieces to make the educators job easier. I provided different levels of difficulty so teachers could pick and choose the level of questions they felt their students should be able to answer. I already had a healthy background in public speaking, so it was then a matter of creating a logical order of information so the presentation felt more like a story vs hearing a boring lecture. Putting together a colorful and fun slide show to keep them engaged and not check out, was also a challenge. I think once a person has decided to start a journey like this, it really comes down to knowing you are the expert, the smartest person in the room when it comes to your topic. Definitely try it out on test groups to see if you are on track with the information, length of the presentation and based on the questions they ask – if your information confusing them – or really creating an atmosphere where they are thinking and forming opinions or perhaps challenging what they thought they knew. There is so much misinformation out in the world, so when you come in as the expert, you want to make sure you have double and triple checked your information, because there will be someone who will challenge everything you say.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

Two years ago a good friend basically told me to see a therapist. There were so many things holding me back in my personal and then professional life, it was crippling. I was stuck in the muddy waters of complacently and mediocrity. Nothing I did was fun. Nothing I did was creative. I was stuck and unhappy. While I knew she was right, that first step was the most difficult, Once I made my mind up to seek help, it was a high speed train of change and personal growth. I believe that advice and my relationship with a great therapist is what is projecting this new journey with CLE Goose Girl and educating people on wild animal habits and ecosystems. I had the skills, they have always been there, it was the mental blocks, negative self-talk, fear of failure and caring more what others thought about me – than me taking the steps needed to be successful. The path to reaching your goals and being a success as how you see it, is within reach. For me it was understanding why I never followed the path and many times self sabotaged my efforts to manage a perceived failure. Looking back, I get frustrated on how many times I was “so close” to reaching a goal and being successful in so many different endeavors, however I need to look at those experiences as necessary lessons to bring me where I am today – excited, motivated and full of optimism for what is ahead.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.kazmir.9