Pioneers > BINDU
Pioneers > BINDU VARGHESE ’01 , ’13 Hospital CEO > GETTING AHEAD “My success is truly based on the education I’ve received from TWU.” BREAKING THROUGH MBA to CEO Bindu Varghese ’01, ’13 is the first woman CEO of color in the nation’s largest rehab hospital network BINDU VARGHESE’S LIFE changed direction when, in high school, her grandmother had a stroke. Watching her physical therapy sessions, Varghese was amazed to see her progress from being completely paralyzed on one side to eventually taking steps with a walker. The experience inspired Varghese to study occupational therapy as an undergraduate student at TWU. After graduating in 2001, she worked as a therapist at HealthSouth Sugarland Rehabilitation Hospital and was quickly promoted to director of therapy operations. Though initially filled with “self-doubt and fear,” Varghese became confident enough in management that she decided to return to TWU for her Executive MBA, which she earned in 2013—while seven months pregnant and parenting a toddler. She says her degree was made possible by the program’s flexibility, which accommodates working mothers like herself. “Many schools don’t provide that,” she notes. Today, Varghese is CEO of Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Sugarland—part of the largest inpatient rehab hospital network in the nation—and the first woman of color to occupy the position. “Growing up as a little brown girl in this big old world, I never imagined that I would be a CEO,” Varghese says. “My success is truly based on the education I’ve received from TWU.” 20 TEXAS WOMAN’S
STEPHANIE BROWN, Ph.D. Pet therapy program founder STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES Pet project > RANDI MILLER History-making coach and Olympian WRESTLING MAKING HISTORY ON THE MAT Randi Miller is used to being among the first IN 2001, SHE COMPETED in one of Texas’ first girls’ state wrestling tournaments. She then won bronze in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win a wrestling medal. “I don’t remember being nervous,” Miller says of her Olympic experience. “I remember being prepared and ready. I just treated it like any other competition.” Now, she’s breaking ground at Texas Woman’s, as the university’s first women’s wrestling coach, building a team from the ground up and preparing her athletes to compete beginning in the fall of 2022. “I’ve always wanted to come back to Texas and coach and build a team,” says Miller. “I have no problem accepting a challenge, especially if it’s something like this that I’ve said over and over again I wanted.” Call her a pioneer if you’d like, but Miller says she’s just following her passion. “If I see something that I think would be good for me and my community, I’m not going to take into stock what other people say,” she says. “I trust myself. I trust my instincts. I trust my heart.” AS ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT ENRICHMENT, HEALTH AND SUPPORT, Stephanie Brown, Ph.D., has long worked to make students’ lives better. Last fall, she recruited a beloved family member to help—a boxerpit mix named Lucy. The duo were part of the Denton campus’ inaugural Pet Therapy Program, which Brown helped found with Pet Partners, a group aimed at improving health and wellbeing through humananimal bonds. The program trains volunteers to become pet therapy handlers and holds events where students can interact with animals— especially during stressful times like finals. It has been a resounding success, with the program inundated with requests for more events. Brown hopes to expand the program’s capacity, add on equine therapy options, and make a therapy animal available at TWU’s counseling and psychological services. “Students tell us all the time, ‘You don’t understand how beneficial this is to us,’” said Brown, noting that many students cite anxiety, depression and stress as impediments to their academic success. “It is so special to share your animal that way—because I know the power of pets.” TEXAS WOMAN’S 21
