142. Linda Rhodes Large Animal Veterinarian, Animal Pharmaceuticals, Author

In this episode, Kathy and Linda LaTourelle sit down with Linda Rhodes, a former large-animal veterinarian, pharmaceutical executive, entrepreneur, and author, to explore an extraordinary career path rooted in agriculture, science, and perseverance.

Linda shares her journey from being one of the few women working as a large-animal veterinarian to building a groundbreaking career in veterinary pharmaceuticals, biotech startups, and executive leadership. Along the way, she reflects honestly on the realities of being a pioneer in a male-dominated field, the personal tradeoffs that come with ambitious careers, and the importance of making intentional choices — even when there’s no clear roadmap.

This conversation dives into what really counts as STEM, why agriculture and veterinary medicine belong in the STEM conversation, and how women can redefine success on their own terms at every stage of life.

🌾 What We Talk About in This Episode

• Why veterinary medicine and agriculture are often overlooked as STEM careers
• Being one of the first women in large-animal veterinary medicine
• Learning to balance — and sometimes choose between — career, relationships, and personal fulfillment
• Writing Breaking the Barnyard Barrier and transitioning from scientific to narrative writing
• Navigating male-dominated spaces in biotech, pharmaceuticals, and venture capital
• Starting, scaling, and selling a successful animal health company
• Why career paths don’t have to be linear — and often shouldn’t be
• Advice for early-career professionals trying to figure out what they actually want to do
• Redefining success, freedom, and fulfillment later in life

Breaking the Barnyard Barrier by Linda Rhodes

👉 Purchase the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Barnyard-Barrier-Woman-Veterinarian/dp/1647792355

👉 Purchase the book on Barnes and Noble here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-the-barnyard-barrier-linda-rhodes/1147476620?ean=9781647792350

💡 Ask the (Not) Experts – Listener Question

“How do I find a career that I’ll like?”

Linda, Kathy, and Linda LaTourelle reflect on why it’s okay — and often necessary — to try different paths, reassess over time, and pay attention to what doesn’t fit just as much as what does.

✨ Favorite Moments

• The moment Linda first realized she could be a veterinarian
• A candid discussion about the pressure women feel to “do it all”
• Why some of the most fulfilling decades of life can come later than expected

Have a question for Ask the (Not) Experts or want to say hello?
📧 Email us at ordinarilyextraordinarypod@gmail.com

🎙️ Or leave us a voicemail at ordinarilyextraordinary.com

Music by Kay Paulus

Transcript

Ordinarily Extraordinary: Conversations with Women in STEM

Episode: Linda Rhodes

[00:00:00]

Kathy: Welcome to Ordinarily Extraordinary: Conversations with Women in STEM. I’m your host, Kathy Nelson, and I’m joined by—

Linda: Linda LaTourelle.

Kathy: And we are happy to have our guest today, Linda Rhodes. Linda works in pharmaceuticals for animals and is a former veterinarian. She just published her memoir about entering the workforce as a large-animal veterinarian, particularly at a time when there were very few women in the field.

Linda has a PhD in physiology and immunology from Cornell University and a degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. Please welcome Linda Rhodes.

Linda R: Very nice to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Kathy: Well, I am absolutely delighted to talk with you. We were just talking about this a little bit ago — we really haven’t had anyone in agriculture or veterinary medicine on the podcast, so we’re absolutely delighted to have you here. Thanks for being with us.

Linda R: Yeah, when you think about STEM, you don’t generally think about veterinary medicine or agriculture, but there are a lot of technical issues, approaches, and tools that we use every day. So I’m glad to be a part of this.

Kathy: Well, it’s science, right? And I kind of want to talk about this because it’s something I’ve been thinking about. My daughter — who I just published a coloring book about women in STEM with — said, “Mom, you don’t have any women in agriculture.” And I realized she was absolutely right.

There are certain fields that are STEM, but we don’t always talk about them that way. Do we consider them STEM? Veterinary medicine absolutely feels like STEM to me. You’re an animal doctor — I don’t know why that wouldn’t count.

But then it gets trickier. Nursing, for example — science-based, absolutely STEM — but we don’t always talk about it that way. Finance, too. We talked about that a couple of episodes ago.

Linda: You bring up an interesting point.

Linda R: I think there’s a technical aspect to almost everything — cooking, gardening. We create artificial barriers about what is STEM and what isn’t. To me, if you’re thinking logically and gathering facts, it’s STEM.

Kathy: I struggled with this in my coloring book, actually. Someone suggested including a fashion designer. And I hesitated, because when I think of STEM careers, fashion design isn’t where my mind goes — and yet my mother was a seamstress, and there’s a huge mechanical and technical element to it.

I ended up not including her, and I still feel a little bad about it. We’re trying to promote careers where women are underrepresented, and I didn’t know what to do with that one.

Anyway — we are two minutes into your podcast and already on a tangent!

Kathy: I want to talk about your book before we get into your career. I only had time to read the prologue, but I absolutely loved it. It made me want to read the whole thing.

I’ve been starting to write myself — picture books for girls — and learning the craft of writing has been such a shift from technical writing. How was that process for you? You did a beautiful job pulling the reader right into the barn.

Linda R: Thank you. I started writing this book almost 20 years ago. At first, I was writing like a scientist — just facts, very dry. It was awful, honestly. But I got my memories down.

Then I took a course at the Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute. My instructor told me, “You have stories here, but you’re not telling them.” I had to learn how to write how it felt — how to bring the reader into the barn.

It really is a craft, and it took a long time to learn. This is probably my 12th draft.

Kathy: I didn’t even say the title — Breaking the Barnyard Barrier. One thing that really stood out to me was the heart in the prologue. That’s something I’m trying to learn how to do.

Linda R: A big part of the process is just writing a terrible first draft. Get it down. Then you go back word by word — do I need this word? Can I choose a better one? My first version was twice as long and included all of veterinary school. My agent told me to cut it in half and start in the barn. She was right, but it was hard to let go.

Kathy: Giving up work you’re attached to is so hard.

Linda R: It is. And you can’t take all advice. One publisher told me they wanted a “female James Herriot” and suggested I reshape the book completely. My writing teacher told me not to listen — it wouldn’t be my book anymore.

Eventually, I submitted it to the University of Nevada Press, and they immediately said yes. That was the right home for it.

Linda: I did get a chance to read the prologue, and I was completely captured. I felt like I was in the barn with you. I was hanging on every word, wondering if that calf was going to make it.

Linda R: Three cowboys leaning against the wall, arms crossed, chewing on straw.

Linda: I could picture it perfectly. Well done.

Linda R: A major part of the book is my marriage. My husband moved to Utah with me reluctantly — it was the only place I could find work. He was unhappy, I was always working, and it didn’t last.

We’re told we should “lean in” and have everything — career, marriage, kids, balance — but it’s not realistic. You have to make choices, especially when you’re one of the first women in a field. If you fail, it feels like you’re failing for all women.

Kathy: Like the world is on your shoulders.

Linda R: Exactly.

Linda R: Thank you so much for reading my book and for this conversation. Breaking the Barnyard Barrier comes out February 17, and I hope your listeners enjoy it.

Kathy: Congratulations — and I’ll absolutely leave a review.

Linda: I’m excited to finish it.

Kathy: Thank you so much for joining us, Linda. This was a wonderful conversation.