March 9, 2021

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Nicole Sutherland, the laboratory outreach manager at Avera Health.

Name: Nicole Sutherland

Age: 35

Hometown: Tea

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I grew up just a few miles outside of Sioux Falls, so this is home.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

All of my family is here – and while I’ve ventured to other small towns in the Midwest, Sioux Falls is where my heart is.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

I love that my job is never the same and that we are able to make a positive impact on patients, not only in Sioux Falls, but across the Avera footprint. We have so many different projects and discussions going on simultaneously, which is challenging and yet rewarding to see something that we’ve worked so hard on become a reality. When collaboration becomes a success and a project comes to fruition, it’s like springtime: watching our hard work and our people come to new life.

How did you get connected to your industry?

I wanted to work in health care but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I went to college. After my sophomore year, I decided to switch schools and try to find a new major. While searching, I came across medical laboratory science, and I immediately knew that was the career I wanted. I never knew this part of health care existed, and now knowing how important it is, I try to educate others who may be in that same place I was.

Describe Avera in three words.

Family, compassion, collaboration.

What is something someone might be surprised to learn about you?

Even though I work in a professional atmosphere, I am able to “get my hands dirty,” so to speak. Growing up outside of the “big city” allowed me to experience some dirty jobs. South Dakota is known for pheasant hunting, and I had the opportunity to support that attraction by helping raise them. My family thought raising and selling pheasants was a good way to make a small profit while keeping us too busy to get into trouble. I like experiencing new opportunities that allow me to continue to meld into a well-rounded individual – or a jack-of-all trades, if you will.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

I like finding local businesses to support or ways to participate in local events that give back to the community. Professionally, I also love participating in fun challenges we create between our internal departments that benefit local charities. We try to support a different charity –Feeding South Dakota and The Teddy Bear Den, for example – each time we promote our friendly competition.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

An additional outdoor entertainment facility, such as a Worlds of Fun or Valleyfair, would be a nice attraction.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I see myself growing in leadership. Sioux Falls has a lot to offer and will only continue to grow. The networking that is associated with my current position has the availability to take me anywhere I want to go. My goal now is to experience as many opportunities as possible so I can make informed decisions that may impact or pave the way for my future.