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The TCA May Member Spotlight shines on our 2021-22 President, Dr. Alayna Pagnani-Gendron. She has been in practice for 10 years with her clinic in Houston, HealthPro Family Chiropractic & Acupuncture, where her focus is pregnancy and pediatrics as well as acupuncture. Dr. Pagani is also a TCC alum, the current Texas Chiropractic Association President and a mother of two young boys. It has been a true honor to serve as the Texas Chiropractic Association President this past year!!! How long have you been a member of TCA? I have been a member since 2011. Why did you join TCA? I joined the TCA because someone asked. The more I started to learn about the association and its benefits to Texas chiropractors, the more I got involved. I am so grateful that I was asked and attended my first meeting. What do you love most about TCA? I love the comradery, mentorship, and friendships I have gained over the years that I have been involved with the TCA. Most importantly I love the advocacy that helps protect our rights as chiropractors, so we are able to help our patients! What’s your favorite TCA event and why? My favorite TCA event is Chiro Texpo!! I look forward to all of the amazing speakers and venders that TCA brings to the conference. My ultimate favorite part of Texpo is seeing all of my colleagues from across the state. It is like a big family chiropractic reunion once a year. Its also super fun to get dressed up for the president’s gala. What’s your biggest (or one of your biggest) professional accomplishment(s) so far? My biggest professional accomplishment has to be being the president of the Texas Chiropractic Association. I hope that my stepping up into this role as a younger chiropractor and mother has inspired others to do so in the future. What’s one thing — either industry/work-related or not — you learned in the past month? I have learned that you need to be your number one. Putting yourself first is the most important. If you are to take care of others, as we do as chiropractors, we must take care of ourselves so we can do the work. We are all busy with patients, families, business and they all need a lot from us both physically but also emotionally and mentally. We need to “refill out tank” and the only way to do that is to make sure you come first. Daily exercises and good nutrition is a must but also mental self-care is just as important and whether that means meditating, meeting up with friends or just taking some alone time to reset. Make yourself your priority. How do you define success? Success to me is being happy where you are at and having the work/life balance you desire. Many people define their success by a certain salary or number of patients you see in a day or how many clinics you have. I think there is more to that. Life should be about enjoying what you do as well as living life and not being a slave to the job. Work hard, play hard. What’s one skill you’d like to develop or sharpen over the next year? I would like to get better at public speaking. This has been something I have been working on over the last couple of years. I joined Toast Masters and every opportunity I have been offered to speak I do. I still get so nervous talking in front of people, sometimes to the point where I shake. I want to get to a place that I have no nerves when public speaking. What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? Truly care about your patients and what you do; and the rest will fall into place. When you’re not working, how do you enjoy spending your time? Pilates, Pilates, Pilates!!! Spending time with my boys playing Legos, Pokémon and hanging by the pool. I also like to try new restaurants with my husband and I love my girls wine nights. What’s something about you (a fun fact) not many people know? I have an identical twin. I am from NH. I was a Miller Lite Girl. My favorite color is blue, despite that most think it is black. What did you want to be growing up? I always wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to be a D.O. but after shadowing a doc it didn’t seem right. Chiropractic kind of fell into my lap and I am so grateful I decided to peruse this career. What’s one item you can’t live without? Chapstick! What was the last book you read? Contain and Eliminate by Howard Wolinsky. This book tells the story about the Wilk Case against the AMA. This is a must read for every chiropractor. This case has a major historical impact on our profession. What was the first concert you ever attended? Free Press Summer Fest in Houston 2009. I was outside sweating in the hot summer Houston heat jamming out to Calvin Harris. It was a blast! If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pizza What are you currently binge watching? I love me some trash dating TV!! But I recently finished Dopesick. It is about how the opioid crisis started back in the 90s. This show hits hard for me as I have a close connection with family members and opioid addiction. It crazy to see the impact Big Pharma has and how the medical community was totally deceived by these companies. It is a must watch. This is the reason why chiropractic care is so needed in our communities and that why the TCA pushes bills for opioid crisis reform. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Wouldn’t it be cool to see where chiropractic started? I think I would want to be Mable Palmer. She is the “first lady of chiropractic” and a pioneer in women chiropractic. It would be so fascinating to know what she was thinking during that time and how she became so influential in our profession. One day would be more than enough though, I don’t think I could live without my twenty-first century luxuries lol What characteristic do you admire most in others? I admire people who are their true authentic self. It’s tough in this world with social media and Hollywood that portray unrealistic expectations of what success, beauty and happiness is. It is easy to compare yourself to others. When someone is honest about who they are I truly admire that. I do think as chiropractors we tend to go against the grain and be a little outside the norm, I love my fellow colleagues to own who they are and share it with their world.
The TCA May Member Spotlight shines on our 2021-22 President, Dr. Alayna Pagnani-Gendron. She has been in practice for 10 years with her clinic in Houston, HealthPro Family Chiropractic & Acupuncture, where her focus is pregnancy and pediatrics as well as acupuncture. Dr. Pagani is also a TCC alum, the current Texas Chiropractic Association President and a mother of two young boys. It has been a true honor to serve as the Texas Chiropractic Association President this past year!!! How long have you been a member of TCA? I have been a member since 2011. Why did you join TCA? I joined the TCA because someone asked. The more I started to learn about the association and its benefits to Texas chiropractors, the more I got involved. I am so grateful that I was asked and attended my first meeting. What do you love most about TCA? I love the comradery, mentorship, and friendships I have gained over the years that I have been involved with the TCA. Most importantly I love the advocacy that helps protect our rights as chiropractors, so we are able to help our patients! What’s your favorite TCA event and why? My favorite TCA event is Chiro Texpo!! I look forward to all of the amazing speakers and venders that TCA brings to the conference. My ultimate favorite part of Texpo is seeing all of my colleagues from across the state. It is like a big family chiropractic reunion once a year. Its also super fun to get dressed up for the president’s gala. What’s your biggest (or one of your biggest) professional accomplishment(s) so far? My biggest professional accomplishment has to be being the president of the Texas Chiropractic Association. I hope that my stepping up into this role as a younger chiropractor and mother has inspired others to do so in the future. What’s one thing — either industry/work-related or not — you learned in the past month? I have learned that you need to be your number one. Putting yourself first is the most important. If you are to take care of others, as we do as chiropractors, we must take care of ourselves so we can do the work. We are all busy with patients, families, business and they all need a lot from us both physically but also emotionally and mentally. We need to “refill out tank” and the only way to do that is to make sure you come first. Daily exercises and good nutrition is a must but also mental self-care is just as important and whether that means meditating, meeting up with friends or just taking some alone time to reset. Make yourself your priority.
How do you define success? Success to me is being happy where you are at and having the work/life balance you desire. Many people define their success by a certain salary or number of patients you see in a day or how many clinics you have. I think there is more to that. Life should be about enjoying what you do as well as living life and not being a slave to the job. Work hard, play hard. What’s one skill you’d like to develop or sharpen over the next year? I would like to get better at public speaking. This has been something I have been working on over the last couple of years. I joined Toast Masters and every opportunity I have been offered to speak I do. I still get so nervous talking in front of people, sometimes to the point where I shake. I want to get to a place that I have no nerves when public speaking. What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? Truly care about your patients and what you do; and the rest will fall into place. When you’re not working, how do you enjoy spending your time? Pilates, Pilates, Pilates!!! Spending time with my boys playing Legos, Pokémon and hanging by the pool. I also like to try new restaurants with my husband and I love my girls wine nights. What’s something about you (a fun fact) not many people know? I have an identical twin. I am from NH. I was a Miller Lite Girl. My favorite color is blue, despite that most think it is black. What did you want to be growing up? I always wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to be a D.O. but after shadowing a doc it didn’t seem right. Chiropractic kind of fell into my lap and I am so grateful I decided to peruse this career. What’s one item you can’t live without? Chapstick! What was the last book you read? Contain and Eliminate by Howard Wolinsky. This book tells the story about the Wilk Case against the AMA. This is a must read for every chiropractor. This case has a major historical impact on our profession. What was the first concert you ever attended? Free Press Summer Fest in Houston 2009. I was outside sweating in the hot summer Houston heat jamming out to Calvin Harris. It was a blast! If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pizza What are you currently binge watching? I love me some trash dating TV!! But I recently finished Dopesick. It is about how the opioid crisis started back in the 90s. This show hits hard for me as I have a close connection with family members and opioid addiction. It crazy to see the impact Big Pharma has and how the medical community was totally deceived by these companies. It is a must watch. This is the reason why chiropractic care is so needed in our communities and that why the TCA pushes bills for opioid crisis reform. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Wouldn’t it be cool to see where chiropractic started? I think I would want to be Mable Palmer. She is the “first lady of chiropractic” and a pioneer in women chiropractic. It would be so fascinating to know what she was thinking during that time and how she became so influential in our profession. One day would be more than enough though, I don’t think I could live without my twenty-first century luxuries lol What characteristic do you admire most in others? I admire people who are their true authentic self. It’s tough in this world with social media and Hollywood that portray unrealistic expectations of what success, beauty and happiness is. It is easy to compare yourself to others. When someone is honest about who they are I truly admire that. I do think as chiropractors we tend to go against the grain and be a little outside the norm, I love my fellow colleagues to own who they are and share it with their world.