Diary of a Desert Doctor Do We Still Have Chutzpah

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Interview Questions for Russ Leonard

Executive Director of the Wisconsin Chiropractic Association

1. While your recently recorded 10-page interview covers a lot of topics, it fails to answer the question of what position you are looking for next. Is that an answer you can provide?

(Dr. Leonard addresses this question further along in the interview.)

1. Last Monday (May 14, 2012) you sent out a five-page, 55-question survey with a file name of “National Chiropractic Survey2012.” Looking at your 10-page interview, you spend the majority of the interview focused on national issues. As you depart from the WCA, will you be seeking a position that will provide you the opportunity to address national issues within the profession?

Those who have an active interest in the issues facing the chiropractic profession know that the WCA has provided leadership when we felt it was necessary on both Wisconsin and national issues. The Economic Survey we are conducting is a groundbreaking analysis of very significant economic issues facing the profession. This kind of work is critical to the growth and development of the profession and the WCA Board of Directors is committed to continuing their initiatives in this area long after I am gone.

1. Again looking at your 10-page interview, you spend approximately two of those pages discussing interactions with medical doctors and “an expansion in the scope of chiropractic to include the prescription of drugs.” Your answers suggest a significant amount of thought about the topic of increased scope of practice on your part. Is it possible that you will be seeking a position to work for or with the American Academy of Chiropractic Physicians,whose tag line is “Selective Medicalization and Prescriptive Authority?”

The comments I made were part of the strategic process we have gone through repeatedly when addressing any issue of importance. I don’t know how you could have interpreted my answers in a way that indicated an interest in the American Academy of Chiropractic Physicians because I have none.

1. To what degree has the newly formed Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin, which has apparently already reached 300 members, had an influence in your decision to resign your position as executive director of the WCA?

My resignation has been in the works since early last year and was announced well before the formation of this group. They had no impact on my decision. Having said that, the WCA has had either the highest or the second highest percentage membership in the country for each of the 22 years I have held my position. During this same period, we have had close to a dozen different groups form in opposition to our work. Each of these other groups went away. Only time will tell what will happen to this group.

1. Looking toward your next position, you have enjoyed a very healthy level of compensation as the executive director of the WCA. The WCA financial records reveal that your compensation from 2004 – 2010 averaged over $580,000 annually, with the highest year, 2008, reaching over $830,000. It seems like it will be a challenge to earn as much in another position, given that your average is more than three times what the ACA executive vice president earns. Do you expect to take a pay cut when you leave the WCA?

When I leave the WCA, the organization will have millions of dollars in assets. We have these assets despite spending an enormous amount of money over the years on Solutions Conferences and national initiatives. We achieved this level of financial success because our members supported our very innovative programs and the WCA board provided me with financial incentives based on our success. But to answer your question directly, I did very well financially before I came to the WCA and because I expect to work exceptionally hard at whatever I do next, I expect my financial success will continue.

1. In the past, it has been revealed that you earn 35% on the seminars held by the WCA. Will you continue to earn that after you leave the WCA? Will you continue to earn any money from the WCA? Will the new executive director earn a percentage on the WCA seminars?

Your information is incorrect. I have not earned any money on continuing education programs for chiropractors for well over a decade and do not intend to teach any programs after I leave. I have no idea what the WCA board will include in the next executive director’s agreement.

1. All of the above continues to beg the obvious question – what position could be so promising and highly compensated to cause you to leave the WCA?

Stay tuned.