Gigi Tsontos, LCSW, LSCSW, MPA, PCC
Backstory
By Sue Coyle
If not for a suggestion from a relative, Gigi Tsontos might not have had the career that led her to where she is today—the executive director of Not One More Vet and running her own company as a consultant, therapist and leadership coach,
in Wichita, Kansas.
It all started at the University of Kansas. “I thought I would be an international businesswoman,” she remembers. “But I just wasn’t loving it.” Fortunately, an extended family member also at the university had a recommendation. “She said, ‘I thought of you the other day. I’m taking this class called Introduction to Social Work.’” Tsontos enrolled in the course. In just one class period, “the professor won me over,” she said, and she had found a new direction.
Shortly after graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Tsontos joined the Peace Corps, volunteering in Mali for two years. There, she was a water resource extension agent. She helped dig wells, build pumps and provide education. “All of it,” she says, “helped me to be more open, to understand that everyone’s solution to something is going to be their own.”
From the Peace Corps, Tsontos went to graduate school at Columbia University. Her career, since earning her MSW, has taken her to many places literally and figuratively, as she has held both clinical and macro positions throughout the country. “Every experience that I’ve had has been interesting, unique and fun, and hard,” she recalls. “All of those experiences combined made it worthwhile to follow this path.”
Not One More Vet is an organization dedicated to the well-being of those in the veterinary industry. “We were started in 2014 after the unfortunate death by suicide of Dr. Sophia Yin. A group of vets came together and said ‘Hey, something is going on. We need to figure out what’s happening in our community,’ and so they just started a Facebook forum and started chatting and thinking about what might help each other. Now, our mission is to help the veterinary industry not only survive but thrive.”
It is a mission close to her heart, as Tsontos and her husband have five pets (currently). “I love animals, and I love the humans who take care of them,” she says.
In addition to leading Not One More Vet and running her own practice, Tsontos is a board member for both NASW-Kansas and the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. Outside of work, she loves to travel and cook.”