‘Lady Cow Vet’ Dr. Linda Rhodes Cuts a Trail for Healthier Animals and Women Across the Industry

Dr. Linda Rhodes remembers the day a group of Utah cattle farmers surrounded her while she did surgery on a dairy cow with twisted stomach. “They were sitting there waiting to see the Lady Cow Vet make a fool out of herself,” she shares during the latest episode of #OnPurpose. She quickly proved them wrong and earned their trust – and her Lady Cow Vet nickname – as one of the few female veterinarians specializing in large animal medicine.

“I graduated in 1978, and all I wanted to do was get back on the farm and work outside and take care of cows. But I couldn’t get a job…. I had 12 job interviews, and they all told me a woman couldn’t do the work. By chance, I got a job in Utah…. They were skeptical, but after a couple of years, they saw that I could really do the work.”

Linda’s journey to the barn began in a California commune, where she lived with her sister and fell in love with the rural lifestyle.

“The commune had goats and sheep and chickens and a big vegetable garden. I worked for room and board. I learned how to make yogurt, how to make butter. I learned how to spin wool…and shear sheep and milk goats. I got very excited about taking care of animals, and that was my first connection with farm animals.”

She’s been caring for animals ever since, working as a veterinarian and then moving into the pharmaceutical industry to help develop new medicines for animals.

“After about 5 years [working as a veterinarian], I got bored. I took a sabbatical to Israel and taught Israeli veterinarians how to do embryo transfer. That opened a wider world for me…. I went back to school, got my Ph.D., but I still wanted to do something with animals.”

When she graduated, Linda rolled up her sleeves to work on a new dream and landed a job developing medicines for animals, including therapies to help cattle and farm animals stay healthy. It was the 1990s, and Linda found herself again in a male-dominated industry.

“The R&D groups were dominated by men. All the senior executives were men, with very few exceptions. That was frustrating for me, and that’s one of the reasons I had to start my own company. I was pretty ambitious and didn’t see a route for me in the big company world.”

In the years that followed, Linda founded companies, served as a CEO, Chief Scientific Officer and as a Vice President of Clinical Development. Along the way, she hired and mentored many women but wanted to provide more support to help individuals overcome barriers to success. She founded Feather in Her Cap, an awards program that recognizes outstanding women who’ve made an impact in animal health.

“It’s been great to see [Feather in Her Cap] grow. The young women talk so often at the event about how inspiring it is for them to see there are leaders in the industry they can look up to. It just gives me hope that now, there are opportunities for women all across our industry.”

Thank you, Linda, for being a catalyst for change and an inspiration for all of us to cut new trails -- and bravely pursue our dreams.