Meet Kelsey Stobbs, Pride Alliance leader and champion for health and happiness

My name is Kelsey Stobbs and I'm an administrative assistant at the Walgreens area office in Louisville, Kentucky. I've been with Walgreens almost seven years and in my current role for four years. I’m also a leader for Pride Alliance, a business resource group that aims to build community, be a safe space for LGBTQ+ team members and allies, and champion inclusion within Walgreens.  

My path at Walgreens 

I started at Walgreens part-time when I was a freshman in college after being invited to apply by my family’s pharmacist. When I finished college at the University of Louisville I started working at the pharmacy full-time. This was during the pandemic, and I saw how crucial our pharmacy was to keeping things going in our community. I raised my hand to be part of a COVID testing site team, which is where I met Jill Harrelson-Hiller, healthcare supervisor for the area.  

We got to know each other better during that time, and she has been a mentor to and champion of me ever since. I admire her leadership, drive and confidence and I always tell her she’s someone I want to be like “when I grow up.” She is the one who recommended me for my current position when it became available, and we continue to work together currently. She helped me see everything I was capable of and has been cheering me on ever since. 

A day in my life at Walgreens  

A typical day for me starts with coffee and breakfast before the drive to our office. I like to start my day with motivating and upbeat music, and a song that’s on repeat for me lately is “The Fighter” by Gym Class Heroes.  

Once I get to the office, I’ll check my emails and schedule for the day. As an area office, we are there to support the operations of 160 stores in and around Louisville, which includes the majority of Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Jill, the healthcare supervisor, works in the office along with our director of pharmacy and retail operations and several district managers who are in and out of the office between visits to stores.  

I have several meetings with the area leadership team each Monday to set ourselves up for success for the week. I handle some of the preparation and follow-up work that is part of a “store walk,” which is when leaders visit a local store, meet with team members, and review progress and wins. This can include pulling data for measures such as myWalgreens loyalty program use at check-out, filled prescriptions that still need to be picked up and customer feedback from receipt surveys, for a leader to discuss with the store teams. This is all with the goal of optimizing pharmacy efficiency and patient experience, supporting our teams to be the best they can be. During a visit, they might send me a list of products, signage or supplies that need to be re-ordered for the different locations so I can take care of that as well.  

The rest of my workday is usually spent connecting with our area store team members in different capacities. I’ll spend time troubleshooting their needs and providing resources that help for smooth operations. I think of my role as being a jack of all trades. When I don’t have the answer, I find it!  

I also coordinate things like immunization classes and pharmacy technician certification classes, process purchase orders and create a lot of area-wide communications. This is where my creative problem-solving skills come in handy, which my years working in the pharmacy helped develop. I love being a helping hand, building connections with people, learning about them as individuals and supporting them with what they need. 

My philosophy  

My philosophy at work and in life is, “Remember the little things.” Sometimes people think the little things don't matter, but I personally think the little things are very, very important. They can be incredibly impactful when you least expect it. It’s stuff like “thinking of you” text messages or handwritten cards. I still have almost every single card anyone has written to me because it’s something so small but means so much to me.  

I try not to take myself or life too seriously, and I think remembering the little things is a part of that. I find joy in the small moments of recognition, in memories, in laughter, in fluffy clouds that look like a painting, in taking a bite of my favorite meal while sharing it with friends. In the little things! 

A co-worker left me a sticky note once that says, “Today is going to be a good day,” with a smiley face, and I’ve kept that, too. It’s something small and cute that made my whole day, and I look at it every day. Something small I do around the office to spread positivity is when someone’s walking by my desk, I’ll just say, “Hey, you’re doing a good job today!” It started as something silly, but now we all do it to each other and it really does cheer you up if you’re having a tough time.  

Pride Alliance at Walgreens 

Being able to come to work and unapologetically be myself and have the people around me celebrate that is really, really huge to me. My mentor Jill is the one who told me about the business resource groups at Walgreens, so I joined several of them in 2021, including the Pride Alliance.  

At the time, I was not out in the workplace or to most of my friends. I was just struggling with identity, with who I was and accepting myself. But by joining the Pride Alliance membership meetings and events, hearing other people share their stories and experiencing so much joy through the group, it opened up a whole other world for me. It helped me really accept myself and be comfortable with who I am in life and within the workplace. I realized that I didn't have to be afraid of being who I am as a bisexual and demisexual woman. 

Being inspired by Pride Alliance to embrace myself also made me want to get involved more with the group and inspire others. After going to my first Pride festival and realizing how impactful it was to see companies and staples of the neighborhood celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, I started taking the lead to ensure Walgreens had a presence at Pride festivals around Kentucky.  

It brings me so much joy to be able to do that and have customers and patients come up to us there and say, “Walgreens is my pharmacy! Thank you for being here.” It lets them know Walgreens supports our LGBTQ+ customers, patients and team members, and that can be especially impactful in a place like Kentucky. For myself, I feel like I was able to find new friends through the Pride Alliance who I consider “my people” and by being at these events while representing Walgreens as well. We’ll be at Pride events around Kentucky and Southern Indiana again this year, and I’m really looking forward to seeing Chappell Roan perform at the Kentuckiana Pride, right here in Louisville! 

My love for building connections with people plays a part in my current internal role with the Pride Alliance, too, where I get to connect our team members with each other and with resources while driving engagement and conversation. I started a monthly LGBTQ+ book club for the group and it’s an informal way for our members, no matter where they sit, to get together virtually and have conversations about a LGBTQ+ related book, our experiences and what's going on in the world.  

For Pride Month 2024, I’m really excited about an internal event we’re calling Show Your Pride, where people will show off an item and tell a story about its significance to their identity. What I love is the chance to hear the personal experiences of other LGBTQ+ people and allies and find out what they’re passionate about, through the things that mean the most to them. 

My show and tell item will be this little Lego person that I made at a Pride event that is wearing a fun shirt and a cowboy hat—cowboy hats are kind of my thing now, they’ve become a Pride festival staple for me after wearing one at a previous event, everyone asks about them now—and I actually got a tattoo of my little Lego person as a reminder of my Pride journey, how much it has changed my life and the happiness that it’s brought me.  

Out of Office

Now Reading: "Tomorrow Will Be Different," by Sarah McBride 

We’re reading this book about the fight for trans equality for the Pride Alliance book club. 

Now Listening: Girls Who Don’t DND Podcast 

This podcast follows a group of women who have never played Dungeons & Dragons that play for the first time. I have also never played Dungeons & Dragons, but I have some friends that do, so it’s been entertaining listening to it pan out and learning a bit. 

Now Playing: Fortnite video game

I started playing Fortnite on my Nintendo Switch during the pandemic after being introduced to it by a friend. Something about the fun skins (outfits), emotes (character dances or other actions), and themed “seasons” had me immediately addicted! I’m an incredibly average player, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. This is my go-to wind down activity after work. I typically play the Battle Royale with a random squad so if you’d ever like to play, I’m more than happy to join you – my gamer tag is KinggKal!  

Now Cuddling: Theo and Jasper

Theo and Jasper are my two fur children and they absolutely keep me on my toes. They enjoy bird watching, playing in the cabinets and chasing each other around the house.  

Now Recommending: Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay

I love this face mask, I use it all the time as part of my nighttime self-care routine and just recommended it to a friend. It’s great for drying out blemishes and removing oil from your skin. You can find it at Walgreens and on Walgreens.com.