BE Brave: Find Moments to Transform your Oppression into Opportunity

Written By Barbara Ellen Leicht

Genuinely honored and humbled to serve as Keynote at the NDEAM Awards, hosted by New York State Education Department ACCES-VR & Rochester Area Employment Network (RAEN)! ✨ Special thanks to Jennifer Geiger for this opportunity!

~ What is NDEAM? It is National Disability Employment Awareness Month!

For those who may not know, I live with invisible disabilities. After navigating them for over half-my-life, I’m grateful to have transformed these into superpowers through:

• strength
• perseverance
• resilient grit

~ Kudos to all those living with disabilities— invisible or otherwise ~

Beyond daily life, we navigate:

• high medical bills
• medical and social stigma
• debilitating symptoms most cannot understand

As a Mindset Career Coach, Former Teacher, Forever Educator and Trauma Survivor turned Thriver, here are key calls-to-action from my talk:

• Believe in yourself to transform oppression into opportunities—make your story your superpower
• Promote individuals with disabilities—we bring unique skills and perspectives born from resilience
• Respect disabilities—you do not need to see the disability in order to respect the disability

I am grateful to thrive today, thanks to the skills I’ve cultivated through navigating these challenges. But thriving doesn’t mean struggles vanish. Recently, I’ve:

• Received a $400+ medical bill (even with great insurance)
• Spent hours on paperwork and appointments—before and after work, as well as on lunch—often needing to recount my traumas, in order to access care
• This is all managed alongside the responsibilities of being a homeowner, full-time employee, small business owner, wife, daughter, community member, and more

~ Our battles often go unseen, but I know I am not alone ~

So, here is my closing message:

• Practice non-judgmental self-compassion
• The kinder we are to ourselves, the kinder we are to others

Let’s honor Healthy Boundaries, embrace the Social Model of Disability, and foster compassion and empathy for ourselves and our diverse communities.

Congratulations to all award winners!! Thank you to all champions of those with disabilities—we are stronger together! ✨

Barbara Ellen Leicht

Mindset Career Coach Barbara Ellen Leicht, MSEd (she/her) has 10+ years’ expertise as a Career Advisor + Coach, Facilitator, and Program Manager. She is a successful career pivoter herself, who transforms invisible disabilities into superpowers and empowers diverse professionals within various industries. Barbara specializes in: career pivots + career development as well as corporate trainings + small business growth. With her MS in Inclusive Adolescent Education (MSEd) from Nazareth University and studies at NYU and Teachers College Columbia University, Barbara leverages a very unique, person-centered, strengths-based, inclusive approach. She works with individuals + businesses by customizing strategies to career goals, values, learning, and communication styles.

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