It still blows my mind that I get to be the person I didn’t always see growing up.
A Black woman in healthcare.
A CEO.
A speech-language pathologist.
A board member.
A mentor.
A visible leader.
There were times in my journey when I had to imagine myself in rooms I had never seen. Classrooms. Boardrooms. Clinics. I hoped one day I would belong in all of them. Now I walk into those spaces fully, and I never forget that someone else is watching. Especially Black and brown students. And that matters.
Representation is not just something we highlight during Black History Month. It is something we live. It is something we carry in how we lead, how we serve, and how we show up for others and ourselves.
Every day I am reminded that presence can be powerful. That being seen can spark something in someone else. Because when young people see someone who looks like them leading, healing, building, and taking up space, it creates possibility. And possibility creates change.
I am grateful for the path I am on, and for everyone who helped me believe it was possible. I hope I get to be that for someone else, too.
