Two things have been a constant in my life - my invisible disabilities (Crohn's and arthritis), and the desire to be understood. That desire to be understood led me to an early career in screenwriting and television news - in essence "storytelling."When I became a manager in the TV industry, I decided to be open with my staff about my disabilties, as well as being focused on doing my work with high degree of quality. As a result, my staff responded in kind and began speaking to me about their own challenges. I soon realized that at least 50% of my employees had some type of invisible disability. Some were physical, some mental and some neurological.By adopting an open and solution-focused attitude we more than doubled the output of our department within a year. This made me realize how much positive impact that leaders can have on the 30% of workers with invisible disabilities.For the past decade I have combined my experience with management, storytelling and invisible disability to provide talks and training to organizations around the world so they can better understand and lead their diverse staff.I also bring my award-winning writing skills, positioning acumen and knowledge of the professional speaking world to mentor both experienced and new speakers, while my deep knowledge of strategic storytelling is shared with organizations who want to communicate more effectively to their diverse audiences. I pride myself on being easy to work with in all of these capacities. Having led people in the ego-sensitive world of on-air television, I’m very good at listening and giving insightful and direct feedback in a positive way that inspires the human spirit.