At the same time, I found deep fulfillment mentoring students across the university. Guest lecturing in Design Thinking classes for both graduate and undergraduate students allowed me to blend storytelling, leadership experience, and coaching, helping students explore how to design meaningful lives aligned with their values and aspirations. Their curiosity, resilience, and willingness to rethink their own paths inspired me daily and reminded me how energizing it is to support people at pivotal moments in their lives.

The impact of DCI didn’t end when the program did. It sparked two defining new paths. The first was my continued partnership and Advisory role with Dr. Fung and the Center for Neurodiversity and Human Potential, where I remain engaged in helping expand the reach and impact of neurodiversity research. The second was the creation of a transitions‑focused program rooted in identity, mattering, and design thinking — themes often overlooked during major life changes. After returning to Ohio, I developed and began piloting this program across the NE Ohio region helping people navigate change with greater clarity and confidence. I am now exploring university partnerships to scale its reach. 

Alongside these new endeavors, I continue serving on public and nonprofit boards, applying decades of leadership experience to organizations committed to expanding opportunity and inclusion. Across all of this work,  research, coaching, board service, the through‑line is clear: helping people and institutions recognize potential that might otherwise be overlooked.

DCI didn’t just open a new chapter. It reshaped the trajectory of my engagement - connecting lived experience, scholarship, and purpose in ways I never anticipated — and in ways that continue to allow me to grow.