1. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC Setting potential to flight.

2. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC Hidden Challenges and Opportunities: A Strengths-Based Approach to Accommodations and Success May 21 st 2:00 - 3:45 PM

3. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 3 Who I am & what I do ● Author of Surviving Dreaded Conversations: Talk Through Any Difficult Situation at Work (McGraw- Hill, 2009) ● President of The Krysalis Group, a business consulting firm in New York City ● We create management, marketing, training and sales solutions ● Our clients utilize us to create programs where message and image meet through presentation ● This could be internal functions such as training and management or external activity such as marketing and sales ● The point being, the more they match, the stronger the company and brand

4. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 4 My current profession & how I got here ● A long and winding road ● Trained to be a dancer because of my trouble in school ● Learning stage makeup as a kid led to makeup artist freelance jobs in college ● Undergraduate was a performing arts school ● Graduated with a BA and went into the beauty/fashion business ● Worked in sales, sales management and training ● Went to graduate school at NYU for a masters OD and HRM and post graduate in Business Education ● Graduated with an MA & went to Goldman Sachs ● Formed The Krysalis Group in 2001

5. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 5 My experience with disability ● School was a disaster ● I flunked everything ● They wanted to kick me out ● My father intervened and cut an “extra credit” deal ● As soon as I was out of the system I was fine ● I learned what I can and cannot do ● As a result, I know how to build highly complementary teams ● The work world was my chance to leave what school did to me behind ● I’m grateful for that freedom and the people who saw my strengths and made a way for me ● The net result is a strong and positive work identity ● The antithesis of my school identity

6. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 6 Difficult experience & what it taught me ● In graduate school and covering the East and West coasts ● I had to figure out a way to get my homework done ● My boss couldn’t understand why I had such idiosyncratic traveling needs ● She thought I should just be able to study on the plane ● I couldn’t ● Years later we talked about it ● I learned that there was no reason to hide it

7. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 7 Disability has helped me professionally ● Everything about my disability has helped me in my career  Survival  Forced to fight the status quo  Think differently  See differently  My brain couldn’t be shaped/conformed to the norm  Creativity was preserved  Learned not to listen to people who think they know  Learned to listen to myself and trust those who are interested in bringing out the best in people as opposed to the reverse

8. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 8 Remembering one thing… No one can tell you what you can/can’t do. Don’t listen unless they are telling you, you can do amazing, wonderful things.

9. www.krysalis.com Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 9 Contact Email: info@krysalis.com Website: www.krysalis.com Phone:212-925-2934 Fax:212-226-9630 The Krysalis Group 311 Church Street, Suite 2B New York, NY 10013