Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Benter

Nancy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

When I entered the corporate world 13 years ago, I hid a significant part of my life: my son Josiah’s congenital cataracts. At the time, I feared being labeled as “a working parent with a child who has medical needs.” I worried employers would see me as a liability—less productive, more absent. And in some ways, my strategy worked.

But today, I see how damaging this perception is—not just for parents but also for workplaces that fail to see the value caretakers bring. The truth is people in caregiving roles develop critical, transferable skills: strategic decision-making, relationship-building, negotiation, and advocacy. These are the very skills that drive success in the workplace.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

I welcome the struggles because it made me the leader I am today. I still recall the tough news from a local opthamologist when my son, Josiah, was a newborn. “Your son has cataracts in both of his eyes.” Josiah was only six months old when we learned he was born with congenital cataracts in both of his eyes. After the ophthalmologist said these words, my mind went blank, and all I could frantically think about is how did this happen? Was it my fault? Was it all the stress I experienced during my pregnancy? Did I not take the right prenatal vitamins? I must have done something wrong.

Congenital cataracts, which are cloudiness in the eye’s lens that are present at birth or develop shortly after, affect between 1 and 6 babies per 10,000 in the United States (last cited in the National Institutes of Health). According to American Academy of Ophthalmology, without treatment, cataracts can damage connections between the brain and eye. Once made, these connections don’t change. This is why finding and treating cataracts early is so important. It can prevent permanent vision loss in children. We’re grateful to have a family friend in the medical field who voiced her concern after visiting us to meet Josiah for the first time. His pupils would sporadically wiggle when he was laying down, signaling to us that something wasn’t right.
After hearing Josiah’s diagnosis, all I could do was hold Josiah tightly in my arms, and look at the milky white glaze over his eyes (which now I’m learning are the cataracts). The doctor at the time was spewing medical jargon. I remember just staring at them waiting for him to stop talking so I could figure out what we needed to do so Josiah could regain his vision.

I finally interrupted him “So where do we go from here?” My mind went to the worst-case scenario because I’m caring for a baby born with cataracts – will he ever see clearly? I’m grateful that all my fear-based thoughts were just that – fear based. I’m even more grateful for modern day medicine and the support system we had during this challenging time. With two surgeries, Josiah’s cataracts would be removed, and we would partner with an ophthalmologist in our area to routinely ensure his vision was heading in the right direction. I had Josiah young in my career, and I was working my first professional job post college. I was barely earning a living wage, but I’m thankful that I had partial healthcare benefits with this employer.

While the anticipation leading up to the surgery was nerve wracking, the surgery to remove Josiah’s congenital cataracts was not the most difficult part. It was Josiah’s Vision Rehabilitation Plan that tested us all. It was learning how to clean and remove pediatric contact lenses from a little baby. We had to commit to this routine every single day – and it was mental torment listening to Josiah scream during this daily routine (..how do you explain to a baby that this is for his own good so he can see?)

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

Empathy, empowerment, excellence. This is a leadership philosophy I embodied after experiencing first hand what people-centered leadership can do to change lives for the better. After leading in Fortune 500 companies and a start-up, these three verticals always ground me in what’s important. I lead with empathy in mind and building a trusted relationship with each member of my team is my first priority. I prioritize building trust in relationships before getting into the work because I’ve learned time and time again, trust is extremely hard to build, and can be shattered in a moment’s notice. I believe in empowering my team by supporting their ideas, getting out of their way so that they can truly be empowered to work autonomously and once empathy and empowerment is flowing through the culture of the team, that’s when I witness a high collaborating team where we’re demanding excellence from ourselves and those around us.

I’m deeply curious and inquisitive. Not everyone is a fan of what can come across as never-ending questions, yet I’m a leader that’s drawn towards messy, complex problems that impact people. And the first step to understanding a problem is being courageous enough to ask the tough questions. Why are there still gender equity challenges in the workplace? Which employees are thriving at work and why? What are the key ingredients in people feeling like they belong and why? What are the truths people are scared to say outloud and why? I gravitate towards leaders who think in systems because I’ve learned if we dig deep enough, there are more connection points below the surface.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?

Bringing it back to Josiah and his story, one of the most valuable lessons we learned during this ambiguous season was to create a Trust Council you can count on. In our Trust Council was my mother, our in-laws, Dr. Karen Preston, and now Dr. Epley.

My mother was helping watch Josiah so Philip and I could both continue progressing in our careers. She learned how to insert the pediatric contact lenses like a pro, and would constantly teach my partner and I new creative tricks to make the experience more enjoyable for Josiah. “Play some music as he’s laying down with a bottle so his hands are preoccupied, and wave one of his favorite toys from above. Then slowly slide the contact lens from the bottom lid into his eyeball.” All my mom’s tricks worked. Soon thereafter, my mother-in-law learned how to properly clean and apply Josiah’s lenses. And more family members after that. My mom created a playbook that scaled.

We learned the healthcare system wasn’t designed with Josiah’s condition in mind. A part of his vision rehabilitation plan was wearing medical grade pediatric contact lenses. My health insurance at the time kept miscoding Josiah’s contact lenses, and our Northwest Pediatric Eyecare billing specialist Andrea, partnered closely with us to ensure our bills were accurate, potentially saving us thousands of dollars in the process. She helped us every month to reprocess our bills.

Meeting Dr. Preston was the hope we needed. Dr. Preston is an absolute miracle worker, and she became our on-going ophthalmologist. Her practice, Northwest Pediatric Eyecare was decorated like a forest playground, a space purposely designed for children. We loved having visits from her poodle Jaco, who oftentimes accompanied Josiah during his eye exams.

Dr. Karen L. Preston O.D. is well known locally and nationally as an expert in pediatric optometry, serving the eye care needs of children for over 20 years. A graduate of the College of Optometry at Pacific University and with postdoctoral research in infant vision at the University of Washington, Dr. Preston has worked closely with the Washington State Legislature and the national InfantSee program to bring attention to children’s vision. Past-President of the Optometric Physicians of Washington, she established Northwest Pediatric Eye Care as a premier facility designed specifically for professional pediatric vision care. I was deeply touched learning how Dr. Preston was one of the few pediatric ophthalmologists in the PNW that serviced low-income families to ensure they still received the highest quality healthcare.

Dr. Preston had a rigorous treatment plan for Josiah. Josiah’s treatment plan meant we visited Dr. Preston’s office monthly. She would always take the time to patiently educate us on her plan – it was clear she cared deeply for Josiah and his future success. We learned all about eye patching and how patching supported focusing on one eye at a time to increase (or decrease) the vision strength. She knew exactly how to course correct when Josiah’s pupils would show signs of crossing. When Josiah turned six, in addition to the medical grade contact lenses, Dr. Preston began to incorporate Bifocals to train Josiah’s eyes to see near and far distance.

We hit many, many, many bumps in the road, and there were times we just wanted to hide from all the obstacles and give up, but Dr. Preston was our champion. We saw her every month until Josiah turned six years old. Then we phased out visits to once a quarter, and now that Josiah is a teenager, it’s a once-a-year visit. Fast forward to today, with Dr. Preston’s treatment plan, he has near 20/20 perfect vision.

When Josiah turned 13, Dr. Preston shared the exciting news we were waiting for — that his eyes have fully developed where he qualifies for intraocular lens implant. After the procedure, Josiah will never have to fuss with medical grade contact lenses again. She referred us to meet with Dr. Epley and begin the steps towards his surgery.

The moment you walk into Dr. Epley’s office, it’s clear that it’s all about the children. There is a kid’s play area in the waiting room, and creative art intentionally placed on the walls. Each patient room is named after an animal, D for Dolphin, G for Giraffe, paired with children’s artwork that has been gifted by patients over the years to Dr. Epley. Dr. Epley is patient, understanding, and leaves plenty of room for questions.

David Epley, M.D., is from Salem, Oregon, and received his medical training at the Oregon Health & Science University, School of Medicine, in Portland. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, followed by a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus (eye muscle balance disorders) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the pediatric teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Epley is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and an active participant in Maintenance of Certification. He sub-specializes in comprehensive pediatric ophthalmology and pediatric cataracts.

Josiah’s intraocular lens implant was scheduled under two separate surgeries, allowing Josiah time for each eye to heal and recover. He’s starting his final year in middle school contact lens free!

We’ve waited 13 years to share Josiah’s story. It reminds us how important it is to have people in your corner who care deeply about you, your family, and are passionate about their life’s purpose. I’m confident without our family friend noticing Josiah’s pupils as a baby, we could have missed our window to intervene. Dr. Preston is the reason why Josiah has had such success in re-training his eyes to see clearly. We trusted Dr. Preston’s referral, and Dr. Epley was the bookend of Josiah’s vision journey.

My unsolicited advice from our experience is to hire people who are familiar with navigating imperfect systems. Navigating a broken system made me a more resilient leader. It puts you in a position to trust your intuition and to seek out second, third, fourth opinions. You channel your energy towards being courageous enough to ask for help and acknowledging you don’t know what to do. It’s a humbling experience that forces you to put aside any insecure thoughts that will hold back progress.

As cliche as it sounds, good things do not happen overnight. There are no shortcuts or magical 21 day fix solutions. Day by day, micro-actions by micro-actions, Josiah’s eyes improved. We were re-training eye muscles and brain wiring, staying disciplined and committed towards the end goal. Josiah’s Truth Council exercised patience, trusting the advice of experts around us, and letting go of what we could not control.

Image Credits

Dorothy Huynh