Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Donna Mack. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Donna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

As far as my legacy is concerned, I’d like to be remembered as the woman who changed how the public views disability (by making it relatable). It’s so easy to “otherize” those who are different from us. In my experience, we tend to view disability a whole lot like we view cancer or divorce. It always “happens to” someone else until it happens to us or someone we love. Disability isn’t something that *happens to* us. It’s a part of the natural continuum of the human experience. As I tell my clients and audience members: “The majority of folks with disabilities are warm, welcoming, and non-judgmental. Feel free to join us at any time. No need to wait around for an invitation. As a matter of fact, you will *all* join us eventually…if you don’t *die* first!
It’s essential for clients to operate according to applicable laws and regulations pertaining to disability access and inclusion. In my experience though, it’s equally as important that clients understand the essence and the “whys” behind those laws and regulations… because a level of understanding (and if possible, being able to witness firsthand) how those of us with disabilities navigate our environments puts an actual face on the Disability Community and makes us real and relatable. I love it when I’m able to share the “whys” with a client and I can see the lightbulb come on for them and they take that new knowledge and passion and just run with it!

One of the most rewarding facets of my work is when I’m approached by someone telling me they heard me speak in the past (at a time when my message wasn’t personally relevant). But since then, they or a loved one have been given a diagnosis or developed a condition… and how grateful they were to have heard my speech or received my training… because something about that presentation stuck with them, and gave them insight, hope, and maybe even a clue of where to start to research and even acquire the kinds of accommodations they or their loved ones need.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Donna Mack, the “Disability Diplomat™️”. I work with businesses that want to grow profits and transform cultures by increasing disability access and inclusion. As a person with significant vision loss, I began advocating for myself and others with disabilities while still in high school. I hold a master’s degree in Counseling, and provided personal and career counseling for a number of years. I began serving as a leader in cross-disability advocacy after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the early-mid 90s. My passion for advocacy eventually superseded my love of counseling, resulting in me chairing my local committee on disability, and serving on committees for regional transportation and national employment.

After more than 25 years of working in the community and honing my expertise, I began working to establish a consulting and training business. As a rule, businesses want to do right by potential customers and employees with disabilities, but often don’t know where to start. I offer customized live and virtual presentations, as well as training and consulting packages highlighting best practices around anything from creating disability inclusive presentations and events to more accessible websites; from marketing to customers with disabilities to attracting, retaining, and promoting qualified employees with disabilities; (and more,) across a variety of industries.

So many businesses view the ADA as a bunch of regulations and standards to be followed to achieve compliance. As a professional with a significant disability with more than 25 years in the cross-disability arena, it’s my mission to break down a lot of the “why’s” behind the regulations. when businesses are able to *see* the why’s and how’s behind ADA compliance, they become better equipped to embrace (rather than resist) the standards.

Some of my proudest professional accomplishments include:

Receiving a Barbara Jordan Media Award from the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities for “respectful and accurate portrayal of Texans with disabilities”.

Serving on disability access committees for AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field.

Being appointed Disability Access Lead for the Dallas World Cup Human Rights Leadership Team (providing the first human rights plan for sport).

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It would be next to impossible for me to come up with a single story from my journey to illustrate my resilience simply because advocating for myself and others in the disability community over the years has been an ongoing expression of resilience. In both my life as a disabled person and my business as an accessibility consultant, I encounter a lot of the same kinds of scenarios over and over again. There’s just such a strong need for education because although most businesses mean well, we just don’t know what we don’t know. For so many of us, if something doesn’t fall within the realm of our own lived experience (or the lived experience of someone we love) we’re simply oblivious, because those transgressions are just not on our radar… until life throws us a major curve… and they’re suddenly in our face.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m a female who grew up in the 70s. Like many women of my generation, I got the message that self promotion was somehow wrong. I recall being told that publicly acknowledging my strengths and talents would make me appear conceited. Sadly, I internalized that message to the point that I felt guilty for privately allowing myself to recognize my own gifts and abilities.

It’s taken a lot of practiced awareness to be OK with allowing myself to let go and truly celebrate (and even promote) my accomplishments. In both life and business I’ve experienced the most amazing rewards after taking big calculated risks to put myself out there.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.DisabilityDiplomat.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/disabilitydiplomat/
• Other: Sign up for my newsletter and receive a free copy of my accessibility assessment for your business: https://disabilitydiplomat.com/newsletter-subscription/

Image Credits
Rhonda Moore Strictland Photography