It’s hard to believe that in my 30-plus years as a member of the American Council of the Blind, I had never gone to Washington D.C. for either mid-year back in the day or the current-day D.C. Leadership Conference. And knowing my outspoken nature and ability to advocate for myself and those around me, many would think that this would be a place I would not have shied away from. It’s actually quite the opposite. I have rarely been intimidated by a man or woman behind the title, but I have been intimidated by my ability to deliver a message through different avenues, and this was just new and different to me.
Back in high school in Texas in 1999, we went to Austin as part of the Carolyn Garrett Legislative Leadership Conference. We sat in the gallery and listened to our lawmakers. It felt like such a calm place to be. A little part of me wanted to go to the University of Texas so I could do that more often. Fast forward to 2007 and while I was living in West Virginia, my parents visited and I did the same thing in Washington, D.C. I was enamored yet again but never acted on it.
Now I’m in Arizona and it’s 2026. Granted, D.C. Leadership is not all about going to Capitol Hill, but for me this year, it was. I was fully prepared to go, by myself, and represent ACB and Arizona. I know how to present, have conversations, and tell a story, but I had never learned the formula or really how to even get started with having the discussions with our elected officials at any level. I had always heard from those going and the outcome but never about how to start.
I was pleasantly surprised when one of my fellow Phoenicians, Ron Brooks, shared with me that he would be able to meet me in D.C., and he started showing me the ropes. We discussed who we wanted to attempt to meet with, deciding on both our Senators (Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego) and each of our respective representatives (Andy Biggs and Greg Stanton). We filled out our meeting interest forms online and were able to schedule appointments with three of the four. Something I hadn’t thought of when submitting our forms was including personal facts about us in their district: being parents, owning homes and/or businesses, having children in the school district, etc. I was all business, but Ron adds this information to show how we make up their community.
Now to prep. I had read the imperatives and knew we would receive one-pagers to present, but how do you talk about them? Luckily, I’ve done enough executive presentations in my corporate work life that it turns out this isn’t any different. Ron took the lead at our first appointment (which was with Sen. Mark Kelly). After we “fan-boyed” and “fan-girled” when we walked into his office with his NASA flight suit front and center, I saw that it wasn’t hard. With each office came their committees, voting history, and general knowledge of them. We took turns and shared a summary of each imperative, told stories of personal impacts and experiences, and made our ask, all so very conversational. It was also interesting watching each different staffer’s body language and eye contact, what they were interested in, and what notes they were making.
Ron and I walked out of those hallowed halls waiting on our Uber back to the hotel on a beautiful March day. And I can say with all the confidence in the world that I enjoyed it. I’m glad I got out of my comfort zone, I would absolutely do it again, and so should you!
And P.S. Two very cool experiences aside from our meetings, we got to ride the Senate Subway to the House and Congressman Stanton’s business cards are in Braille!