Life story of discovering a pediatric Brain tumor at the age of 5 to then become a Paralympic hopeful. Blind Ambition Speaking can develop a discussion specific to the organization upon request. ...less

Patricia knows transition, change and (as a blind athlete) how to perform at a high level no matter the challenge. She began in competitive athletics 10 years ago and now at 38 is competing mostly against those in their early 20's. No matter what the challenges she inspires audiences to take what they have, grow through it, and perform at their peak. She says... "Being an aging athlete is kind of similar to what the media industry at Dow Jones (and many industries) are going through - the competitors are able to change more rapidly and have more availability of time and support". This equips her with the perspective to inspire her team and audiences through their own difficulty with powerful personal stories and creative solutions to empower. Patricia shares about the transition she's currently experiencing as an athlete (from Triathlon to representing Team USA in the 2020 Paralypics) and how she's taking those lessons learned and applying them to her career at Dow Jones (who is undergoing a major transition and having to adapt constantly - going from being print media driven to being data driven). New market realities are driving their business transformation along with significantly disruptive changes. Given that she's leading that technology effort described in her bio that transition rolls up to her as well. Some of the mindset of what she's spearheading daily at DJ is: assessing the next opportunity, innovating rapidly, when it is right to let go of a legacy product, competing with other businesses in this economy, difference between tech hype and what will really be the next big thing along with motivating each team member to be a lifetime learner, be adaptable, hire for flexibility, and be willing to take risks in order to successfully oversee the successful transitional conversion to a new way of doing business. In her talks, she inspires groups through her athletic ability to perform at their peak in business with examples relevant for the economic realities of now - leveraging her engineering and technology background with the know-how to help groups make their next successful transformation. ...less