Christina: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taking the Lead podcast where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Heppner with my co-host Leslie Haskins and Timothy Kuo. We are in the full swing of 2023, which is, no, it's, I just feel like it was December yesterday and it's really going fast. It's March. , we're all getting older.
Leslie: Wow.
Melody: That
Leslie: took a quick, quick turn there.
Christina: Wow. I just, you know, I'm getting older this year. .
Leslie: Yes, Christina. But that's good news. . Christina also likes to remind me of how much older I am than her. Hey. Hey. Just to be clear, it's five years. It's not, it's not that
Christina: much. My boyfriend.
Leslie: Like your age? Well, he, oh my goodness.
our age. Christina. Oh my God. Our age. He turns
Christina: 36 tomorrow on the 31st.
Leslie: Oh my goodness. [00:01:00] Happy bird. No, I'm just kidding. Although I could sing. That was beautiful. I sing, I can't sing. I really can't. But I feel
Christina: like all the pressure, you know, like this is the first birthday of his that we're celebrating together.
What will you do? What is the plan? So sat well, can't tell the plan for Friday because obviously he's gonna hear this. Yeah, he listens. Um, but Saturday, uh, we're getting like a bunch of people together and going to a brewery and, um, Just doing that, like getting one of those Costco cakes. Those are delicious.
I know. Oh yeah. Getting Costco cake at a brewery, kind of just a, you know, made a huge reservation. So Sounds like I was like,
Leslie: sounds like a heck of a time. Yeah. I was like, you have too many friends. Well, that's what happens when you get older, Christina, right Timothy? We just keep getting more friends.
That's right. Cause we're so old.
Timothy: So you're old Cause you contact so many people. What at your
Leslie: 50? That's really, [00:02:00] you've interacted with so many people and all, all these old years that we've got. Yeah. I
Christina: was like, geez. I was like, that's a lot. Like I just don't, wouldn't
Leslie: want that many people. I can't handle you.
You need more friends. I'm worried about her Timothy. I
Christina: have plenty of friends. I just. Don't like to. I .
Leslie: Oh my gosh. I
Christina: cannot not like manage so many people at once. You know what I'm saying? I get very overwhelmed, like you would think I'm the opposite because I'm very extroverted. Mm-hmm. . But like when it's a lot of people and like I am like handling it.
It's just a lot.
Leslie: I think it's gonna be great because
Christina: then you have to be
Leslie: on the whole time. You have to be on the whole time. You'll be great. We can't wait to hear about Johnny's birthday. Yeah. Happy birthday, Johnny. I won't sing to you. That will be my gift to you, , because I won't do that to you. Uh, Timothy, do you have any birthdays coming up?
Anybody You're celebrating
Timothy: my [00:03:00] birth, my birthday passed in January, so I'm, that's right. I'm already pfc. I'm real old, so, uh, nothing coming up. All my grandkids is all passed. We've, we've already passed
Melody: online, so
Leslie: yeah. Uh, my family is April. April is a very busy, busy month of birthdays. My brother, uh, my sister-in-law, my other sister-in-law, my husband, his twin brother, obviously, um, their mom.
Yeah. Who else? There's a bunch friends. Lots of friends. Everybody but fun fact about my husband who's a twin, an identical twin. Him and his brother do not have the same birthday.
Christina: Oh, they were like midnight. 1:00 AM Yeah. So
Leslie: midnight 1:00 AM their mom's. So my mother-in-law's birthday is April 21st. My husband.
I'm sorry, 22nd. My husband's is 23rd and then his brothers is the 24th, and also his brother's wife. Oh yeah. Isn't that funny. So he grew up not having to share his own birthday with his twin brother, but now he has to share with his wife. Oh man. I find that so comical. Yeah, it's a fun fact. It's not my fun fact, but I [00:04:00] share it often.
Oh, I feel like I've
Christina: shared this before, but me, my brother and my sister are all born in July. Yes. So, you know, that's a busy month. And then my mom. The beginning of August, so she might as well be July. But I love July. Like I love that
Leslie: month. Summer birthdays are great. Your presents every six months.
Christina: Yeah.
Planned it out perfectly. Mom, dad, thanks. Same here. .
Leslie: Oh my goodness. Anyways, we could probably talk about birthdays all day long. It's too much. It's too Timothy. Real quick. When's Cheryl's birthday though?
Timothy: Hers is in January, two, three
Melody: days after
Leslie: mine. Oh my gosh. Please start out the year with
Christina: a bang.
Timothy: Yeah, well, yeah.
Bang, taxes and everything. , bang,
Christina: taxes, everything else. All this
Timothy: money goes out the door. Taxes, things gone in January. ,
Leslie: you get it outta the way. I think that's great. Yeah, . All right. Well enough about birthdays. Today's guest is, uh, very active in the blindness and low vision field, and her experience at Leader Dog and her professional role.
Christina: Yes. Melody Goodspeed joined American Foundation for the Blind in [00:05:00] 2018, originally as manager of the executive office, and her current role is associate. Can I, I can't say these words. You got it. You can do it. I'm gonna restart that. I'm so sorry. Here we go. Me, me, me, me, me. It's just a lot of words. Okay. 3, 2, 1, melody, good.
Speed. Joined American Foundation for the Blind in 2018. Originally as manager of the executive office. In her current role as Associate Director of Development, melody is responsible for securing financial resources through strategic and effective donor relations, building and managing major gift level portfolios in securing planned gifts.
Timothy: Melody, welcome to the podcast. We're excited that you're here today since we're talking about birthdays. When is your birthday and what caused your vision?
Melody: Well, it is so good to be here with you guys and I've enjoyed this birthday banter so much. , and I also too have most of my family that has birthdays in April.
I sort of told my, uh, you know, family that we [00:06:00] need to start saving for April. It's kinda like Christmas. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Yes. But I am a Leo, so I am an August 20th. Okay. Ooh, yes. Yes. August is also a great month. Yes, it's, and I wanna say I am more than happy to be a friend at a attend Johnny's birthday party.
Yes.
Leslie: No melody. She's got too many. There's too many. No, you were welcome.
Christina: I said Johnny had too many friends. I can invite whoever I want. I was
Melody: listening. I am more than happy to support. That's too funny.
Leslie: Too
Melody: funny. I love it. Oh my goodness. . So, you know, I, you guys, this is crazy. This year for me is, is I wouldn't necessarily call it a birthday, um, but it is 20 years that I have been totally blind and, you know, ta thinking about that at first come, you know, it does, it pulls up my heart in a way that that is.
so painful, but at the [00:07:00] same time, I, I, I'm celebrating too, and I've met so many wonderful people. Um, and a lot of that has to do with, uh, with leader docs for the blind. But we will, we'll get into that, into a second. But, you know, I lost my eyesight very suddenly in age of 26. And, um, it was due to a, uh, misdiagnosed blood clot.
And I woke up one morning with pinhole vision and we had to go to surgery. And when I got out of surgery, I was totally blinded. It didn't work. But you know, that was such a traumatic and, and hard time and, and really the recovery, um, from my health as well was, was really hard. And so when I say that it's a, it's a bittersweet kind of thing.
I think about, you know how I was so scared? Mm-hmm. , you guys did that first step out the door. I remember. when I got, um, you know, I won't give all this one specific thing which I think is so important here is I remember my dad had to carry his 26 year old dollar to the car because I [00:08:00] was paralyzed with fear to even walk without being able to see.
And, um, You know, fast forward to now I'm traveling all over the place and, and some days when I have all my hard days, I think about that day, you know, and I think, oh my gosh, how far I've come and, and it gives me the strength to kinda pump that forward. And, uh, yeah. So it's, it's a word for Daisy, my current guide dog suit for and I to get out and let others know that you just need to take that first step, like that first.
it's all you need to do to get on the path of your, your unique selves. Yeah. That's
Leslie: a lot melody. Wow. To be carried out. So how did you find that courage? Like where did that come from? What was your first step? What was the first thing that you did kind of on your rehab journey?
Melody: So, that's a good question.
So the first thing that I did was, you know, I sat in in bed a lot. I was in a lot of pain. Mm-hmm. and I had horrific headaches that I was in and out of the emergency room. . And you know, you look back on that now and you think pain is just such a horrible thing. I, I, I [00:09:00] don't wish that on anyone and I'm so grateful now that I don't have that.
But I think health, realizing that, you know, the minute that I was healthy enough to get up, it's hard to deal with a site loss when you're still dealing with the trauma of what happened. Mm-hmm. and I couldn't do both at the same time. So finally when we got that, that part under control where I didn't have, you know, the, the excruciating pain and I could.
I started thinking about all the things in life and I was, you know, in my twenties at the time and I thought, oh my gosh, you know, what am I gonna do? I was a teacher prior to losing my eyesight. I was working on my master's in special education tutoring. And you know, you're right in that time of life where you're just really figuring yourself out and, and you know, my friends are going out and I'm an MRI machine and laying in bed and feeling quite depressed and sad, and I realize you.
the only thing that we really have control over in our life is our attitude. And that's really what did it for [00:10:00] me. And I thought, okay, I know this house. I'm in my parents' house, I mm-hmm sort of, kind of grew up here, so I know where things are. Let me try. So I just literally got up, walked over to the bathroom, realized I'm putting my hands in front of me and just.
like feeling around, I mean, okay, I know this. I'm, I'm, and just practice baby steps every single day. Um, that was the first thing for me. And then, you know, I had to wait a minute. Let's say a minute, let's say a very long time , um, to get a cane right, cause like I, to learn how to use that, which, you know, then that's a whole other, I will be completely honest with everyone and say that, that I fought that tooth and nail mm-hmm.
Um, and it, you know, the preconceived notions that come along with being blind. Um, I have those for myself. Fineness was not in my wheelhouse, but that was my first step was just really, and having my my family as support. I think support is huge in any trauma or any type of life change that we have, right?
I mean, it's not just celebrating our [00:11:00] birthdays, but we're celebrating those birthdays cuz we're celebrating the people that we love. So I think the support is so critical.
Christina: Melody, and I love that you said baby steps because I think sometimes people are like, well, if I don't do it all right now, I'm never gonna get there.
I think the baby steps is such an important thing in trying to do like one thing, one little thing,
Melody: oh yeah. At a time and not you have to commit to that. And so,
Christina: Yeah. And Melody, when did, when did you find, I guess, leader Dog throughout this journey when you were taking
Melody: these steps? Oh, okay. So this is a great story.
So I, my doctor, my general practitioner, and I'm hopping up on the, he's just Dr. Ned, such a great guy. He's retarding Florida now, but he, I'm sitting there on . I'm sitting there and he's like, melody, I see a lot of fire and spark in you, and I go, okay, says, so I've got this patient and he [00:12:00] owns like this giant tech company.
Like, okay, you know, where's she going with us? Right? Yeah. Here, get outta here. I'm so tired of doctors. And then he goes, and then his wife, his wife owns,
Timothy: Sky Dog School and she works with
Melody: these dogs and he's got a dog and I really wanna share your phone number with them. And I'm like, okay, well if he's got a dog that may be I am deferring this.
I'm like, okay, well, you know, I don't really know many people that are blind, so maybe I should check this out. . And so I was like, sure, fine. Share my phone number, whatever. You know, I'm still kind of depressed and angry. And then the more I thought about it, I'm like, I don't wanna be seen in public with a dog at a restaurant like that doesn't seem right.
You know, there's all these things like, you know, I'm still having my battle. Like you have to take like, yeah. And those baby steps were so important. Um, it was a fight to get there. It wasn't like, oh, yay boob, I'm gonna have a lastie and I'll be all good. It's, it was a lot of having to, to process that, to really kind of, okay.
and, and you [00:13:00] know, so, so then he says, so then I'm, I mean it like eight o'clock in the morning my phone rings and I'm like, ok, got there. So, and it, and it was my friend and who is someone who has become so near and dear to my life, and really, he helped me so much, but same as Bill. And he does not own a big giant head company.
He did, weren't at a, you know,
Timothy: a big giant government subcontractor, ,
Melody: and. lovely wife was a trainer at Leader Dog . And um, so that's how I got to meet them. And lo and behold, they only lived like, you know, 10 to 15 minutes from me. So I got to become really dear friends with Bill and Colleen and Bill became such a mentor to me.
Um, and, and Colleen really talked to me through the process of, of getting a dog. And I thought about it and thought about it. . And then when I finally got to meet them in person and kind of see, you know, how all of this works, it just motivated me. And I thought, you know, I'm gonna give this a shot. This is [00:14:00] this, this seems good.
And what I loved about it too was, I'm a very outgoing person, much like you, I'm an extrovert. And I like no one says, oh my gosh, where did you get that? Can, it's so cool. And trust me when I say I love my cane, I do, I I can't move without the thing mobility's so important. Um, but. , I, I noticed that, you know, there was a level of, of like the dog bringing the, like your world, giving you something back.
Mm-hmm. , like when I looked at, uh, getting my first guy dog. So I did, I, I applied and I thought, I'll, I'll give this a shot. And when I got the call that I, you know, in 2005 that, you know, I was, you know, my, they found a dog for me and they a match. And I was like, wow, okay. And then I took that next, my next.
my next baby step to get on a flight. Cuz I had not flown since, you know, well, I mean by myself. Yeah. I had, um, other people, but not by myself. It was [00:15:00] a huge baby step. Yeah. And then, you know, when I got to Yes. And then, you know, you're taking that time to, to go train it and it was just, it was really one of the first times that my baby step led to empowerment.
That's awesome.
Leslie: I think that's a really good point too, is you know, that step definitely can't be referred to as a baby step, right? Like the courage and the amount of faith and uh, just dedication and strive and want to get on that plane by yourself and go to someplace you've never been before where you don't know anybody takes.
Huge amount of confidence. It takes a huge amount of, you know, strength and courage to do that. And that is one thing we are so thankful that our clients repeatedly do. Mm-hmm. , um, to come receive these services. So you took that giant step, right? You got here, and so now you've had a couple of leader dogs.
Tell us about like what is the difference between kind of the first, and is this your second dog that you've got? Yes. Okay. Yes. So what were some of the biggest [00:16:00] differences when coming to campus for those two?
Melody: Oh my gosh. Well, before I say that, I'm gonna add to you, Zach. The reason why I was able to have that trust, and I mean in confidence, is because you guys gave me so much trust.
I gotta say the staff at Leader Dog, like from beginning to end, just even through that application process, it's just so welcoming and you need that when you're going through something hard, you know who you are. Like you need that support. So again, like we talked about earlier, like having my family support, but then opening your heart up to support from other resources is also incredibly, I.
I like that. So there was a, there was a trust that I had of knowing that I was going to get there and everything would be great. Um, as far as it being safe and, and, and having that confidence. So Carrie was my first trainer at, at Leader Dog when I came to get my first guide dog garlic. Oh my gosh. She, I called her my little peanut.
She was like, so cute. And, Move her head along and bounce it back and [00:17:00] forth. And she actually like, felt like, I don't even think Scarlet knew she was a dog. I really don't. Um, , yellow
Timothy: And she just,
Melody: it's just so sweet. And when you would talk to her, she'd shake her head back and forth with you, like, yeah, I get it. Like, I see, I got you. I hear what you're saying. You know, um,
Timothy: but she just was so special.
Melody: And when she came bounding in my room full of en and, you know, energy and puppy zoomies and I.
That's gonna guide me. I'm curious, like Yeah, just give her a train car.
Timothy: Ok. Too funny. Ok. Um, , but
Melody: it was just, it was just beautiful, you know, and, and really, you know, getting up in the morning and learning how to work with your dog and being with like other clients and the beautiful friendships that you build and, and, uh, Having that harness in your hand for the first time and thinking like, this is a partnership.
This is, this is a real partnership.
Timothy: [00:18:00] And, um, it just, having that
Melody: partnership, it took two things away that I needed to see clearly. One, I didn't feel so alone, and two, I was focusing really hard on, you know, bonding with, with Scarlet, but then also, Noticing that. Oh my gosh. I just did, you know, building up to this, of course was like, I just did a three mile walk today.
Mm-hmm. , like, I haven't done that in years.
Timothy: Yeah. And it just, all these
Melody: things like started to open up and it was just like so incredibly fantastic. And then when I had to retire Scarlet, um, that was so hard. It was really hard. I just, she was, I mean, we, we did everything together. She. , she pushed me. Like I really, she pushed me and I was able to get out of the house.
When I finally got back from Leader Docg, I'm like, okay, you know, you work so hard when you're there and you're so well taken care of cuz you were a working card and you guys do [00:19:00] the best of being supportive when you're trying to figure stuff out and your emotions are all over the place and you're trying to figure this, this whole thing out is, it's hard work.
I mean, it's, it's not easy, but, totally worth it. I grew so much the time that I was there with her, and so when I got home, I was talking to a friend of mine and she's like, yeah, you need to get out. I'm like, I really do. So I found a volunteer opportunity, which was a baby step for me too, and then really started to figure out how am I gonna build my life?
And then started moving into my career and started traveling all over the world with not the world, but the United States with Scarlet. when it came time to retire her. That transition is a, is a really, is a really hard one. I remember when I came back to get Daisy, my current guide dog, I remember just crying thinking, oh my gosh, I'm cheating on Scarlet.
This is terrible. You know? Yeah. Um, but the support that you get at Leader Dog and understanding that transition, Daisy and I have moved forward, like [00:20:00] she's been another step up for me. Mm-hmm. and I, uh, and you know, as, as I, as, as we are rounding retirement now, and I, I know that, that my third leader dog will just be another step up.
And that's what I love about it. It's, you know, you, you learn, you know that your heart is big enough to hold it all and, you know, we, we troop forward and it's, it's a, it's a beautiful place to be. It's the, it makes life more exciting. and fulfilling. Yeah.
Leslie: And I think like your whole mantra there is like taking steps, right?
Like I love that whole idea and concept. I feel like that needs to be a book title. Timothy, go ahead. Sorry. Yeah. . Yep. .
Timothy: Melanie, did you mind talk about your career and how, how you got involved with the af af AF B?
Melody: Sure. I would love to. So I actually, um, when I first got back into work, I was, we working in government contracting and I, you know, I did that for 10.
And, um, behind the scenes though, I was really got involved with my Lions Club because, you know, lions Club [00:21:00] are such huge supporters and once I found out that they are like the, you know, the pillar of, of leader Doug, like, I was like, okay, I've gotta, I gotta give back somehow. So I became, um, The leader dog chair for District 24 a and I, I loved going around and talking about like my experience and my guide dog and my journey and about Leader Dog.
And what I didn't realize I was doing is I was falling in love with philanthropy because you know, we're you go and I speak and then these clubs are are giving to the cause and it was so great. And then I also started doing some other volunteer fundraising where I just started doing an event called Dance Recite for another nonprofit.
That really much sparked my interest. and what I've found is that advocacy is at the heart of me and helping people take their first steps no matter what it is. Any type of pain that you may, you take on, or trauma or even, you know, uncertainty about changing careers. I mean, [00:22:00] we're all, I, I wanna lead by example, right?
So that was my. Thing. But while I was doing that, I realized I really, someone pointed out said, you should get into development. I'm like, what's that ? And I was like, oh, okay. So then when I got a, the American Foundation for the Blind and was at the executive office, I got, you know, a really big, like what the whole organization was about.
And when we decided to, you know, kind of bolster our, um, resource and development department and I said, you know, I really wanna try this. And I did. And now I've been doing it. For over three years, um, as a, as my career here. And I absolutely love it because I get to go out and build these great relationships with people and have them understand what, you know, people like me that are blind and different.
There's low vision and there's blindness. Mm-hmm. , but at the end of the day, we're all people and we as people all have unique gifts. And I think going back to taking those first steps, it's, it's so important for us to understand. [00:23:00] blind or low vision individuals, that we do have a lot to offer the world.
Absolutely. And also that we need to be out there doing that and to be seen and, and heard and, and I love seeing the community really doing that. And that's one thing that I absolutely love is that, you know, systems change only. by moving in those directions by, we think sometimes that we are just one person, but that's not true.
I think that we, you know, we, the many things that we do in our lives really come down to opening people's minds to what it is we're able to do and vice versa. I think by doing that, we're we're showing other people that there's other ways that they could be doing life, which just makes for a more inclusive world.
Absolutely not. That makes sparks such creativity. Absolutely.
Leslie: I think that's wonderful. I love all of that. Would you mind telling us Melody just a little bit more about the American Foundation for the Blind? Cuz [00:24:00] it's such a wonderful organization and just an incredible resource that we often refer to.
Melody: Yes. Oh my gosh. I'm so glad to hear that. so exciting. . So the American Foundation for the Blind, our mission is to create a life of no limits for people that are blind vision, low vision. And what we do with that is we're a system change organization. And what that means is, is we wanna make sure that. We are working with our stakeholders, our partners, our major donors who we just love so much and all of our supporters.
Everybody is such a supporter in moving the needle to change. And we do that through evidence-based research that's in-house at afb, which is so incredible. So what we do is we really look at different things, barriers to digital access. This is the big thing that we're looking at, right? . And with our upcoming leadership conference, which is in April, we are really empowering inclusion mm-hmm.
uh, digital inclusion. So what we really are looking at is, is doing that. And [00:25:00] also one of the things we do is we, we look at, um, technology and test technology and being able to give a report that only not blind people, um, or people that are low vision can use, but we wanna make sure that the tech and. So I'm sorry.
The technology is barrier free and is also able to use for any person that uses any type of assistance, adaptive technology, which I think is wonderful. And we also have really started some two really great programs, which is our talent lab program, which speaks to this. And we're actually putting people that are blinder vision impaired into paying internship positions and how they're learning about digital inclusion and access.
The other thing that we're doing, which is so incredibly great is our Blind Leaders program, which I love so much because you think about, Hey, I've got this job, but how do I get upward mobility? Mm-hmm. , and we've been able to see so much success in that too, where it's a yearlong program, it's a mentor fellow relationship, [00:26:00] and we get to teach and learn about different types of leadership skills, which I gotta tell you, I was a mentor and the first cohort, we're now about to kick off our fourth, and what's so great about that?
the relationships I've seen built, you know, the barriers to networking, like how do you network when you can't see like valid question, right? So giving tools, and we've seen so much career growth. We've actually had two individuals go into CEO positions and we've seen other individuals really get more involved in their community and branch out and that.
Systems change that we really foster. That's what we wanna see. We're so sometimes focused on employment and everything, but at the end of the day, we're all people, right? We love entertainment. We wanna be known in our community, and just seeing this activity has just been so incredibly wonderful.
Absolutely.
Leslie: Gosh, I love all of that. I feel like we could do like a whole episode honestly in just all of the work that the American Foundation, uh, for the Blind is doing, because there's just an incredible resource and it's a really great starting point too for anybody [00:27:00] who's recently lost vision or kind of starting to look out for what, what resources even exist or where, um, you guys just, you have an incredible resource day.
Yes, I do. And I, I had never,
Melody: I'm so glad you brought that up, because we do have an incredible resource. You know, one of the things, I lost my eyesight and the doctor said, this is gonna be okay. And I just looked at him and said, how is this gonna be okay? Do you have anything on this? No. Okay. You don't have anything in the doctor's office and you're not a doctor.
Right? Um, so I think for me, what really helped was. to be able to go to those resources. And when I first lost my eyesight, AFB was the first place I went to. Oh my gosh. To go get help and I was able to be connected to people that were successful blind individuals. Yeah. So it's kind of crazy to me that I'm working at the place that led me to my first Ray of Hope.
Christina: That is amazing to hear. And I personally did not know of any of these organizations or anything before I came to Leader Dog, so it's so great. [00:28:00] We're able to have this platform to share these different things, and we're coming at the end of our time. I wish we had so much more time, but Melanie, I just wanna ask one last thing.
You know, is there any like advice that you would give to someone who is, you know, in that midst of just experiencing their vision loss and not knowing where to go? Sure. Well,
Melody: I would, I would definitely. First of all, you're not alone. There are so many resources out there, and I'm, and being kind to yourself and giving yourself space because it is a process.
And you know, I, we all still have our days to just, just don't stay in that. But I would, I would recommend visiting, you know, the American Foundation for the Blind. Um, it's a, as in apple, F as in Frank, B as in boy, dot. , there are resources there that'll help you that are in your state or your community that you can reach out to.
You can also reach out to us, um, and we can help you find, you know, the tools and, and people to connect you with as well. [00:29:00] And just to also, you know, have your families and the people that love you go on that journey with you. They can best support you. I think that is so critical because you are not alone, you feel isolated, but you're.
And that's, that's what I would definitely say too, is that, you know, we can, we all feel isolated sometimes in life, but when we're going through blindness, you can really feel it. And it's, you're not isolated. You have support. It's out there.
Leslie: Absolutely. Thank you so much, melody, for joining us today. I feel like we could go another full half hour because there are so many things I wanna discuss with you.
Um, but we really appreciate you taking the time and sharing your story and your experiences and, and your credible organiz. Thank you
Melody: and thank you guys for having me. This has been great, and
Leslie: thank you so much for listening to The Taking the Lead podcast. I'm Leslie Hoskins with host Timothy Kuo and Christina Heppner.
We hope you enjoyed learning about Melody and all of the incredible work she is doing. Please join us next week as we continue to dive [00:30:00] in the world of blindness. Yes. And if
Christina: you'd like to learn more about applying for our free services at Leader Dog, you can head to leader dog.org or call us at (888) 777-5332.
And don't forget, you can reach us at taking the lead@leaderdog.org with any questions or ideas. If you like today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out wherever podcast. This season of the Taking the Lead podcast is brought to you by a longtime supporter of Leader Dog, the Mary p Dani Halleran Foundation.
Leslie: As you may know, generous donors like this one make it possible to achieve our mission. The
Christina: Mary p Dani Halleran Foundation supports the study of mathematics and mathematics education.
Leslie: For more information about our generous sponsor, visit their website at www dot dol chi halloran foundation dot.[00:31:00]