Carol’s Story
Carol Leish offers a special presentation to businesses, schools, hospitals, organizations and clubs. She invites her audience to join her on her personal journey of coping with visual and speech challenges.
Carol enlightens people by focusing on the strengths that people with disabilities have, and demonstrates there is always a way to get around a situation by improvising or accommodating to it. She is an eloquent speaker who deals with a sensitive subject in a way that inspires and educates the listener.
Carol continues to gain recognition, and has received several awards for her community achievements in promoting mutual understanding and respect of others regardless of their differences.
Carol graduated from CSU, San Bernadino, with a 3.6 GPA, earning her Masters degree in Education and Counseling. She went on to teach at San Bernadino in City schools, and worked for a variety of non-profit organizations.
Carol realized the importance of educating adults and youth to become more accepting of others, and started her “Call Me Capable” in-service presentations, and developed the Call Me Capable GameTM. She inspires her audience with her humor and genuineness, and leaves them with an awareness that we are all more similar than different.
“Through the lessons of life, I have realized my goal to help others. Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘Life is a succession of lessons that must be lived to be understood.’ I have, and continue to learn lessons of how to educate others to make them more aware of what I can do–what they can do too. Thus remember to Call Me Capable, and Yourself More Capable.”
Ventura County Community Involvement
- Disability Advocate: Advisory Council for the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging: 2021—2023
- Member: Ventura County League of Women Voters: 2020—Present
- Member: Women’s Ventura County Political Council: 2020—Present
- Member: The Ladies Luncheon of Ventura: 2010—Present
- Member: Ventura County Professional Women’s Network: 1997–2020
Our Ventura TV interview with Carol Leish
Carol is interviewed about Ableism and how assumptions about people with disabilities are usually incorrect.
Treat me with Respect for my Age
Ageism is too common in our society. Elders deserve our respect and admiration for who they are as individuals. Even if someone has memory issues or dementia, don’t ignore them. They still have feelings and hopes and desires like the rest of us. And, with age, comes wisdom, which needs to be respected, too. And,
Focus on Capabilities Instead of Disabilities
It’s human nature, unfortunately, to focus on what people can’t do instead of what they can do. This also includes making assumptions of what others are or aren’t capable of doing. The harm of making assumptions of others capabilities, because oftheir disabilities is sad. Stereotyping people because of their challenges, along with making assumptions, is