Ashley Zapata, MA, LVN, CDP, CAS

I would probably attribute a lot of my success to persistence. I do not think my path has necessarily been traditional or easy, but I have always been willing to keep learning and keep moving forward. I have gone from nursing into psychology, continued my education, written books, and started building educational resources for families. I think I have learned that you do not have to have everything figured out before you start. Sometimes you just have to be willing to take the next step and learn along the way.

The best career advice I ever received was actually very simple: just try. I used to have a real fear of failure, and I think that held me back from opportunities because I would sometimes decide I was not capable before I even gave myself a chance. I had a supervisor encourage me to apply to the University of the Pacific, and my immediate response was, “They are never going to accept me.” She looked at me and said, “How do you know unless you try?” That really stuck with me. I applied, I got in, and that decision completely changed the direction of my life. It ultimately put me on the path I am on now toward becoming a psychologist. So now I try to remind myself that rejection is possible, but so is success — and you will never know which one is waiting for you unless you try.

I would encourage young women to redefine what “normal” has to look like for them. Times are changing. You can have a meaningful career and also have a family — it does not necessarily have to be one or the other. It takes determination, support, and sometimes a lot of balancing, but you do not have to give up one dream in order to pursue another. I would tell them to follow their goals, take the leap, and not let other people decide what they should or should not be doing. And when you enter spaces where women have historically been underrepresented, do not let that intimidate you. Be part of changing what that field looks like for the women who come after you.

One of the biggest challenges I see in both healthcare and psychology is the education gap. We may do a good job identifying or diagnosing something, but then families are often left asking, “Okay…now what?” For example, a child may go through an autism evaluation, receive a diagnosis, and then the family suddenly has this new information without necessarily understanding what it means, what to expect, or how to navigate it. I see similar gaps in healthcare as well. We give people diagnoses, treatment plans, or recommendations, but sometimes we forget that education is what helps people actually understand and use that information. That gap is one of the reasons I created My Brain Explained. I wanted to create an educational resource where people can better understand autism, ADHD, dementia, and what those diagnoses may mean in everyday life. I think the opportunity in both nursing and psychology is to bridge that gap between receiving information and actually understanding it.

Compassion is probably one of the biggest values for me, both personally and professionally. I also really value authenticity and education. I want people to feel comfortable asking questions and admitting when they do not understand something without feeling judged. And personally, family is incredibly important to me. A lot of what motivates me professionally is wanting to build something meaningful while also being present for the people who matter to me.