Her Story
About Leah
I've been in my field for about 17 years, and I am the founder and CEO of Distinct Consulting Solutions, a company I started nearly three years ago. Before starting my own business, I spent 13 years as an in-house practitioner for various colleges and universities within the U.S., where I served as the overseer of their civil rights compliance, what the industry affectionately knows as the Title IX coordinator. After that, I transitioned into consulting and worked for another company for three years before I made the best decision of my career: taking a leap of faith and betting on myself. I didn't like the experience I had working with that company and knew I had far more value and worth than what that culture was trying to pin me into. Today, I do civil rights and risk management consulting for colleges and universities across the U.S., specializing in federal laws including Title IX, Title VI, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. My company also has an ed tech element that provides technology tools to make civil rights compliance more efficient and effective for practitioners in the field. I hold a doctorate in education, specifically in higher education leadership and management, which has really helped equip me for understanding from the top down the complexities and nuances of running a college or a university. I've lost count of the amount of hours I have in civil rights investigation training and understanding those specific laws as it relates to education, but it's about the equivalent of my career in totality because every year I engage in so many hours of professional development and then actually putting that to practice has been invaluable.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Leah
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a couple of things. Obviously, first and foremost, God. I also attribute it to my family, who have been extremely supportive of my journey. Starting with my husband, who's been my partner in crime for over 20-something years now and has been behind me every step of the way, and my kids. But even my parents and siblings have been my cheerleaders in the background as well. These are folks I can always turn to for good days, bad days, and ideas. I know and trust that what I'm getting from them is nothing but what will ultimately be the best for me. It's not always good - I get told the honest, raw truth by these core people - but I know that where that's coming from is nothing but love and wanting the best for me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is very simple, but it comes from one of my long-standing mentors who always says this to me whenever I am thinking of making major professional moves: 'You got this.' That's so profound to me because, personally, there's sometimes fear that I lean a little bit too heavily into when taking chances with my professional career. 'You got this' just reminds me that I gotta put fear aside, because I have the knowledge, I have the expertise, I have what it takes to pursue whatever it is that I'm seeking to pursue, because I do got it, at the end of the day.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Keep going, and bet on yourself, whatever that looks like, right? Because not every woman wants to be an entrepreneur, but you have women who choose to maybe start a new career path or move up the ladder wherever they are. Bet on yourself and do it. And don't let anybody hinder you and tell you that you can't do something. Just bet on yourself, and do it, and take a chance. Oftentimes, I think especially in the professional landscape, women tend to get pinned into a box, or tried to get pinned into a box, and don't ever allow anybody to pin you into a box that you are outgrown and cannot fit in.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunity right now, which is where my company has transitioned, is the use of AI into what is a very legal and compliant field. It's the type of field that is slow, I would say, to AI-generated tools, just generally speaking, but I do see it as an opportunity and tools to help make elements of this field more efficient and for some extent, more effective. So yeah, I think that's definitely an opportunity, for sure. And it can be a challenge just because of the hesitancy in this profession with wanting to adapt. Part of my company is navigating and doing this, because we have developed custom-made tools to make sure that we own all of the securities around the tools that we have.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My faith is first and foremost. I believe in God wholeheartedly, and always seek to align everything that I do with what I believe is His will for my life, and so that is my foundation and my core. To my core, I am the kind of person that truly, fundamentally believes in equality and equity for everyone, in all things that we do. That's just who I am.
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