Teri E. Gittens

I attribute my success to trauma - and I know that sounds morbid, but hear me out. When I left Per Scola, I needed long-term disability for depression and anxiety. They said my position as a department head was too important to be vacant, so they terminated my position. We left amicably, but I was forced to deal with some repressed trauma through a process called EMDR. My therapist showed me a video that explained trauma like a wardrobe full of clothes everywhere - memories you don't know how to process. After EMDR, those clothes are folded neatly in the wardrobe. The memories don't go away, the wardrobe is always there, but you manage it. You open it when you want to, take out what you need, and close it when you're done. Going through that painful process - the therapy, the shadow work, that whole journey - taught me so much about life and people. It taught me that I can't control a single thing in this world except myself and my thoughts. That understanding gave me a great deal of freedom and peace, and the courage to be free to be me. That's what allowed me to launch my own company and truly step into who I am.

When I was transitioning from a novice teacher to a veteran teacher, around the five-year mark, I attended a back-to-school event where one of the facilitators said something that has stuck with me ever since. She told us, 'When you walk into that school building, you're about to step into that classroom, you are not teaching children. You're teaching somebody's heart that has walked outside of their body.' For some reason, that hasn't just stuck with me as an educator - it's stuck with me as a person who deals with human relations. When I work with people, I think about that. People are human, they're somebody's heart just walking around outside of their body. Especially in corporate, where everything is about the business, the business, the business, I always think, okay yeah, it's a business, but the business is this unseeable entity made up of people. If you don't treat people like the human beings that they are, then there is no business. That advice has guided how I approach every professional relationship.

Do what scares you the most. That's how you know you're fulfilling your dreams. It's advice that I'm still taking myself - I recently learned this. Do what scares you the most, because that's how you're fulfilling your dreams. They're your dreams for a reason. They're not there by accident, they're not somebody else's - they're yours for a reason. So fulfill them.

The job market right now is deplorable. It affects everyone, even if you're currently employed - I won't even use the word 'secure' anymore when it comes to employment. In my industry of consulting, I have to be paid, and in order for people to pay me, they have to make money. If they're not making money because the economy is struggling, or if their budgets are tight, then their ability to pay me is limited or they're uncertain about where their money goes. That means I have to overly prove my worth and value as a consultant, and even if I'm valuable, they still have to wonder if they can afford me. The economy affects everybody. The indirect consequence is that it affects people's self-esteem. If you're looking for a job right now, you can't help the 'is it me, is it me, is it me?' thoughts. Even if you know it's not you, human nature makes you feel like you suck because you see everyone on LinkedIn posting 'hey, I got hired' while you're still searching. The challenge is to stay not just positive, but realistic, and to know that the two can coexist. You can be realistic and positive at the same time without being negative.

The values most important to me in both my professional and personal life are family, community, and faith. I am deeply motivated by the opportunity to support and uplift others, strengthen community connections, and live out my beliefs through service, integrity, and purpose-driven work. These core values guide how I build relationships, make decisions, and contribute to the success and well-being of those around me.