Building a Life Without Limits With Jennifer Parrish of The Lighthouse of Houston 

Jennifer Parrish is manager of Business Services at The Lighthouse of Houston, a nonprofit that provides services, training, and employment opportunities for people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired. She oversees a wide range of contracts that provide services ranging from mailrooms, call centers, switchboard services, transcription, and document scanning. A longtime member of the blind community, Jennifer began her career in medical transcription, earned national recognition from NIB, and now leads teams while also hosting the podcast Sightless Voices: Unleashing Potential. Her story reflects resilience, advocacy, humor, and a commitment to helping others build confidence and careers.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:42] Jennifer Parrish introduces her role managing business services at The Lighthouse of Houston
• [1:43] Why accessible employment contracts create real-world opportunities 
• [5:04] Jennifer’s reluctant move into management after more than two decades in medical transcription
• [&:43] Growing up blind, learning Braille early, and spelling words with cheese balls as a child
• [9:19] How Jennifer became host of Sightless Voices: Unleashing Potential and found her podcasting voice
• [16:06] Why the disability cash cliff can affect career growth and upward mobility for people with disabilities
• [22:24] The unfiltered stories behind Jennifer’s podcast and its top-ten nonprofit debut
• [31:28] How blindness, breast cancer, advocacy, and leadership shaped Jennifer’s resilience

In this episode…

For many people, work is about more than a paycheck. It can be a path to independence, confidence, community, and the chance to prove what is possible when the right support and opportunities are in place. But what does it take to move from uncertainty into meaningful work and leadership?

It takes training, persistence, and people willing to open doors. Jennifer Parrish offers firsthand insight as a leader, advocate, and podcast host in the blind community, sharing how employment can help people build both skills and self-belief. Jennifer emphasizes the importance of assistive technology, typing skills, mentorship, and connections with organizations that understand blindness and low vision. Taking chances on people also matters, especially when they are ready to grow beyond entry-level roles. Through her work and advocacy, the episode highlights how confidence is built through opportunity, resilience, and community.

In this episode of Heard & Empowered, Dean Thompson talks with Jennifer Parrish, manager of Business Services at The Lighthouse of Houston, about meaningful work, leadership, and resilience in the blind community. Jennifer shares why accessible employment matters, how technology and training create independence, and what helped her step into management. She also touches on podcasting, advocacy, and navigating breast cancer.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• National Industries for the Blind (NIB)
• NSITE 
• The Lighthouse of Houston 
• Insight for Living  
• Blind Professionals Network 
• Chris Cole Rehabilitation Center  
• Sightless Voices: Unleashing Potential 

Quotable Moments:

• “You’re a manager of the people. You know what we’re going through… what we’re dealing with.”
• “More agencies and organizations should take a chance on their people because, you know, we’re out here, and we can do it.”
• “There are so many organizations out there for people who are blind or low vision.”
• “Go to the rehab center, go get the training, like. get off your couch… it’s essential for the rest of your life.”
• “Familiarize yourself with the blind community, because there’s people out there that can stand out and shine and you know, you’re going to go, ‘Okay, I can do that too.'”

Action Steps:

1. Invest in assistive technology training: Learn tools like screen readers, voiceover technology, braille displays, and workplace software to expand career options.
2. Build community before you need it: Connect with blindness organizations, peer groups, mentors, and employment programs that can offer examples, resources, and encouragement.
3. Take opportunities even when they feel intimidating: Consider leadership, advocacy, or public-facing roles when others recognize potential you may not yet see in yourself.
4. Support new employees with practical check-ins: Ask about transportation, training needs, remote-work barriers, and onboarding challenges before small problems become major obstacles.
5. Advocate for policies that encourage advancement: Learn about issues like the disability benefits cliff and support reforms that help blind professionals pursue higher earnings and mobility.

Sponsor for this episode:

This episode is sponsored by National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the nation’s largest employment resource for and employer of people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired. NIB creates opportunities for people who are blind to become wage earners and taxpayers, reducing their reliance on government support and increasing engagement with their communities. Learn more about their impact at NIB.org.

This episode is also brought to you by NSITE, the premier organization dedicated to connecting professionals who are blind, low-vision, or visually impaired with career opportunities. Whether you’re an employer seeking talented individuals or a job seeker ready to take the next step, NSITE provides the resources and support to help you succeed. Learn more and explore opportunities at NSITE.org.

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Episode Transcript

Dean Thompson: 00:01

Hi there. Welcome to the podcast of the National Industries for the Blind. My name is Dean Thompson. I’m your host, and I’ve often considered myself a member of the Working Blind. Hopefully you are too.

And if not, this podcast should help. Come listen. Find out something from us. Maybe we’ll help. Hopefully we can.

Now our guest today is Jennifer Parish, and Jennifer is the manager of business services at the Houston Lighthouse. Do I get that right, Jennifer?

Jennifer Parrish: 00:25

The Lighthouse of Houston. Yes, sir.

Dean Thompson: 00:27

Houston. Pardon me, pardon me. And she is also a podcast host. So this podcast will run about four hours and 80 minutes I think because.

Jennifer Parrish: 00:34

Podcast.

Dean Thompson: 00:35

Anyway, so, so get comfortable out there. No, let’s be regular. So Jennifer, tell me all about Jennifer, please.

Jennifer Parrish: 00:42

Okay, so I am the manager of business services currently at The Lighthouse of Houston. I manage approximately in the number fluctuates according to contracts that we get, but around 40 people and I manage six Is one of six government and one commercial contract. At this point. We just got one back. So I’m counting in my head.

And so so yeah, so and I’ve been doing that for approximately three years, just about three years. And then for the first 23, I was a medical transcriptionist and got nationally certified for that. And then somebody decided to take a chance on me and say, hey, you want to manage a bunch of people after you’ve been sitting in front of a computer all your life autonomously? But, but I said, yeah, you know, because I, I, I know a lot of people in the blind community, I’m well familiar with The Lighthouse and I have a big mouth, so why not? Sounds almost.

Dean Thompson: 01:40

Overqualified. Good for.

Jennifer Parrish: 01:41

You. Yeah.

Dean Thompson: 01:43

So what is a business service that you manage? What actually do you guys do?

Jennifer Parrish: 01:47

Okay. So we we have two we manage two IRS mail rooms in the city of Houston. We manage a transcription service that I used to lead and work for. And now I manage.

Dean Thompson: 02:00

And I’m going to stop you every time the term comes in. I think the definition for the for the for the broader audience and for your stupid host here. What is an IRS mailroom?

Jennifer Parrish: 02:09

Okay. So they there’s for the IRS, we process mail in there. They’re located in an IRS building. And so they, they, you know, handle the deliveries and UPS and stuff for the IRS folks in that particular building. Okay.

Okay. All right. And so, so there’s like, we have one IRS mailroom downtown that’s in like a big old building downtown. And then we have one across in southwest Houston. And so they, they just handle the mail and process it like UPS, Fedex, all that kind of stuff for their folks in that building.

And so they can go handle and pick up their mail. Okay. So and then yeah. And then, so in addition to that, we have a switchboard that we manage. And in Long Beach, California for the VA Medical Center, and that has about 14 employees.

We have a. Fix it call center. So that’s University of Houston. And what that does is we we have it’s for maintenance calls, to put it, you know, bluntly or, or just to lay it out there. But it’s.

But so people will call in and it’s everything from a broken light bulb to an Hvac issue in like the Tilman Fertitta Center, which is like their football stadium. So. And, you know, so it’s, it’s small to huge. And so the University of Houston campus is like a little city. And so there’s a lot of stuff going on maintenance wise all the time.

And so these guys take the phone calls and process them and, and create little, what is it called, service requests. And then those are processed and sent out to the appropriate people who go and then go and fix the problem. And then. I’m sorry. Did you have a question?

Dean Thompson: 03:56

No. Go on.

Jennifer Parrish: 03:56

Please. Okay. Okay, so I’m trying to think what else there is. So mailrooms. Oh, and then we have a.

And also another mailroom. It’s called. It’s a postal service center on Vandenberg Space Force Base. There’s two ladies that work out there. That’s a contract that we’ve had for 30 years.

And I, you know, so that’s they do the same thing as the IRS folks. They just they process mail for that Space Force base. How many is that? Okay. So then we have, oh, then we have our scanning departments.

So those are ability one programs as well. This is RNG. This is the Army Reserve National Guard scanning department. So they scan in index files into soldiers medical records. And then we also have another scanning department for the Railroad Retirement Board.

And they scan, you know, retirement paperwork for obviously folks for the railroad and send it to through an FTP to their headquarters in Chicago, and they process them. And so I think I think that’s it. I think that’s all.

Dean Thompson: 04:58

I could boil that down to technical terms. That’s lots of stuff. Lots, lots of stuff.

Jennifer Parrish: 05:02

Yeah, lots of stuff.

Dean Thompson: 05:04

Now, we talked before you were not you didn’t embrace the role of manager. When I was first asked if you wanted. Did you.

Jennifer Parrish: 05:11

Know?

Dean Thompson: 05:12

Tell me about that process?

Jennifer Parrish: 05:13

No. So I was approached in 2023. And, you know, we’re just getting out of Covid and man like, and honestly, I was on unemployment for a while because transcription work ran out during Covid. You know, I was leading the transcription department, but work was kind of dwindling. And I was like, you know, I don’t know, but I’m still stuck with it.

And, and then I was approached by our management and, you know, this position came open. They said, hey, you know, you’ve got enough experience to do this. And, you know, these people and we believe in you and we think you can do well with this. You know, you have the right temperament and and and, and stuff. So so I reluctantly said yes, very reluctantly because I was scared to death.

You know, because it’s just it’s a lot. It was a lot. And the first, you know, year was kind of rocky. I was just having tech issues and, you know, just dealing with particular documents and like approving payments for stuff. I was like, I gotta approve a payment for like this much money.

And you know, I don’t even know what it is. And, you know, it’s, it’s a lot of things that I didn’t understand. And it was a lot of learning. And again, it was dealing, you know, with, with people, you know, which I always, I mean, I’m a people person, of course, but like, but. You know, but like, I’m sorry, working, working with people and I’m a people person, but just dealing with employee employee relations issues.

That was new to me, You know what I mean? Two people aren’t getting along and I’m like, oh my God, you know, because I just it’s it’s crazy to have to resolve stupid arguments between people. I’m like, oh my gosh, you know what I mean? Like just employee relations stuff. And so.

Dean Thompson: 07:04

So how were you let me phrase this properly. How were you as a man of G. I mean, did you have a good relationship with your manager? It seems to me. I bet you if there is a renegade employee out there when you were in the rank and file, it might have been you.

Jennifer Parrish: 07:18

By and large, I was. I was pretty good, you know. My my work was excellent. I was an employee of the year in 2008 for NIB, the national winner. So that says anything.

And yeah, so and my, my boss, we’re actually still friends, my, you know, former boss and, you know, we’re buddies. And so, you know, all was well with that. Yeah.

Dean Thompson: 07:43

Let’s go back and do some more basics. How blind are you? And when did all that? When did all that occur?

Jennifer Parrish: 07:48

I was born blind, visually impaired. So my left eye just never developed. And then my right. So I can’t see anything out of that eye. And then in the right eye, I have keratoconus, which is your eye sticks out like a cone.

And so I can basically it’s, I say enough vision to get me in trouble because, you know, I can like, you know, walk around and whack into something, but I can still see colors and I can see, you know, if I get up on top of the TV, I can sort of see, you know, stuff on TV and things like that.

Dean Thompson: 08:21

So we’re quite, quite similar. Yes.

Jennifer Parrish: 08:25

I’m a Braille reader.

Dean Thompson: 08:27

When did when did you realize that you were different from other, other kids? Other people? When did that finally hit you as a kid?

Jennifer Parrish: 08:33

I mean, I from the jump from the beginning, you know, because I was I had a visually impaired, you know, VI teacher or whatever that was when I was like four years old, they were teaching me Braille and I was I interesting story. I was making Braille out of cheese balls and I was like, mom, look, I spelled this word and I was, you know, planters, cheese balls. Heck yeah man.

Dean Thompson: 08:55

That’s awesome.

Dean Thompson: 08:57

That was give me a minute. That was wonderful. And your mom and that completely, I bet. Sure.

Jennifer Parrish: 09:03

Of course.

Dean Thompson: 09:04

Not to mention the waste of the cheese balls. Yes. Of course.

Jennifer Parrish: 09:07

Yeah, I ate them. On a plate.

Dean Thompson: 09:13

That’s that’s that’s really that’s that’s that’s accepting literature on a on a literal basis.

Jennifer Parrish: 09:17

Yeah. See.

Dean Thompson: 09:19

And when did you become as they, as you call it, the hostess with the mostess. Tell us about the end of podcasting there.

Jennifer Parrish: 09:25

The hostess with the mostest.

Jennifer Parrish: 09:27

So I.

Jennifer Parrish: 09:29

When they.

Jennifer Parrish: 09:30

Okay, so I was two years ago, I was kind of voluntold that, you know, we’re going to have a podcast and we would like you to host it, you know, because I have a big mouth And so I was I was going through some stuff at that time. And I, you know, I was like, I don’t know, I’m not sure. But ultimately I did say yes. And, you know, it was at some meeting when they announced that I was going to host the podcast. And I was like, yeah, the host you with the most.

And then I just started saying it and then it just became something. So I’m glad people enjoy that. But yeah, but so, so in July of 2024, we, we started the podcast Sightless Voices: Unleashing Potential. We began filming and we are at, I think we, I just filmed yesterday. We did, we’re at like 42, 44, I think now 44, I think it was.

So it’s been two years, two years in July. So yeah.

Dean Thompson: 10:30

Let’s do a proper plug.

Dean Thompson: 10:31

The title of the of the podcast again is.

Jennifer Parrish: 10:33

Yes sir Sightless Voices: Unleashing Potential. You can find it wherever you get your podcast folks.

Dean Thompson: 10:38

Yeah.

Dean Thompson: 10:39

Podcasts are sold or given away, as the case may be.

Jennifer Parrish: 10:42

Absolutely.

Dean Thompson: 10:42

So we’re talking responsibility. 23. They make you a manager. 24 they give you a podcast. What did you think about something going from being, you know, I come to work every day or whatever, and then suddenly I’m in charge of stuff.

Well, what was the what was the evolution there?

Jennifer Parrish: 10:56

I was freaking out. I was freaking out. But then, you know, it suddenly all just kind of came into line. And I found the balance. And then somebody said to me it was one of my employees.

And they were like. They were like, finally a blind manager. Finally, you know, it’s you’re a manager of the people. You know what we’re going through. You know what we’re dealing with.

And that struck me and I was like, this is where I need to be. This is absolutely where I need to be. Because I would have wanted in my past to have, you know, someone that was like me who was dealing with the same things. And I, and I feel like more, you know, more agencies and organizations should take a chance on their people because, you know, we’re out here and we can do it, you know.

Dean Thompson: 11:44

Well, the undercurrent.

Dean Thompson: 11:46

Of the podcast here is, is a phrase which I love called the working blind aren’t working people don’t have jobs. Talk about getting out of. I don’t know what what’s a good word for the doldrums, the trap, the insecurity of being blind and not knowing if you can actually work and have a proper life, a real life. Talk about going going into that and people you bring into The Lighthouse there and how they how they go from becoming, you know, becoming working people.

Jennifer Parrish: 12:13

Well, so.

Jennifer Parrish: 12:14

For, I mean, I’ll use myself as an example. So in 1996, I, you know, I went to, I went to college for a while. I didn’t like it in the 90s when you had books on tape and all the things and I it was, you know, okay, read page 50 and then read page 625. I’m not finding that like it would just suck.

Dean Thompson: 12:36

College texts on tape are a real cure for insomnia. As far as I’m concerned.

Jennifer Parrish: 12:41

100% not at all. So yeah, so I just, I was like, this isn’t for me. I mean, I know I’m, I could do it. I know I’m, I knew I was smart enough, but I was like, this just it sucks. I don’t do it.

So I went to Austin for a while and, and went through a little customer service thing at Chris Cole with Chris Cole Rehab Center down there. They had a little customer service program, you know, and I, I aced that. That was piece of cake and got a job at Sprint Relay Texas. So that’s a service for the deaf where you relay a conversation like you type to the to the deaf person, what the hearing person says, and then vice versa. You speak to the hearing person, what the deaf person says.

And so that was cool for a couple of years. And then I, I had a, I had a breakup, like a relationship breakup. And I was like, I don’t want to be here anymore. So my dad rest in peace. Dad found this program in Houston for medical transcription.

And I was like. And he was like, he’s like, J they call me J. You can type fast. You’re smart. You know, I know you can learn this medical stuff.

And I’ve always had an interest in, you know, medicine and medical things. Like I would have wanted to be like a, like a doctor. I mean, not a, I don’t know, maybe not a doctor, doctor, but some sort of nurse practitioner or something if I, if I decided. But anyway, so, so I came back and the rest is history. I was in a residential program.

They, they like had apartments back in the day where they would put people that were taking classes that were basically out from out of the city. And so I, you know, instead of moving home with my parents, I did that, you know, because my parents are, were here up in on the north side of Houston. But I, yeah, I want to go be down here with everybody and submerge myself. And so, so moved into the apartments, took the classes, met a ton of awesome people, had a great bunch of great experiences, aced the classes, got a job, did well, did on the job training, and then got a job. And and that was it.

So this was my, I thought my destiny until 2023 when when they decided to take a chance on me. So and now I’m, I’m looking at my second career and and I love it.

Dean Thompson: 14:59

So that’s neat. Did you ever doubt you could get work going back to the very beginning? Yes.

Jennifer Parrish: 15:05

Yeah I did.

Dean Thompson: 15:06

Tell me about overcoming that doubt and getting some work, please.

Jennifer Parrish: 15:09

Well, so, you know, just getting working at sprint, I was like, I, I knew that very well. And then I was like, you know, this is all like, you know, I know this well, but like, now I have to if I want to do anything else, what, how high can I go? You know, and I mean, and then I was kind of like, and then that’s kind of what made me ultimately, in addition to the breakup, move back to Houston because, you know, it’s there was it was only there was only a certain level you could go at that company. And I wanted to go higher. And so yeah.

Dean Thompson: 15:47

The rap against some kind disabled, handicapped, whatever you want to apply to folks is that is that they’ll grab a job and be happy that they don’t want to move forward. You are the first off. Do you think that’s true of most people with disabilities with visual impairment? Are they happy with just an entry level job?

Jennifer Parrish: 16:06

So. Okay, so we’re going to talk about the disability cliff for a second because as you as you guys may or may not be aware, I’m an advocate also for the nib. And this is a hot, hot topic right now. HR 1175, which is talking about the disability cash cliff. And I’m going to digress back to the to the entry level positions people want to.

I think people want to grow and want to, you know, have upward mobility, but they don’t want to lose their disability check. So they are complacent in these entry level jobs and they kind of chill there. And that’s what they do. And some of them for their entire career. And then, you know, now myself, I was like, you know, with transcription, I had, I played that game for a little while, had an overpayment and whatever about that disability people, you know, that makes me mad.

But anyhow, and then I was like, you know what? I’m just, I gotta stop this playing this disability check game and I want to make as much money as I can to get off of this thing. And I think some people have that motivation and some people do not.

Dean Thompson: 17:20

So when I talk about aspirations in the most basic of sense, I mean, talking about somebody hopefully people are starting to listen to to this podcast, and maybe yours are people who don’t know where to go, who are a bit and are looking for some place.

Jennifer Parrish: 17:35

I will say so today. There are so many organizations out there for people who are blind or low vision. You have the insight, you have Blind Professionals Network. There’s tons of resources and places that you can go to to help you. You just got to want it.

You know this what? Back in back in my day, there wasn’t all this stuff, you know what I mean? So it was a little more difficult. And I was I was very blessed to find the transcription program, you know, and be able to start my journey. But now there’s, there’s tons of stuff out there.

You just, you gotta want it and you got to go get it. You know, just, but, but I also realize too, not everyone’s like me with, you know, being born with a visual impairment. So you’re in in the game, you know, from the get go, you know, some people recently have lost their vision. And that’s something that I discuss on my podcast too. You know, losing sight when you’re, you know, from birth as opposed to losing it, you know, in a, in a, God forbid, a trauma or something, you know, that’s, it’s totally different and people are going through.

Dean Thompson: 18:44

It’s much tougher to deal with this in your 20s, 30s and 40s than when you’re young. Of course.

Jennifer Parrish: 18:48

Absolutely. And so there are so many like layers of grief and depression and all this kind of stuff. And so people don’t want to work yet because they’re trying to figure out how to, you know, go to the bathroom by themselves or cook their dinner by themselves or like walk across the room by themselves. Like it’s, it’s like, you know, training a kid again. Yeah.

So it’s, it’s sad. It’s, it’s, it’s very sad. But, you know, once they get through that and I, oh, you know, highly, highly recommend, you know, whatever state you’re in to, you know, if somebody’s recently lost their vision, go to the rehab center, go get the training, like get off your couch, please, and go. Because It’s essential for the rest of your life. So.

Dean Thompson: 19:30

Do you mentor people like you? Do you bump into somebody who’s 25, who’s maybe been blind since they were a kid? They’re just not. They’re still wondering, what would you say to that person? Talk.

Talk to that that person who’s in their mid 20s, who is a bit lost.

Jennifer Parrish: 19:44

Well, you know, get all the technology training that you can get so that you can equip yourself with whatever, whatever you want to do, you know, and get out in the community. And, and there’s so many like blind, you know, groups, for lack of a better term, you know, and something will spark your interest through, you know, community and learning the tech, learning the tech, and just, you know, just familiarize yourself with the blind community. I would say, because there’s people out there that can that will obviously stand out and shine and you know you’re going to go, okay, I can do that too.

Dean Thompson: 20:28

Well, it’s true, if.

Jennifer Parrish: 20:29

That makes sense.

Dean Thompson: 20:31

Short or tall or green or purple, it all kind of just grab one and become part of it. And then like you said, shine because why not, you know?

Jennifer Parrish: 20:39

Exactly.

Dean Thompson: 20:40

When someone joins your group for the first time, what’s the first few days like for them? How do you how do you treat them when they first come to work for you?

Jennifer Parrish: 20:48

Well, we, you know, we do our onboarding and I, I personally like to come up and just check on everybody, you know, because they have so we have team leads who are working more, you know, more closely with the people that are working in our in our departments. But I, as a manager, like to go up there and just be like, all right, how are you doing? How’s it going? You know, what can I do for you? You know, and try to get, get the little one on one time and just make sure that they’re okay, you know, and, and not, you know, not like helicopter them, but just yeah, be in contact with them and don’t just go like, okay, cool.

You’re here. Bye. Yeah. No.

Dean Thompson: 21:25

And you’re Scott, you’re Seattle. You got a lot of remote employees too, I’m assuming. Yes.

Jennifer Parrish: 21:29

Yes, yes I do.

Dean Thompson: 21:31

How do you deal with that?

Jennifer Parrish: 21:31

Well, so I mean, same just kind of keep keep tabs on them. The, the fix it call center is the one that’s with the most remote people. The, the VA has, they’re all in an office. So there’s that comes with that drama too. But anyhow, but no, but the remote employees we you know, I’m insane.

Just check on them, make sure they’re okay. What they, you know, see what they need. And, you know, and I also to going back to the regular, the folks in our building, you know, I ensure, you know, how’s your transportation, you know, give them sort of pointers on because we have a paratransit service here called Metro Lyft. And so, you know, you got to play that game and, you know, make your reservation so that it’ll get you to the building in a timely fashion and not two hours early or two hours late. So, you know, I have to I give them tips on how to manipulate the system.

Dean Thompson: 22:24

So cool. So Jennifer, let’s talk about your podcast. It’s I you, I do not use the phrase kick ass, but apparently it is. Tell us a bit about where it came from and what it’s doing and why is it so wonderfully popular, do you think?

Jennifer Parrish: 22:37

2024 I, it’s cool. It’s it’s it’s, I can’t believe that it has taken off as much as it has. Again, I’m gonna plug it’s Sightless Voices: Unleashing Potential. And we debuted top ten in the United States in 2024.

Which was crazy. And I mean, so and what we what we’re doing is we’re just telling unfiltered stories. And as you can kind of tell, I’m a little unfiltered. I’ve tried not to swear on this podcast.

Dean Thompson: 23:07

That’s fine by me. And that’s somebody else’s problem. I, I enjoy your stuff.

Jennifer Parrish: 23:10

Exactly. So, but I mean, we, we just break it down. I mean, we’re real, we have everybody from I mean, you know, we have frontline workers on there. We have low wage board members, we have parents. And I had a lady yesterday who whose child was born without eyes.

Wow. You know, I mean, just everything. And I mean, from the, the the, I mean, you know, heartbreaking stories to the triumphant returns to everything. And I mean, we just don’t we don’t feel I mean, we edit it because there’s a lot of ums and ahs and I have to reread stuff. But, but, you know, it’s, it’s not pretty much unfiltered.

And I think that’s why people hopefully enjoy it. I’m glad that they do. I’m still, it’s still I’m really very, very, very, very humbled because I was never expecting to be doing this ever in my life, you know, and people have told me that I’m a natural. I say a lot.

Dean Thompson: 24:08

We all do. It’s part of it’s part of speaking.

Jennifer Parrish: 24:11

I know, I know, but but it’s cool and I’m glad that it’s, you know, that I’ve been given this platform. I never imagined that I would, you know, never imagine that I would, but like, just, just, you know, living my life and, and being a reluctant cane user for so long. It’s even helping me become just more like blind pride. Like, let’s go. You know what I mean?

Yesterday we filmed with a lady. She was a therapist and she took an Uber over to our, our, our, you know, The Lighthouse where our studio is is three minutes away. She has a guide dog. And the the first Uber driver denied her guide dog. You know, he’s like, oh, it’s, you know, the thing says it’s 250ft away.

And then it all, all, all of a sudden says, you need a new driver or like, we’re picking another driver for you, we’re finding you another driver. And so, you know, obviously the dude left and saw the dog and took off.

Dean Thompson: 25:12

Yes. Come on.

Jennifer Parrish: 25:13

Freaking pisses me off. So I was like, jacked up on cold medicine. I’m recovering from my cold. So I was like, listen, people like, you know, and because it sucks, like, come on, you guys. So, you know, I had a little tirade yesterday.

I hope they keep it in because I was mad. This poor girl took her 30 minutes to get there for a three.

Dean Thompson: 25:37

Yard jacked up on cold medicine. Thank you for.

Jennifer Parrish: 25:39

That. Yeah, buddy. Hey, I’m here to help.

Dean Thompson: 25:42

Debuted top ten. In what? What category?

Jennifer Parrish: 25:46

Non-Profit.

Dean Thompson: 25:46

Yeah. Okay, cool.

Jennifer Parrish: 25:48

Yeah.

Dean Thompson: 25:49

Wow. And you’ve got thousands of viewers, thousands of listeners. It’s and I’m a new fan, by the way. So I’m in there.

Jennifer Parrish: 25:55

Oh, are you watching?

Dean Thompson: 25:56

I’m listening. I don’t watch.

Jennifer Parrish: 25:58

Listening. I’m sorry. Yes.

Dean Thompson: 26:00

I’ll listen to 4 or 5. So just mostly initially to get the sense of how you speak. And then I listen because I listen. So there.

Jennifer Parrish: 26:06

Yeah. Thank you. That’s awesome. Thank you.

Dean Thompson: 26:10

Have you heard from people in the people you don’t expect to hear? Do you? Do you have fans? What? What’s the input you get from the Western world on this?

Jennifer Parrish: 26:17

So check this out. This is crazy too. So I’m originally from the state of Pennsylvania, but my family moved to Texas a long time ago. So she, a lady from central Pennsylvania called me and she was a trauma therapist. And she worked out outdoors and she had a property and she like worked with trauma, you know, victims and, you know, tried to rehab them.

And so she had a group of blind people coming and she wanted to learn how to, you know, work with blind folks and how to treat them with respect and not like overstep and, you know, and don’t grab the cane and all the things. So she googled, I guess that and was watching it. And then I’m a fan and, you know, she like, you know, because I talk about my life’s journey a lot And, you know, she and I bonded over that. And she, you know, we talked for like an hour and a half on the phone. And she ultimately ended up donating a good deal of money to our podcast.

And she sent like flowers last Christmas and pastries and stuff. And I was like, oh my God, like, this is really doing something and helping people. And it’s, it’s just crazy. Like I’m like, truly, truly talking about it now. It almost brings me, brings me in tears.

It’s, it’s just wild.

Dean Thompson: 27:41

So wonderful.

Jennifer Parrish: 27:43

Yeah, it’s really cool. And then I had another lady call the other day. We had a one of our fix it call center, University of Houston, the team lead on and she was talking about her journey and a, a lady called and she was like former U of a student. She’s like, I know all those buildings she’s talking about, and I know about being a blind mother and, you know, and was just, just, you know, just expressing her fandom. And it was super, super, super sweet.

Dean Thompson: 28:13

There is something about hearing because we think of everything podcasts, radio, TV, books. It’s hitting millions of people, which it potential do. But I mean, a friend of mine wrote a book years ago about medical problems she went through, and I said, why write the book? I just want to help one person who’s going through the same thing I might have gone through. I said to her, have you heard from people about 50 or 60 letters so far?

Really? She said, I’m still cherish the first one I got, but it’s amazing how many people were touched by what’s going on. Same thing. True with the podcast. If you hear from one people, there’s probably a few hundred on there who have the same kind of sensation.

It’s that’s.

Jennifer Parrish: 28:46

Really. Yeah.

Dean Thompson: 28:46

Let’s talk about your work with the nib. You’re involved in in what with us, with the, with the nib.

Jennifer Parrish: 28:51

So I am involved with the advocates team I was selected in. I was actually selected in 2024 and I had some medical issues. So I had to postpone until 2025. And so I just completed my second year as an advocate.

Dean Thompson: 29:10

And so what is the advocacy team? Was it to be an advocate?

Jennifer Parrish: 29:14

So this is the advocates for employment for the National Industries for the Blind, for the blind team. And we are nominated by our agencies and then selected by members of the NIB. Shout out to Vivian Freitas. Hi. And she so they selected, you know, a group of people every year.

And we have the opportunity to go train and learn about public policy, which, you know, admittedly, I didn’t know anything, but I just I like to fight for stuff, you know, so let’s go. And, you know, so the first year was, was like, you are in a room for like eight hours and you’re hammering home like government stuff, government, you know, learning about the government basically. And then you, then you do another half a day of training and then you go to Capitol Hill and you speak with your. You make meetings and you speak with your representatives.

Dean Thompson: 30:10

The purpose for all this training is because you’re going to go talk to government, right?

Jennifer Parrish: 30:15

Correct. Exactly. That’s the that’s the Capitol Hill day. We like we, you know, my, my, my CEO made created some meetings and we went up to Capitol Hill. And so you get to do that two years in a row.

Well, the first year we met with a, one of our, my is our district rep. And I met with one of her staffers and it was like six minutes. The meeting was six minutes long. But this past year when I went, I went to like 4 or 5 meetings and there was groups of us and we were able to piggyback off of each other’s, you know, statements and experiences and things and really kind of got these staffers, you know, interested and passionate about what we’re trying to advocate for.

Dean Thompson: 31:01

Do you think it’s a worthwhile endeavor then?

Jennifer Parrish: 31:04

Absolutely, absolutely. I’m so glad I was chosen to do that. And then, you know, moving forward, I can say that I have done this and represent The Lighthouse of Houston, you know, locally or wherever, you know, in our endeavors.

Dean Thompson: 31:19

And the blind community in general though, too.

Jennifer Parrish: 31:21

Absolutely.

Dean Thompson: 31:23

That is wonderful. Thank you for doing that too. That’s great.

Jennifer Parrish: 31:25

Absolutely. I’m so honored to have been chosen to do that.

Dean Thompson: 31:28

So let’s you know something. I have a theory. Can I roll up? Can I run a theory by you?

Jennifer Parrish: 31:33

Jennifer, run the theory.

Dean Thompson: 31:35

That blindness makes you tough. My line is either makes you or takes you. AM I? Yeah. And I think do you agree with that, that if you deal with an issue such as impaired vision, it either makes you a better person or it crushes you.

Is that is that.

Jennifer Parrish: 31:48

Oh, God. 100%. 100%.

Dean Thompson: 31:51

So let’s talk about other things. I mean, I, I heard, I heard, and if you don’t mind my talking about other than your blindness, I mean, I had cancer when I was told I had cancer. Oh, that okay. Big deal.

Jennifer Parrish: 32:00

Didn’t.

Dean Thompson: 32:01

After all, I’ve been going through this for like a million years. The blindness thing. Same thing for you. Did you take when you were had your cancer diagnosis? How did it hit you?

Jennifer Parrish: 32:10

It freaked me out a little bit. It freaked me out. You know, just because it’s cancer, it’s like, oh, okay. Yeah. So.

Right. Seward 2024. So the year our podcast began in March of 2024, I was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma. And so yeah. And so like, that’s the quote unquote sneaky breast cancer.

So it can metastasize and all those things. So, so yeah, I had a, a two tumors. So I had a two lumpectomies at the same time. And so, and then, and you know, if I, if y’all want me to go really into it, I’m going into it. So, so then and then I went through radiation in July.

My dad died during the radiation treatment. That was freaking. You know, it was crazy. My mom, it was crazy. The morning I was.

The morning that he started going downhill and had his cardiac event. She was. My mom was coming up to have lunch with me and take me to radiation treatment. And she’s like, I gotta go to the hospital. And two days later, on the 4th of July, no less, he died.

Yeah. And then the week after that, we had a hurricane. So we’re trying to deal with logistics of, you know, my dad and trying to, you know, you don’t have cell service and freaking power’s out. It’s like, Jesus Christ. So that sucked, you know, and then and then in July, we, you know, we filmed our first episode of the of the Sightless Voices and, you know, and, but it was cool.

It kind of took me away from all my cancer treatment because so I had, after the radiation, they gave me a choice of taking ovary suppression shots for five years or just getting my ovaries out. So then in October, I had my ovaries removed just to just to get it over with. And that sent me into, you know, like medical menopause. And of course, so. And if you don’t know about breast cancer, probably a lot of people do not know.

It’s not over when the surgeries are done. You are on something called an aromatase inhibitor for five years at least. I’m on that now. And I’m you know, you want to talk about juggling. I am managing 40 people, doing a podcast and then dealing with the side effects of this drug.

And this drug sucks all of the estrogen out of you, every single damn bit of it. And so you are hot flashing, you’re exhausted, your bones hurt. You know, my new latest fun thing is incredibly dry mouth. Have you guys have heard I’ve been sucking on cough drops. I’ve been talking to you.

It’s like it’s like dry mouth to the point where you’re just like, it’s awful. And so in trying to.

Dean Thompson: 34:53

Really.

Jennifer Parrish: 34:53

Do. Thank you because I’m sucking on candy. Yeah. So like, you know, I, I’ve this week I’ve had to interview a bunch of people. You know, we’ve got a new contract.

Yay. But, you know, I’ve been interviewing a bunch of folks, been having a cold, did two podcasts yesterday and you know, and now and speaking with you lovely people this morning. And I’m so happy that I’m here and, you know, but, you know, as you see, it’s like a, it’s a lot, you know, and so, but it makes me feel like, hey, I’m a badass dude. I’m doing all of this. Let’s go, let’s, let’s.

Dean Thompson: 35:24

Go back to let’s go back to the end of it. I mean, I don’t want to give credit for anything, even just messing up your life, but do you, do you think the fact that you’ve been dealing with impaired vision from the jump? I love that phrase a little bit. When you got the cancer diagnosis, when you got anything thrown at you, right? Making that stuff up.

Jennifer Parrish: 35:45

Yeah. You’re going to war. You know what I mean? You’re going to war. It’s it’s, it’s battle time.

And, and you know. Yeah. You know, I’ve been dealing with blindness all my life. Like, let’s, let’s do this. But I mean, but I will tell you that it’s a unique experience dealing with logistics of, you know, of going through the treatments when you’re blind because like there’s all the medical forms and non accessibility.

And then I had to go to my radiation treatments and they were sending me rides and they were free, but they were like Lyft drivers and there was a language barrier and things like that. And so just trying to maneuver that. And man, I had, I took five years of Spanish back in the day and I really was like derecha izquierda, like left and right and all the things, you know, so just trying to tell them where to go in this hospital complex that I didn’t barely know, you know, so it’s, there’s, there’s unique challenges, but man, you know, you feel awesome when it’s done. It’s like, okay, dude.

Dean Thompson: 36:40

What I.

Jennifer Parrish: 36:40

Did.

Dean Thompson: 36:40

That was listening to this then hopefully would be the fact if you are dealing with what Jennifer’s dealt with her entire life with, I’ve dealt with most of my life. Number one, it’s not the end of the world. And number two. No, there are there are there are benefits that come from coping with stuff. Are there not?

Jennifer Parrish: 36:58

Oh, there are, there are. They they reshape you, you know.

Dean Thompson: 37:03

Tell me about that.

Jennifer Parrish: 37:04

Yeah. So I mean, I, I, you know, you, I never, ever thought I was going to do have that battle last in 2024, you know, and now that I’ve come out of it, I’m like, okay, I can conquer the world. That’s that’s that’s piece of cake. If I had to do it again, I could do it again, you know? But you know, and, and again, like we’ve dealt with blindness and discrimination and all the crap that comes with this stuff, you know, all of our lives.

I can take some, some medical stuff. It’s not a big deal, you know?

Dean Thompson: 37:34

Bless you. Sorry.

Jennifer Parrish: 37:34

Yeah, yeah. That’s battle.

Dean Thompson: 37:39

So something tells me, Jennifer, you’ve been a good talker most of your life. Fair statement.

Jennifer Parrish: 37:45

That’s so it is a fair statement. I do have stage fright Right. Still to this day.

Jennifer Parrish: 37:50

I’m not gonna lie.

Dean Thompson: 37:52

Can I tell you a secret?

Jennifer Parrish: 37:53

Yes.

Dean Thompson: 37:54

Me, too. I really do. In fact, I thought, what? Actually, on stage, the fact that I can’t see the audience is a tremendous advantage.

Jennifer Parrish: 38:02

Oh, hell yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Dean Thompson: 38:05

Anyway, but my point being is that, however, yes, you’re told you’re going to become a podcaster, which is not the end of the world. Believe me, kids, it’s it’s pretty easy.

Jennifer Parrish: 38:14

But no, it’s.

Dean Thompson: 38:14

Awesome to be a podcaster. Did you think about did I should I have taken some speech classes and should I been hone my public speaking skills. What other skills do you think you would. You would still even, even now, at your advanced stage of management, what skills would you mean? Where would you go for those skills and what would you recommend people go to for these skills?

Jennifer Parrish: 38:33

So I would, I would have definitely taken some public taking some public speaking courses. I definitely, most definitely would have because, you know, I just, I was kind of, for lack of a better term, thrown to the wolves and just figured it out on my own. And I mean, even like as a podcast host, I do like read intros and outros and some, some questions and stuff. And so, you know, like there’s a, there’s a sort of cadence of reading Braille conversationally that, that I had to basically figure out for myself. And I don’t know if that’s taught anywhere, but it should be.

But, you know, I, and I do know that nib has, you know, a great programs for this insight. I would imagine that people could go there. But I would also recommend that for skills for your future, you’ve got to learn to type. You have to learn to type and learn to type fast. That’s the you.

You gotta do that. Typing is is key in this world. And it and it pretty much always will be. Now, if you’re, if you’re meditating before too. Yeah, absolutely.

You know, with, with the, the, the age that we are in. And if you know, folks, if you we can tell when you’re dictating your email into your phone because it, you know, says something like I was, oh my gosh, I’m trying to think of one.

Dean Thompson: 39:57

He always finds the key word and screws that word up.

Jennifer Parrish: 40:00

Right. Exactly. Right. So yeah, but I mean, you, but you can like, you can tell somebody dictating their stuff and it does not look professional at all. And so, and I like, I, I, you know, when I’m, I, I look at my employees emails and I’m like, oh, don’t do that, man.

Come on. I remember when like, okay, so this is, this is nothing related to professionalism. But like I, when Prince passed away ten years ago or whatever it was, I was posting it on Facebook. I was like, oh, R.I.P Prince and I wrote PRINTS. Like damn it, I was really meaning that.

Dean Thompson: 40:39

Yeah right.

Jennifer Parrish: 40:40

And somebody pointed out to me like, yo, hey dude, you might want to edit that.

Dean Thompson: 40:44

So you’re mourning the death of a newspaper? Exactly.

Jennifer Parrish: 40:47

Exactly. So anyway, yeah, so learn to type guys and also and lots.

Dean Thompson: 40:55

Of other skills. There’s people skills. There’s all kinds of. Yes, I believe it’s I know when I was first began to lose my sight, I really went into a shell. I was I became a nothing burger for about a year.

I couldn’t play football anymore. And what do I do? And learning how to come out of that and learning how to communicate with people on many levels is key. And and I mean, I’m not being shamelessly promotional insights is very good about that. There’s lots of other programs out there, but check out these things.

They’re there for you. So use them. Yes.

Jennifer Parrish: 41:23

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. People skills. Definitely assistive technology.

Definitely. You know, that’s you got to learn your voiceovers and your jaws and all the things because that’s going to, you know, help you live, you know.

Dean Thompson: 41:39

So this has been wonderful. And what else have we not touched upon? You want to talk about Jennifer, please.

Jennifer Parrish: 41:46

I think we hit everything, guys. I really, really do. I wanted to I wanted to throw in the breast cancer journey because I think it’s like it’s something that I’m dealing with currently and trying to juggle. And I wanted people to know that it’s, you know, it’s a thing. And, but I’m still knocking it out, hopefully.

But yeah, but that’s, that’s a, that’s good for me.

Dean Thompson: 42:07

Well, thanks for listening to the Heard & Empowered podcast, which we like to think is maybe a spokesperson for the Working Blind. If you’ve liked what you’ve heard here, let us know. If you haven’t heard what you want to know, let us know that as well. And thanks for listening.

Outro: 42:18

Thank you for listening to the Heard & Empowered podcast. Please make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information, visit heardandempowered.org. That’s HEARDANDEMPOWERED.ORG. Join us again next time.