The Power of Speaking Up

The reason I’m so passionate about the importance of speaking up is because I know the cost of surrendering a part of ourselves to silence. 🌈✨

I didn’t always have the confidence to speak up. In high school and college I sat in the back of classrooms and barely spoke. I spent years in the closet, knowing that coming out as gay would mean losing the love and support of my family. I suppressed my voice, my desires, and my identity to conform to other people’s ideas of whom I should be.

That’s why, as an educator, DEIB practitioner, and inclusive teaching specialist, I have spent my career empowering others to use their voices and creating spaces where people feel safe to speak up. In a world where staying silent is often the path of least resistance, choosing to speak up for what's right can be daunting.

🌟But your voice has power and matters more than you know. Whether you’re an aspiring ally or someone who seeks to be a stronger advocate for yourself, one of the most important insights to remember is that speaking up is fundamentally about living our values, not trying to change someone else’s.

🔥Each time we speak out, we light a spark that can ignite change.

[Image description: Elisa in sunglasses and a T-shirt standing in front of giant rainbow-colored butterfly wings]