Advocacy starts with the individual. But when done well, it builds a community.
As we close out 2025 and look toward a new year, I’ve been reflecting on one of my core leadership principles: Advocate.
Most people think advocacy is something you do for others.
But it’s first something you learn to do for yourself.
I learned it long before titles or leadership roles, when I was a high school dropout trying to get my first job in business, working in a call center. No one was opening doors for me. So I learned how to knock. Repeatedly.
Years later, I used those same skills to advocate for justice, I called persistently, following up, and refusing to be dismissed. Until a decision-maker finally listened.
Two decades after one of the most terrifying nights of my life, that advocacy led to accountability. And ultimately, to freedom for others and additional felony convictions for the same perpetrator.
Different arenas.
Same skill.
Advocacy transcends background, career, and context.
What I learned in business served me in the justice system.
And that same skill showed up again. This time for my sister, Leslie.
Before Leslie came to live with me, she spent her days in a program where she was essentially warehoused. Sitting in a small room, watching television and doing word searches. I knew that couldn’t be the full measure of her life.
So I advocated.
Today, Leslie is thriving in a deeply engaged residential program, supported by direct support professionals who have become like family. Her days are full with activities, community events, celebrations, and connection.
And in the process, my life has expanded too.
I’ve come to know the DSPs who care for her—not just as professionals, but as people. We’ve celebrated birthdays, attended religious services, toured the Festival of Lights, gone to shows at Toby’s Dinner Theatre, and shared moments of real joy. They show up—even on their days off.
They also handle the hard parts no one sees: illnesses, endless doctor appointments, grocery runs, emergencies, and yes—even a bedbug outbreak.
This work requires patience, kindness, and extraordinary care.
As 2025 draws to a close, I want to acknowledge every direct support professional caring for loved ones in our communities. The quality of care matters. How these professionals are treated and valued matters. It directly shapes the lives of the people they support.
Richcroft Inc was recently named a Top Workplace by The Baltimore Sun, an award based on employee feedback. That didn’t surprise me. Advocacy doesn’t stop with placement; it continues in partnership, respect, and presence.
Leadership isn’t just what you build.
It’s who you’re willing to stand up for.
And how relentlessly you’re willing to do it.
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