[NFBV-Announce] Member to Member let's get to know each other, Renee Valdez

[jackibruce6 at gmail.com]

Hello NFB Family and Friends,

 

Welcome to another edition of Member to Member! Today we're getting to know
the one and only and beloved  Renee Valdez.

 

She has been with only one chapter, from the beginning, the Greater
Alexandria Chapter! She's been a steady  force since March 29 2017. 

 

When asked how she's been involved, she says "I've done project Rise, and I
did the Chapter leadership Institute . I finished a Kenneth Jernifan
Leadership in-service program. I did 3 years with Silver Bells. I was
teaching communications class for 2 years as outreach coordinator. I'm the
chair of the Dei(Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)  committee and the
fundraising committee. I've been to Richmond and Washington Seminars".  

Her continuing plans include, " I'd like to continue reaching out to people
in creative ways like we do and engaging people". 

 

Renee has varied interests including her love of creative writing. She also
likes to read biographies. She can be seen going on drives with her "honey"
and hanging out with her dog, MJ, she's a pit bull. Renee gets involved in
the community, and she dabs, just a little bit, with legislative advocacy.
Told you she has varied interests, LOL.  

 

Renee gets a far away look as she describes a favorite memory "Making
tortillas with my grandmother. We'd be in the kitchen making the dough and
talking and laughing. It was not the tortillas that made it great, it was
the talking and the laughter!"

 

She's an upward bound alumni.  She was raised by her grandparents. She was a
first-generation low-income student with upward  bound. Her undergraduate
degree was in psychology and her masters was in counseling.  She went to
Adam state university. She taught 8 years in psychology before moving to the
DMV.      

 

Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen, Renee says "I used to be very
shy. I shied away from talking in public. ". Now she says, "I want to do
trainings, seminars on public speaking. I want to be a motivational speaker.
I want to pick up my podcast again. It's called Visions of a Blind Woman".
Talk about a turn around, you go ahead on with your bad self Renee!

 

Renee, like all of us, has her challenges; acceptance to her low vision
continues to haunt her. " I still find that I have enough eyesight that I
can not take my cane and be okay. That's not always true though. Sometimes I
take my cane, but leave it in my purse.  I also am still in a bit of denial
and that is hard for me". "But I was overjoyed when knowing my braille
numbers got me out of the elevator, I found the right floor in the building
and got reoriented". 

 

Some fun facts about Renee. If she had a memoir, it would be called Living
and Learning the Mishaps of life. Her favorite Disney Princess is Cinderella
and she'd like to have had the chance to talk and have dinner with Robin
Williams. Her most embarrassing moment was going into the men's bathroom in
an airport. She'd like to return to the 80's, when she says "life was fun!"
She's passionate enough to do a TED Talk about Dealing with and accepting
change. 

 

Her all expenses paid trip would be to Spain her family is from there and
she would like to see where she came from.

 

Thanks for sharing, Renee. We enjoyed getting to know you better! Stay tuned
for another edition of member to member next week.

 

 

Peace,

 

Jacki Bruce

 

mailto:jackibruce6 at gmail.com or membership at nfbv.org
<mailto:membership at nfbv.org>  

tel:(757)291-1789

 

Find us on Facebook @NationalFederationoftheBlindofVirginia

Find us on Instragram @nfbofvirginia

Subscribe to our Youtube: NFB Virginia

www.nfbv.org <http://www.nfbv.org/> 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbv-announce_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260120/7087df37/attachment.htm>