GOAL SHARE: Meet Mary Kathryn LeMaster
One of my values is learning and another is connection and when I meet someone who feels like an immediate connection and teaches you something right away, I am all in.
This is how I felt when I met MK (actually on instagram) the first time and second time and beyond. I loved her voice, her energy, her resourcefulness and stand for inclusion and accessibility through her own life story and through offering education to the World. She embarked on THE12 last year and I got to behold her flourishing into a new job title, new offerings and an expanded self she stepped into and wow, it felt like magic. I am still all in.
Meet MK. Learn from her global leadership like I do.
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Hello! I am MK, Mary Kathryn LeMaster, an Inclusion and Accessibility Strategist, Meditation Teacher, Ranch Vision Retreat Guide, and a Legally Blind Visionary.
I teach clients how to make their businesses, events, products, and spaces more Inclusive and Accessible for the VIP (visually impaired people) and Blind Community.
My most recent goal that I am really excited about came from inspiration from The 12. Lunch and Unlearn: How To Make Social Media Accessible For VIP’S is my signature workshop where I teach you my top strategies to make your Social Media account Accessible for those with a visual impairment.
VIP’s, also known as visually impaired people, make up more than twelve million people in the U.S. alone and we want accessibility on a larger scale. It wasn’t until I lost a large portion of my own vision that I realized how inaccessible so many things are. The virtual world quickly became difficult with small and hard to read fonts, busy images without a description, and reels and videos that move way too fast. I knew if I was having a hard time seeing these things, loads of other people were/are too (and not just VIP’s). So Lunch and Unlearn was born out of my own need to have a conversation with the sighted world on how you can make things easier, more accessible and inclusive. This workshop is experiential, you will see what I see, educational, Fun (I know, how is this possible? But trust me), relaxing (you will learn eye exercises to use on long screen days to take care of your own vision) and you leave with action steps to easily make changes and spaces more accessible now.
We have an incredible opportunity to create CHANGE right here.
Losing my vision has made me be more intentional with my life even down to every step I take. I feel our greatest power move is to learn how to slow down and lean into the next step. I add meditation and mindfulness into every workshop because I believe the slower we move, the more we can see, hear, and feel.
I have 11% of my peripheral vision left and have never had more insight that I do now. I am President and Co-Founder of @eyeseehou , a non profit support group in Houston Texas for the visually impaired, blind community and their families. We remind anyone going through a similar loss, they are not alone.
I am creating a world where we are ALL seen, heard, valued and respected and I can’t wait to partner with you to make this VISION even bigger.
Things I want you to know and do:
1- Visual impairment and blindness is a very wide spectrum. Not everyone who uses a white cane is completely blind.. Only 15% of the blind population is completely blind.
2- VIP’s navigate a screen by using a screen reader or other assistive technology programs. Accessibility is hot and we need more of it!
3) Experience a VIP day. Let one of your favorite people verbally guide you around your house with your eyes closed. Empathy is built when we connect to someone else’s story and no better way to build it than by experiencing it. No peeking (and make sure all toys and shoes are picked up from the floor before you start) and let me know how it goes!
CONTACT MK:
Instagram: @breathebigmk
Email: breathebigmk@gmail.com