Jul 3, 2019
In this episode of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy chats with Danielle Ford from Las Vegas. Danielle dropped out of high school as a junior at 17, on the advice of her high school counselor. She was actually a good student who had to work to support her family.
She then spent a decade in various entrepreneurial ventures working 10 times harder than everyone else and in her words “never getting the basic stuff right.” She self-diagnosed herself with ADHD in her early twenties but chose not to seek a formal diagnosis because she believed the stigma.
Instead, she read every self-help book, tried every system, worked with coaches but never thought that the strategies may have been faulty and not her. After a close call, Danielle decided to get treatment, was prescribed medication and other therapies and suddenly she could easily organize her thoughts, emotions tasks...everything.
That’s when Danielle went into full ADHD superpower mode and submitted her name for school board trustee for the 5th largest school district in the United States. She beat out a field of 9 candidates, including some seasoned politicians and won the election. Danielle was sworn in this past Jan and now she controls a nearly 3 billion dollar yearly budget and makes policy decisions for a school district that serves 48 schools in the Clark County School District. In this role she is responsible for over 322,000 students.
Danielle is 33, a single-mom of two kids and she’s a digital marketing strategist who helps other entrepreneurs grow their online businesses.
Her story is fascinating. How she manages her ADHD is instructive. You will also likely relate to how Danielle navigates life when her Ferrari brain works faster than her bicycle brakes (if you have ADHD you’ll know what we mean). It’s no surprise that Danielle is often compared to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Listen to Podcast Episode #27 here.