The Remarkable Janet LaBreck: From Adversity to Opportunity
By Darryl Dieudonné, Managing Editor
Photo courtesy of Janet LaBreck
Janet LaBreck is a pioneer of change for people with disabilities.
As the first African American Commissioner for both the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, she overcame huge odds to become a trailblazing leader.
Accepting her journey
LaBreck started noticing she was losing her vision when she started having trouble seeing at night or reading her textbooks and blackboard. When asked to read out loud in class, she’d guess the next word. Most of the time it was wrong, and her teachers thought she was acting out. One of them realized her vision might be impaired and recommended a vision test. Two years later, her and her three siblings were diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a genetic condition that slowly breaks down cells in the retina.
After learning how to do things in a non-visual way and meeting other people with vision loss, she began her journey of accepting her disability. That journey would last into adulthood.
The formative years at Perkins
Following their diagnosis, LaBreck and her siblings spent seven years at Perkins School for the Blind where she gained confidence from teachers and peers who promoted academic accomplishment and recreational participation. She loved Perkins, but being away from home wasn’t easy. Trips home were expensive, so she and her siblings stayed at the school on weekends and most holidays. They were each other’s source of strength, and she and her brother shared a passion for music and athletics they never got to nurture in public school. They competed against schools for the blind as well as public schools and would go on to hold national track and field records.
The campus of Perkins School for the Blind, photo courtesy of Perkins School for the Blind
A former member of the Perkins board of trustees, LaBreck continues to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in social and recreational experiences as they can “influence confidence, self-esteem and physical health.” And she hopes that changes “the paradigm of excluding people with disabilities from interacting with peers and [their communities in] activities available to non-disabled people.”
After graduating from her public high school LaBreck earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services from the University of Massachusetts Boston, a Master of Education from Springfield College, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the New England College of Optometry, where a clinic was also named in her honor. The Janet L. LaBreck Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation educates optometrists about the practice of low vision services and provides high quality eye care services to people with low vision. Like LaBreck, the center is all about uplifting those with vision loss and uses emerging technology to increase their independence, self-sufficiency and job prospects.
Coming from poverty, LaBreck believes education is the only way for people with disabilities to reach economic self-sufficiency. For her, education is “vital to equipping people with disabilities with the tools and strategies for becoming knowledgeable, confident and qualified sources of talent to our nation’s workforce.” And she’s a firm believer in its ability to open doors. “With [education], I knew I could be successful. That I could be a leader.”
Serving in the Government
Janet LaBreck in discussion with then-President Barack Obama
One of LaBreck’s proudest moments as an advocate was her appointment by President Barack Obama as Commissioner of the RSA in the Department of Education. As commissioner she oversaw the RSA’s multi-billion-dollar budget to help people with disabilities lead more independent lives. Under her leadership, the RSA achieved an unprecedented modernization of vocational rehabilitation regulation.
Governor Duval Patrick also appointed LaBreck Commissioner for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB). Serving in a position previously held by Helen Keller is another achievement she is proud of. As commissioner of the MCB LaBreck started an extraordinarily successful summer internship program to help the legally blind join the workforce. She was extremely honored to have the opportunity to serve in both administrations as a national leader and advocate.
Branching out on her own
Most would find it hard to top a position working for the president of the United States. but LaBreck is anything but like everybody else. She recently founded Synergy Consulting Partners, LLC along with two national thought leaders. They have executive experience in federal and state government and the private sector, specializing in vocational rehabilitation. Their mission is practical and sustainable solutions that are result-driven, win-win partnerships with an aim for mutual benefit, innovative services, and the ultimate improvement of society. The organization works with government agencies, service providers and employers to increase efficiency and promote innovation and excellence in rehabilitation services to enhance the opportunity for improvement, independence, and self-sufficiency.
Janet LaBreck delivering a speech, photo courtesy of Synergy Consulting Partners, LLC
When asked what encourages her to strive for more, LaBreck says that “rather than [more, she strives for] equality and quality of life.”
She says it keeps her focused on the ways she can help others by partnering with individuals and programs that support policies, practices and procedures that help people—especially women—with disabilities to move toward full inclusion and community integration.
Inspiring women with disabilities
LaBreck says “Historically, women with disabilities have been discouraged from challenging perceptions or decisions made about us.” Among those naysayers was own first Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor who discouraged her from pursuing a degree because she would be the first in her family to do so. That made her realize the importance of working people who invest in you rather than putting you down. And LaBreck hopes her story is an example of self-determination and not letting anybody determine your fate—regardless of your ability, race, socio-economic status, or anything else.
As she puts it, “sometimes in life, adversity and barriers can become a pathway to opportunity and success.”