![]() “When something happens quickly and everything falls into place, it’s like the universe is telling me this is the way,” she says. “I really enjoy spending time with my 8- and 9-year-old boys.”Īfter quickly passing the test for her real estate license, Perez-Rodgers joined Keller Williams Main Line after just two phone calls. “But it’s all or nothing, and you have to start all over when you go back,” she says. After taking some time off to be a mom, she briefly considered returning to journalism. In an earlier life, Perez-Rodgers forged a successful career in broadcast journalism, hosting a variety of news segments for ABC. “There’s work to do every day, and a new goal with every conversation,” she says. Through the parent teacher organizations, she worked to place DEI committees in schools, and she co-chairs one at Ithan Elementary in Wayne. We knew the conversation would come up some day-but not like this.”Ĭonvinced that DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) needed to be part of the school experience beyond multicultural studies, Perez-Rodgers founded Radnor RISE (respect, inclusion, solidarity and equity). “My oldest son wanted to know why police officers did that to someone who looked like his dad. “They had so many questions,” she recalls. “I’m the one cutting through crowds at the Eagles game like butter with that cane.”ĭiana Perez-Rodgers’ kids were in grade school when the George Floyd murder made headlines. ![]() “My cane is like a superpower, and I’m a blind ninja trying to figure out how to navigate this world,” she says. Every time she walks out the door, Sortland considers herself an ambassador for those with vision loss. Other organizations who helped Sortland get her life back are also beneficiaries, including the Mind Your Brain Foundation and the Fighting Back Scholarship. “Then we got connected to the United Way of Chester County, and their president, Christopher Saello, climbed with me this year.” “I was the only one the first year,” she says. This year, she tackled a 10-story building in Lancaster. These days, Sortland encourages others to join her in her annual rappelling adventure. “A challenge to rappel off the side dressed like the Statue of Liberty helped me get my life back,” says Sortland, a Virginia native who moved to the area at 21 to study musical theater before opening a pet-sitting business. This past May, Sortland scaled a building for the second year in a row to raise awareness and funds for the blind. The Lancaster-based nonprofit worked patiently with Sortland, convincing her that “blindness would remake me, not define me,” she notes. “Life became a challenge,” says Sortland, who lives in Charlestown Township, “getting dressed-a scavenger hunt.” At the time, a therapist found her in a panic trying to get dressed and navigate her living room. In 2014, when Natanya Sortland lost her vision after suffering a life-threatening subarachnoid hemorrhage, she became one of VisionCorps’ first Chester County clients. ![]() Pirro and Michael Bradley Click here to learn about Main Line Today‘s Power Women Summit. Meet this year’s 20 Power Women of the Main Line and western suburbs.īy Kim Douglas, with additional reporting by J.F. Photos by Tessa Marie Images They are all poised, passionate and persistent.
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