DT_T-Season1-Episode 7 - Kellina Powell - Disability Inclusion Advocate & Author

DT_T – Season 1 – Episode 7 Spotlights on Kellina Powell | Disability Inclusion Advocate & Author

Kellina brings both lived experience and thoughtful advocacy into conversations around disability inclusion and mental health.

Kellina Powell’s journey is one shaped by resilience, identity, and a deep commitment to creating space for others.

Becoming hard of hearing at the age of four, Kellina grew up navigating between two worlds—the deaf community and the hearing community—often searching for where she truly belonged. Those early experiences of difference, along with moments of bullying and self-doubt, quietly shaped her strength and self-awareness over time.

A turning point came through lived encounters—from connecting with young individuals who longed for representation, to a moment with a young boy who saw himself in her. These experiences stirred a deeper question within her:
 What can I do to create a safer, more supportive space for the next generation?

Guided by this question—and inspired by the words of her grandmother before her passing, that she would go on to make a difference—Kellina began to step into her calling.

Today, as a disability inclusion advocate and mental health coach, she is dedicated to supporting individuals, raising awareness, and helping others navigate their own journeys with confidence and self-worth.

In this conversation, Kellina reflects on:

•  the strength she built while navigating two identities 
•  the impact of loss and legacy on her path 
•  what inspired her to use her voice in service of others 
•  and what she would gently offer to those still discovering their own “_ thing” 

This episode is a reminder that our lived experiences—even the most challenging ones—can become the very foundation of the work we are called to do.

Kellina Powell’s bestselling book is available on Amazon.

📖 Link to the book: https://a.co/d/0fQzpBea

Sometimes the purpose we’re called to do begins long before we know how to name it.

Transcript

Sheela 0:01

Welcome to the Do the Dash Thing Podcast. It's all about doing the dash thing. That unique gift calling or purpose only you can bring to the world. This podcast showcases the beautiful things being done by incredible individuals. And it's also an invitation for you to look within, recognize your own gift, and fill in your dash. This is the Do the Dash Thing Podcast, and I'm Sheila, your host. How your gifts found their way into service. So listeners who sense something more feel encouraged to take their next intentional step. And I would love to begin with this. Please share a little bit about yourself and also what stirred in you that this work around disability inclusion and mental health was yours to step into.

Kellina 1:07

Yeah, for sure. I will tell everybody this. It was such a long journey. How I even got into it was through my first speaking engagement I had. It was during COVID. I met a teacher for the depth through a networking event, which is very cool. And so she did reach out to me and asked me to become a speaker. And when I was talking to these young individuals, said, you know, we need more reputation like you, Colina. It's very hard to see and de inspiration people like us. And it's very rare. And so I thought to myself, what is it I can do to make the younger generation to feel safe again and to make them feel that they are okay to become successful. And so I thought to myself, for a really long time, it was this time when I was in university, and I did this week engagement in my second year of when I was studying, I was looking at things, and I spoke to my disability counselor to find out what is the next avenue in my career, the psychology degree to help other people. And I thought to myself, you know, I can continue to become a speaker, and I could also write a book. And I didn't even thought that I could write a book. And then so it's just like wow. And so I would tell you guys a story. How what really got me into thinking about it was when after my speaking engagement, I actually used to work at Canada's Wonderland when I was 16 years old. And I met a little boy who was deaf, who approached me, and he would hearning aid in both ears. And he's like, Oh my god, look at you! And I started crying because I never had that young. And for him to witness something for himself, which is like, I really want to help the younger generation so bad. And so that's when I thought to myself, this is what I want to do for work in my life, because enough is enough, and the number of committing suicide for the youth is increasing, and a lot of parents are not aware, a lot of limited resources because of the long waiting list, and so it's not fair for parents and youth not to know what to do, and so that's basically where the stepping stone actually happened, is when I witnessed a lot of young people. So yeah.

Sheela 3:33

Was there a moment, an experience or realization that shifted this from something you cared about to something you knew you were called to carry?

Kellina 3:45

Yeah, I became deaf at the age of four. And so when I realized the shift between the deaf community and the hearing community, for those who don't know, I actually went to the deaf school in the morning and then the afternoon I would go to a hearing school, and that's when my shift came to realization like there's two communities out there that I can fit, but I had to figure it out how do I fit in. And that was something I had to work on myself, my personality. I felt like I had a shift personality, but I mean two different communities, and I was like, okay, I'm comfortable in my deaf community, but not so comfortable in the hearing community. And I thought I was like, oh my God, like, how am I gonna live life? Am I gonna live life like this? And I thought to myself, for a second, again, I was four years old, okay. Everyone, like a young girl who's very mature, to realize that she's different from the hearing world. It would again, it was not easy. And I had to really learn how to build myself as a person because at such a young age, I don't even know what I was doing. I was just like, okay, I can be this person fine. And it was a lot of peer pressure for me in the hearing community because I didn't know if I was gonna get bullied, and I did got bullied because of my speech at that time. My speech wasn't always there, and that's when I realized when I got to the deaf community, they understood what how I felt. And that's kind of like, okay, how can I fit in the hearing community knowing that I'm different? And so I had to do a lot of back and forth, back and forth. And you know, I had my family, thankfully, they always had an open discussion about this type of topic. It was very sensitive to me to talk about it when I was young because I don't know. I'm not older, I don't know. And I asked my mom a lot of time, how do I make friends? I don't, I don't know. And unfortunately, because the deaf school was so far from my home, I had to go to the hearing school full-time in grade three. And that's when everything shifted for me. And I said, okay, I understand the two community, I think I can do it. And I was crying for days because I did not want to leave my deaf school. And so it was difficult in the first two years of my hearing school, and that's when I realized that I always gonna have to stand up for myself, no matter what it is, and especially standing up for my accommodation, standing up towards teachers. That was nerve wracking for me, and I realized that I always have to accommodate for me in the hearing community, knowing that they are not educated about me. I used to blame so many people in the hearing community on Zabur, but now when I got to my teenager years, I realized that it's nobody's fault. It's the education system's fault. Right? Because when we go to school, that's where they teach things about life. And it's it's nobody's fault. And I always tell a lot of people in the hearing space, like, you know, it's very frustrating for me too, to always making sure that there's acceptability, accommodation everywhere. But it's very hard when people can be very ignorant and they don't want to take the time to accommodate some other people. And I always tell people, remember, you're 1% being disabled tomorrow. You never know what tomorrow brings to you. And some people don't realize that. And then people are like, oh my God, I didn't. And I'm like, yeah, for example, when you get into a car accident, anything can happen to you. You could either become deaf, you could either become paralyzed, you could either become blind. You never know. And I always tell people, like, tomorrow's not a promise, you just never know what's gonna take you. And so, you know, and that got me realizing how the young girl going to be a teenager now, thinking about this. It's like, wow, like people really don't understand. They can also become disabled tomorrow, and so that was my huge realization in life, which again without a teenager. It's so weird. I know people are like, you're very mature for your young age, Kalina. And I said, I now I am, but it just happened. So yeah, so that's that's my realization.

Sheela 8:00

That's profound. There is a lot of depth in what you just said. So, building on that, when you think about your journey now, how would you describe your dash thing that is you know heart of this DT Dash T podcast? It's about a gift and your passion. And has that clarity changed over the time?

Kellina 8:23

So, yes, um investment in life, things always change, right? And so I realized that life is too short. And when I graduated from university, and look now looking back at my life, and I was like, I'm grateful for every opportunity that's thrown at me because it taught me how to grow, how to partner today. And if it wasn't for the bullies that I had, if it wasn't for the teachers that doubted me, because honestly, if I tell everybody my life story, they probably look at me confused, like, how do you make it so far? And I said, I just did. It taught me how to be stronger for the future. I'm only 28 right now, I still have a lot more life to live. I accomplished a lot of things for my young self, but you know, I said to myself, now that I'm 28, about to turn 29, and I'm gonna be about to be 30, I realized that life is beautiful. It's about your reaction, your control. What is it that you need to do? And so I feel like people don't um take that too, you know. We all and like I always tell people, remember, we lost our loved ones in the past, right? Think about that, right? If we lose a loved one in the past, why are we not taking control of our night that we want to create? And that was something I learned too, because I was like, you know, I I have control, I have control of my light, I have control of everything, and I'm not gonna allow not one bully take advantage of me. And that was the hardest thing I had to tell myself when I was growing up, and you know, and looking now, it's just like I did it, you know. My young self will be looking at me like, oh my gosh, she is a celebrity, she's famous, like I did it, like that is me, and so you know, with someone with disability, and like myself, it's not easy. How did you make this life to be beautiful for yourself? So, yeah, I love it.

Sheela 10:25

Thank you. That feels very honest. I the gift I see from here sitting and looking at you, listening to you, is that your positiveness has a reality flavor to it. It's not just positive thinking, it's a practical wisdom and the combination. And as you said, you are young, but you are mature beyond your age. You are already an empowering speaker, mental health coach. Before going further, why don't you please share with our listeners your particular work?

Kellina 11:02

Yeah, exactly. Everyone, I'm hard of hearing. What I said, a lot of people were preferring had hard of hearing, or some people prefer me had deaf. Either two terms is okay, not a problem, but always make sure you ask somebody what the term they prefer to be called. And yeah, I do a lot of youth work community camp. I do fundraising for the holidays. I love doing that with my friends. My friend owns a private school, and her and I do it together. And now I actually am starting up my own real estate company where I'm going to be creating affordable housing for people with disabilities. So it's been a journey for sure. I'm really excited to see what the future holds. And also, one more thing, I'm actually a four-time author. So I do have four books published on Amazon. So I became a four-time Amazon best seller. But yeah, that's pretty much what I do. So that was very, very success in my journey.

Sheela 11:55

Awesome. Uh that kind of segues uh into this next question. Is there a way people can meaningfully support or engage with the work you are building?

Kellina 12:08

Um, people can support me so many ways. You know, I always look for feedback. And number two, I love collaborating with other people. I always reach out people, hey, let's work together, let's make this a big, big, big project for everybody. It doesn't have to be you alone. And also people can engage with my projects, right? It doesn't have to be, you know, it maybe maybe we don't work together, but you know someone that could benefit from it. And I love supporting people, love being a connector. I'm known to be a connector a lot of time. I love supporting people, and I love when people really support my work and get my names in rooms that I'm not there, and love that. And I love fulfilled, like I'm a big, big fan of fulfilled and building relationships with people, and that's how I'm able to build that with people and help people's business grow, right? If I don't have a relationship with you, how am I supposed to help you? So I love doing that, building that relationship with people is key key, and I think that's how I got so far so quickly within the next the last five years. Yeah.

Sheela 13:10

Beautiful. If my previous questions are Hea rt of this DT podcast, the next one is the soul. I would like to invite you to share what inspired you to share your gifts with others in the community.

Kellina 13:30

Yeah, I would say I lost two very important people in my life. I lost my grandmother, who raised me, and I lost my godfather. So he was also like a father figure to me. So I lost two very important people. My grandmother kind of she basically raised me. My mom had me a teenager, so my mom was super young. And my grandmother passed away a month before COVID. So right before I started my business, I started it probably like three months after my grandma passed. And so before she passed away, she's like, remember, you are lying and you're gonna make a change. And then I back to myself, like, what is she talking about? What change? Like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. And I'm and at that time, I was again, I was at university, so I was in my third year, I was about to graduate and she passed away, and that just broke me. And so before she passed, she said those words to me, and I said, What is she talking about? And I never thought of like I would just never get out of my mind. And I said, you know what? I really want to make a change for the younger generation. And I knew my grandma was looking out for me, and I knew that she saw something in me that I didn't see. And that's why she said you're going to make a change in the world before she passed away. And I was like, and now looking back, like, oh my gosh, she knew what I was capable of that I didn't see. And so I did this because one, to leave a legacy and make my grandmother's proud. And two, I never want the younger generation who are suffering with their mental health due to their disabilities. I suffer a lot with my mental health. A lot of people don't know. I did suffer a lot with anxiety and depression because I was nerve-wracking to communicate with the hearing community and also the bullies. And so, you know, um, for a lot of us, especially how to hear in the deaf community, we get nervous when we have to talk to the hearing individual because we don't know if you guys are gonna be rude to us, right? And so it's not always kind in the hearing community. So, you know, and that's when I thought to myself, I really want to make a change and I want the younger generation to let them know that they're not alone in this world, like there is someone out there. And I tell you guys a very funny story because I remember when I was in high school, I used to look up uh a counselor for people who have a disability. I was looking it up and I didn't see anything. And then I was like, I really want to make that a change. And that's when I thought to myself, I wanted to go to university for psychology. And then I went to school for mental health and additions diploma after I graduated my psychology degree. And that's when I knew like this is what I want to do with the rest of my life to make change and be a coach and be a voice for the younger generation. So that's how my grandmother and my godfather inspired me so much to take my own life and to really make it impact.

Sheela 16:30

Thank you. That is such a beautiful, inspiring story, and and I really appreciate you letting us into that, sharing that story with us. So, for someone listening who feels a pull towards something more, but isn't sure what their dash or thing is yet, what would you gently offer them?

Kellina 16:53

I would gently offer them is number one, is read books about mindset. I feel like a lot of us can learn so much from other people, but when we read books, it's very different from when you're learning from someone. And me personally, I always love reading books, and but I never got across reading books about mindset until I went to psychology. And then I was like, oh my god, I learned so much things about myself and behavior and everything. You learn so much. Take the time to learn it and also to put it into your life scenario. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about it, and that has actually helped me now, everyday life, to really understand people. And that's why I'm so positive because I read so many things, and I'm like, wow, like people really pour their story into a book, and you never know. And number two, I would say is join a community that you love, your hobbies, join it. I don't care how old you are, and I get that a lot with men and women think, oh no, Kellina, I don't have time. I don't, you will make the time. And three, time management. It's super key in life. I feel like, yes, life's so everything, and we don't know how to manage it. You need to learn how to time manage your life. If you do not know how to time manage your life in general, whether it's business, person life, children, being a husband, a girlfriend, you need to learn how to time manage your life. Because if you don't, you're going to overwhelm yourself. And I feel like a lot of us just overlook that. For me personally, I'm running two businesses, I'm a social worker, and I have my own family responsibility. I have to make sure I'm managing my time. And there are times where I have to cancel my business meeting because I have a bigger responsibility to take care of. I have to do that. But you do need to make sure and remind yourself that you only have one life to live, right? And I gotta tell people, time is not the problem. You really have to make sure that you prioritize yourself and who's in front of you, not just anybody, who's in front of you that's supporting you, that's helping you. Please make sure you prioritize those types of people in your life, and that's what I would generally say to people.

Sheela 19:17

That's a very insightful share. Kellina, I really appreciate you. That brings us to the end of our podcast. Thank you for being a guest on the DT Dash T podcast. I truly appreciate your work, lot of good work that you're doing, and I appreciate you. I am grateful uh you shared this space with us today.

Kellina 19:43

Thank you for having me.

Sheela 19:48

Do the Dash Thing. If you would like us to celebrate your unique gift, or maybe even feature you in a future episode, please subscribe to the Do the Dash Thing podcast and share your dash with us. Just answer these three simple questions. What is the gift that brings you happiness? When did you first recognize it in yourself? How are you sharing that gift with others today? That's my whole selection process. As, I always say, look within yourself and recognize the unique gifts that are in you. Then fill in the dash, your dash, in the community and the world around you. Sharing your gift brings happiness to you and helps build a better world. Tune in next Tuesday for another episode of the Do the Dash Thing Podcast. Thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe.