Catherine Greseth worked for a Fortune 500 company in New Mexico when her husband had to start driving her to work because of problems with her eyes. “They put me in a corner for a day and then I lost my job,” she recalled.

It was a stunning loss for Greseth, who was 42 at the time, but it put her directly on a path to help other women with disabilities not only find their way but thrive. “You become a problem-solver,” Greseth said. “You look at yourself and say, ‘I’m still me, I still have all the same talents, so how do I make this work now?”'

Greseth, who is the Executive Director of the Workforce Diversity Network of the Black Hills and the ADA Ambassador for the Rocky Mountain Region, is on a mission to help women find and retain employment and also discover areas where they can lead. Greseth works with employers to help educate them on hiring and retaining employees with disabilities.

“Some people worry they will hire someone with a disability and it won’t work out,” she said. “They still have to be able to do the job.”

Between 90 and 95 percent of disabilities come from an accident or an illness — only 5 percent of people are born with a disability. Women with disabilities are two times more likely to be unemployed and are three times more likely to experience violence.

“South Dakota really leads the way and Rapid City remains at the top of the nation in employment of people with disabilities,” Greseth said.

Former South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard's parents were both deaf and he understood the barriers to employment for people with disabilities, which was one of the reasons the state initially formed a task force to tackle the issue.

Greseth is also the past president of the Mayor’s Committee and past president of Services to the Blind and Visually Impaired. She served on the State Independent Living Council and Zonta Board and is a 2017 graduate of Leadership South Dakota.

Greseth said she’s honored to lead the way for others. “It’s important for women with disabilities to have a seat at the table,” she said. “This was a calling for me. It’s made me bolder. My whole life has led up to this.”

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Check out the work and leadership trails these local women are blazing:

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Kelsey Stine

Owner of Vela Creative Co.

Board of Directors Elevate Rapid City Board of Directors AAF Black Hills Owner of Accessible Black Hills

Lay the Course Podcast, host

Kelsey Stine never planned to own a business, much less be a lead- ing voice for improved disability access in Rapid City. After leaving a job to start a podcast about women in business and after finding herself serving on the mayor’s disability access committee, Stine realized she could have a seat at the table.

“I never envisioned this for myself,” she said. “And then I realized I just need to share my story. I had to get out of my own way in order to be that voice.” Stine was born with muscular dystrophy, a disease that weakens muscles over time. She has been in a wheel- chair since the age of 11.

Finding work that she loves gave her a motivation to help others.

Her favorite work right now is pioneering the way for travelers. Accessible Black Hills was founded to provide accessibility and travel information for people with disabilities as they visit the Black Hills. Stine hopes that it will serve as a guide for cities around the nation and transform the way people with disabilities travel.

Stine said leadership always comes with risks, but it is worth it. “Leadership was really a self-discovery thing for me,” she said. “I realized I shouldn’t be passive; I should be an advocate.” She hopes to inspire other women with disabilities to find the right fit in work and aspirations, and then be bold.

“I really encourage women with disabilities to completely reframe their mindset because anything new can be scary,” she said. “But find like-minded people and know you’re not alone. To be a trail blazer, it’s always easier to do it with other people.”

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Becky Noble

World Champion Para Trap Shooter

Regional Director of Cabela’s Club Card program

Becky Noble won’t take all the credit for her leadership skills. She’s pretty sure growing up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and years of 4-H honed many of the skills she utilizes now.

Noble suffered paralysis during a car crash in high school and has since been in a wheelchair. Her love of the outdoors and desire to work hard never waned, she said. That drive helped her earn a social work degree in college, continue playing sports, earn a job at Cabela’s, and become a world champion para trap shooter.

Noble has worked at Cabela’s for 20 years and has traveled the country, serving on leadership teams that help open stores. She has helped open 35 stores.

“The team at Cabela’s doesn’t look at my chair as a hindrance,” she said. “They include me and I have a voice and bring a different perspective to the table.”

Noble’s love of para trap shooting started as a child when she would shoot a shotgun. She returned to the sport with a team of coworkers when she started at Cabela’s and started competing more seriously.

“It’s a sport I can do the rest of my life,” she said.

Noble represented the U.S. while competing in Italy in 2018 and has qualified for the next world competition. There’s no reason to stop doing the things you love when you have a disability, Noble said. “You just have to step out of the box and look at things differently,” she said.

“You have to be comfortable with yourself. If you’re not comfortable with your disability, then other people won’t be either.”

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Jill Kundtz

State Chair for the State Board of Services to The Blind and Visually Impaired Spiritual Care Services Coordinator for Monument Health

Jill Kundtz was declared legally blind in 2018 and she reached out to the SBVI for services. That phone call led to an appointment on the board, a leadership position that has helped Kundtz advocate and serve others with disabilities across the state.

Kundtz is a nurse by trade and is no stranger to leadership. She’s served on the board of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates and several other local and national boards.

“I’ve always been an advocate for people,” she said.

Her message to women with disabilities is clear: don’t give up on your dreams. “Don’t doubt yourself,” she said. “You are a gifted person and you can do things as well as anyone; you just might need some accommodations. You have just as much value.”

Kundtz said her strong will and perseverance has helped her push forward, and she tries to help others maintain the same perspective. She has also been diagnosed with cancer and multiple sclerosis.

“I have a fighting spirit,” she said. “When something happens to you, you can

either bury your head in the sand or have a five-minute pity party and then move on. I have a patient who has their leg cut off

and I remind them that they’ll have an adjustment period and that’s OK. But then what are you going to do? What do you want for the rest of your life?”

Although    young,    these    ladies    are  fierce  businesswomen.  After meeting with them, I felt inspired and  encouraged  by  their  positive  energy, willingness to tackle something new, and ability to excel at a business endeavor. It’s no surprise success has followed them in their business   adventures.   See   how   their big ideas inspired big action!

Amelie

Amelie (15 years old) designs graphics that can be placed on shirts, hats, stickers, or other products. Her designs are sold  through a website called redbubble.com. Red-Bubble is similar to Etsy in the sense that a creator creates content and sells it through the website, RedBubble taking a portion of that sale. RedBubble allows a creator like Amelie to design a graphic and then add that design to a chosen media through the website, eliminating the need for on-hand equipment and inventory.

Amelie’s  creativity  is  in  her  genes.  Although  both  her  parents  are  entrepreneurs,  her  mother  (owner  of  On  the  Rox  jewelry  store)  inspired  her  to  create  her  own  business.  “Watching  my  mom  have  her  own  creative  business made me think, I love that. Why can’t I try it too?” She looks up to her mom and knows she can always go to her for input on her designs. Moving  to  Rapid  City  in  2019  from  Los Angeles,  California, Amelie (then 13) knew she wanted to start a business with a larger purpose. Whether it’s creating a custom name sticker for a laptop or donating proceeds to movements and organizations she’s passionate about, the root of her business is how she can help others. When visiting her RedBubble shop, which is most easily found through her  Instagram  account  (@amiegwdesigns),  you  will  find  graphics  focusing  on  anything  from  holidays to  positive  sayings,  to  women’s  rights,  to  Black  Lives  Matter, to LGBTQ+, and beyond. There is something for everyone. And if there isn’t, she will create it for you!

Lilly

Lilly (11 years old) owns not one, but two businesses. Her first business came to life in 2019 when Lilly asked her parents for a (very large) fish tank. They agreed to get the tank for her on one condition: Lilly pay for it. In true entrepreneurial fashion, she embraced the challenge and created Green Goats Soap Co. Soon after, she earned enough money to purchase the 36 gallon saltwater tank.

Lilly’s handcrafted soaps, lip balms, lotions, and sugar scrubs are made from scratch. She hand-picks each ingredient and through (what she describes as) a lot of trial and error, she develops the perfect recipe for each item.  Her most popular items are her soap bars, which are colorful and made of skin-loving oils and fragrances. You can find anything from her Pineapple Mango Tango soap to her Signature Lux Lip Balm on her website (greengoatssoap.com), in local stores (Art Forms in Hill City, Mainstreet Espresso in Deadwood, Minors and Merchants in Lead, and The Market in Rapid City), and at local craft fairs.Lilly started her second business in October 2021, Chill Billy Bites, because she “wanted something new to do and one business just wasn’t enough!” Chill Billy Bites is a freeze-dried candy and snack company featuring freeze dried candies like Skittles (aka: Rainbow Puffs), Milk Duds (aka: Caramel Toads), and gummy Nerd clusters (aka: COVID Candy). You can find these tasty, fun snacks along with more information about Lilly’s handmade soaps on Facebook (@greengoatssoap).Whether she’s creating a new soap recipe, editing her website, freeze drying a new candy, or chat-ting with customers at a craft fair, Lilly puts her heart into her businesses. She aspires to one day be a lawyer (and a florist) and is sure to utilize the knowledge gained through her businesses in whatever she does.  

 While their businesses may be different and they’re in different seasons of life, I found overarching similarities when chatting with Amalie and Lilly, the most obvious being they both had a big idea and had the passion, grit, and determination to bring that big idea to life. The advice they gave when asked what they would tell others who may be interested in starting their own business also had an overarching theme: try it, stick with it, and don’t get discouraged when things go wrong. Because according to Lilly, “Things will go wrong. Especially when you’re dealing with marshmallow fluff.”