Step into a deeply moving, paradigm shifting, and tenderly human conversation with Valeriya Hjertenaes, PhD, neurodiversity and sustainability leadership expert, global keynote speaker, author, coach, and award winning podcast host, on this episode of Intimate Conversations: Dark Night to Divine Light.
Joining us from Norway at nearly midnight, Valeriya brings her lived experience, research, and heart to a conversation about what it means to be wired differently in a world built for someone else.
Valeriya shares the moment everything changed. While working in Ukrainian orphanages and navigating her first adoption, she experienced her first intrusive thought amid exhaustion and cognitive overload. Without a framework to understand what was happening, she spent two years struggling in silence before seeking professional help. Then, just three months after walking the red carpet at Cannes as a sustainable fashion advocate, she checked herself into a mental health institution for four weeks.
It was there, with limited phone access, that she discovered the term neurodiversity and found a new sense of purpose. She rebuilt her PhD around the subject, launched her podcast, and began transforming her personal experience into a mission to help others thrive.
We also talk about:
This episode is a reminder that being different does not mean being broken. Valeriya's story invites us to question old assumptions, recognize the strengths within cognitive diversity, and create environments where people can thrive without hiding who they are.
Our darkest nights do not have to be the end of the story. Sometimes, they become the beginning of a new mission.
ABOUT VALERIYA HJERTENAES
Valeriya Hjertenaes, PhD, is a neurodiversity and sustainability leadership expert, global keynote speaker, author, mentor, coach, and award winning podcast host. Drawing on more than 15 years of international leadership experience across corporate, nonprofit, and human rights sectors, she helps organizations turn cognitive diversity into leadership effectiveness, resilience, innovation, and sustainable performance.
She is the founder of the 5E ENABLERS Method™, a leadership framework built around Empathize, Evolve, Evaluate, Enhance, and Empower. As a neurodivergent leader with lived experience of OCD and an adoptive mother of two, Valeriya combines research, professional expertise, and personal insight to champion more inclusive and sustainable approaches to leadership.
CONNECT WITH VALERIYA
Website:
https://bio.site/ValeriyaImpact.Global
Instagram:
@mrs.worldcongeniality
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/vhjertenaes
YouTube:
@diversitygamechanger
Valeriya Hjertenaes, Allana Pratt, Intimate Conversations, Dark Night to Divine Light, neurodiversity, OCD, intrusive thoughts, neurodivergent leadership, mental health awareness, cognitive diversity, 5E ENABLERS Method, sustainability leadership, neurodivergent strengths, masking and neurodiversity, mental health support, inclusive leadership, human performance, social sustainability, parenting and mental health
#AllanaPratt #ValeriyaHjertenaes #Neurodiversity #MentalHealthAwareness
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