“You are beautiful. You are strong. You will go through some things just know you will get through it.” These are just a few words Pam Illar, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, proud Out woman, warrior, would say to her 11-year old self. Life has a way of defining us for us. Others tell you who you are before you even know it for yourself. What would you tell you, the you you were before the world told you who you were? This week’s Guest is… Pam Illar, a Senior Associate with Ernst & Young LLP and has been with the firm since 2006. She is a long-standing member of EY’s professional networks Unity, LGBTQ+ and AccessAbilities a resource for people with disabilities. Pam has been an advocate surrounding both communities.  She has coordinated EY’s participation in one of the Northern Virginia National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Northern Virginia) marches.  In support of EY’s commitment to diversity and inclusiveness priorities, Pam joined the AccessAbilities professional network in showcasing the firm’s WeCare (formally, R U Ok) program to inform employees of EY’s resources surrounding the invisible wounds of mental health.  Pam served as a panelist at the Out & Equal conference in the session An Intimate Conversation with Women of Color.  Pam is also a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio in Texas.  She helped plan and participate in their June 2020 virtual Pride event and signified the intersectionality of being an African American gay woman, in recovery and living with a mental health diagnosis.  Through San Antonio UU, Pam has also used her passion for mental health awareness by designing a “Black Healing Space” with other members and licensed professionals.  The initiative was fostered given today’s deteriorating climate on race relations, exacerbated following the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the painful list of others.  She and her wife Linda have been married for thirteen years are the proud parents to Justin, Alex and four grandchildren. Pam and Linda live in San Antonio with and their four-legged fur babies, a German Shepherd named Gus and their Rottweiler Ruthie (named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Ways to Connect Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scoots.Illar LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-illar-292b96140/ Resource: The Intersectionality of Pam: https://an-intimate-conversation-with-women-of-color-podcast.mailchimpsites.com/elevating-voices-of-woc