Why your lived experience is the most important credential you’ll ever need.

Movements rarely begin with experts or institutions. They begin with ordinary people who decide that “enough is enough.” In this episode, Tonya explores how lived experience — not degrees, titles, or training — qualifies you to take the next right step toward change.

You’ll hear how everyday advocacy can look like:

• Naming harm and creating safety for your people
• Turning personal heartbreak into community action
• Challenging the “I’m just a…” myth
• Why Nikki James Zellner’s story (Episode 6) proves you don’t need to be an expert to make an impact
• Tonya’s own lived experiences with neurodivergence, clutter, and motherhood (and how they shaped her advocacy)

Advocacy isn’t about doing it all forever. It’s about starting. And if you’ve lived it, you’re ready.

Timestamp Highlights

• 0:00 – 1:23 Movements start with lived experience, not credentials.
• 1:24 – 6:00 Busting the “I’m just a…” myth.
• 6:01 – 12:30 Nikki James Zellner’s daycare safety advocacy story.
• 12:31 – 17:40 Lived experience as a qualifier for leadership.
• 17:41 – 23:00 Why solutions must come from the people living the problem.
• 23:01 – 27:01 The cost of advocacy and setting healthy boundaries.
• 27:02 – 27:20 Final takeaway: If you’ve lived it, you’re ready.

Resources & Mentions

• Episode 6: Not on My Watch with Nikki James Zellner
• The Watchdog Way (coming 2026)
• CO Safe Schools

Meet Your Host

Tonya Kubo is a community strategist and fractional CMO/COO who helps founders and organizations turn connection into a competitive advantage. She’s the host of Find Your Freaks, a podcast about belonging and building spaces where people can show up as they really are, and co-host of The Business You Really Want with Gwen Bortner. Tonya believes what makes you weird makes you wonderful—and that normal was never the point.

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