The microphone was working just fine. It was her voice that wasn’t.

After surviving a rare form of thyroid cancer, Jessica Fabus Cheng walked out of surgery with her health intact, but her voice forever changed. With only a portion of her vocal function remaining, speaking became more effortful. Public speaking, once a goal, seemed suddenly more challenging. But instead of pulling back, Jessica leaned in. She didn’t just reclaim her voice; she reshaped it. And in doing so, she created something deeper than sound: a movement rooted in clarity, connection, and purpose.

Today, Jessica is an inclusion strategist and Mrs. DC International 2025. She speaks on various stages, leads workshops, raises future guide dogs with her family, and hosts All the Best with Jess, a podcast spotlighting voices of impact. Her story isn’t just about recovery—it’s about redefinition. It’s about what happens when we stop waiting for our voice to return and start building a new one with the resources we have.

Loss Doesn’t Ask Permission

Loss is rarely convenient. It doesn’t consult your calendar. And it certainly doesn’t care about your plans. But for leaders, founders, and changemakers who’ve felt sidelined by circumstance, Jessica’s journey is a reminder that you don’t need to be unwavering to lead; you just need to be brave enough to begin again.

She refers to it as her “second voice.” Not a replacement for the one she lost, but an evolution of it. This voice is softer, yes. But also more focused, more deliberate. It speaks with less urgency and more intention. It listens more. And it carries a clarity that volume alone never could.

Rethinking Leadership Through Lived Experience

In a world that often favors loud voices, Jessica learned to lead in a different way. True influence, she discovered, doesn’t stem from being the loudest in the room; rather, it comes from being the most aligned. The most grounded. The most connected to why you’re speaking in the first place.

That realization became the foundation of her Triple A Framework: Awareness, Allyship, Action. What began as a personal approach for navigating her own transformation has since become a model for others, particularly brands and leaders, seeking to cultivate more inclusive, meaningful, and human-first cultures. She emphasizes that accessibility isn’t simply about meeting legal requirements; it’s about fostering connection. And that inclusion doesn’t live in statements or one-time training, but in ongoing, consistent actions.

Awareness Alone Was Never Enough

That belief isn’t just theoretical. It’s deeply personal. Jessica’s cousin, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, became a wheelchair user much sooner than expected after tripping over a broken, inaccessible sidewalk just outside a healthcare facility. Watching him navigate a world not designed for him made it even clearer for Jessica: awareness alone doesn’t go far enough. Statements don’t replace systems. Empathy without action is just decoration.

Through Accessibility in Action, Jessica helps organizations move past the superficiality of inclusion and into its substance. She teaches brands how to weave accessibility into their digital presence, internal culture, and external messaging—not through complex overhauls, but through small, intentional shifts that reach more people and resonate more deeply.

A Family-Wide Commitment to Allyship

Her advocacy doesn’t stop when the workday ends. At home on Long Island, Jessica and her husband are raising a service dog-in-training with their five-year-old daughter. It’s a hands-on lesson in empathy, consistency, and service—a family-wide embodiment of the allyship she teaches professionally.

Her journey resonates with anyone who has ever felt muted by illness, grief, burnout, or self-doubt. For the founder whose business pivot didn’t go as planned. For the leader navigating chronic illness quietly while maintaining appearances. For the parent who feels as though their voice has been overshadowed by caregiving responsibilities. Jessica’s story is a quiet yet determined reminder that you are still a force.

Quieter Doesn’t Mean Smaller

Leadership after loss looks different. It moves at a more thoughtful pace. It prioritizes depth over scale. But it’s no less impactful. In fact, it may be even more so.

Jessica often says that her voice breaking was the beginning of her voice truly being heard. It forced her to slow down, speak with more focus, and lead from lived experience rather than expectation. In a way, the breaking of her microphone didn’t silence her—it revealed the parts of her message that mattered most.

If your voice feels uncertain right now—if your leadership feels quieter than it once was—this may not be the end of your impact. It might just be the beginning of your clarity.

The people who build the most enduring messages aren’t always the loudest. Sometimes, they’re the ones who lost their microphone and chose to speak anyway.

What Comes Next

If your team or brand is navigating its own season of reinvention, Jessica’s journey is a reminder that silence doesn’t have to signify surrender. Sometimes, what breaks open is what finally breaks through.

To learn more about her work and how the Triple A Framework can reshape the way you lead, visit www.jessicafabuscheng.com.

Published by Jeremy S.