Bridgett Strickler: Reinvention, Resilience, and the Power of Seeing Yourself
Photographed by Priyanca Rao | Trailblazers Empowerment Project
Drumroll, Please: Meet Bridgett Strickler — A Champion for Adult Learners and Visionary Talent Development Strategist
Watch the behind the scenes video from Bridgette’s shoot
Bridgett Strickler is a nationally respected strategist and thought leader in adult learning, talent development, and social impact. With a career dedicated to helping adults return to education and create better lives for themselves and their families, she has designed and led groundbreaking programs that have supported tens of thousands of adult learners whom she proudly calls comebackers.
Bridgett co-created the widely recognized Bridging The Talent Gap model, a data-driven initiative used by employers and community leaders across the country to close educational opportunity gaps and create internal pathways to advancement for incumbent workers. She’s led multi-city coalitions, shaped state and national strategy, and built powerful partnerships between higher education institutions, employers, and public agencies. Her work empowers adults who have taken nontraditional paths and proves that it’s never too late to come back stronger.
“Our brains are actually wired for comebacks.”
Bridgett’s work is fueled by personal experience. She doesn’t just lead programs, she’s lived the journey. After becoming sober, she discovered her undiagnosed ADHD which soon became her superpower. She brings a rare combination of authenticity, empathy, and bold leadership to everything she does.
From Rock Bottom to a Life of Purpose
Bridgett is proud of many things, but what she holds dearest is how she shows up now: clear, grounded, and open. She shares that her biggest turning point came 14 years ago, when she got sober and was diagnosed with ADHD. That diagnosis changed everything.
“When you’re focused on everything, you’re focused on nothing.”
She realized that her scattered attention wasn’t a flaw. It was her brain trying to cope without the tools it needed. Sobriety helped her stop running and start listening. ADHD became something she could work with, not against. What once made life feel chaotic and unfocused now became a source of clarity.
“Rock bottom doesn’t mean the end. It means your brain is asking for a reboot.”
That insight lit the path forward not just for herself, but for the many people she now helps through her work. Her mission is deeply human. She wants others to know that they are not broken. They are simply in the middle of a story that isn’t finished yet.
Building a Career That Uplifts Others
Bridgett’s leadership in the adult learner space isn’t only about policy or paperwork. It’s about transformation. She has influenced over 4,000 employers to rethink the way they leverage their education benefits programs and reached more than 6,000 incumbent workers to help them reimagine education as a pathway to economic mobility. Her programs create new pipelines into better jobs for people who have often been overlooked by traditional systems.
She helps adults find the courage to try again, and gives companies the tools to recognize untapped potential.
“You are never too old to pursue your dreams or reinvent yourself.”
Bridgett believes that learning can happen at any age and that often, the most important learning is not about a degree, but about discovering who you really are.
Rooted in Love: Why Bridgett Shows Up Every Day
At the heart of everything Bridgett does is her family. Her husband and daughters are her guiding lights, the people she wants to make proud. She speaks of them often, not just as loved ones, but as her “why.”
“I want them to know me as someone whose story is about redemption. Someone who wasn’t defined by her lowest moments.”
She hopes that by living her life with courage and purpose, she’s showing her daughters how to rise, how to try again, and how to lead with heart. Bridgett’s work is not just professional. It’s personal. Every program she builds and every story she helps shape is part of a larger legacy she’s leaving for the people who matter most.
Seeing Herself Through a New Lens
When Bridgett joined the Trailblazers Empowerment Project, she wasn’t expecting how emotional it would be to see herself on camera. The moment she looked in the mirror after hair and makeup, something shifted.
“I gasped. It felt like I was looking at the future me.”
Each scene in the photoshoot told a piece of her story from chaos and confusion to clarity, conviction and joy. It gave her a way to see her evolution with new eyes.
“These weren’t just photos. They captured a version of me I had grown into without even realizing it.”
It was more than a portrait session. It was a reflection. A moment of arrival. A quiet but powerful celebration of all the work she had done to get to this point.
A Message for Any Woman Who Feels Lost
Bridgett’s story is not about perfection. It’s about persistence. Her honesty, courage, and leadership are a reminder that change is possible, no matter how far off it might feel right now.
“Your setbacks are not the end of your story. They are the beginning of your comeback.”
If you are in a dark place right now, this story is for you. You are not alone. And you are not done. There is still more for you. More love. More clarity. More life.
About the Trailblazers Empowerment Project
The Trailblazers Empowerment Project was created by Priyanca Rao, a portrait photographer who helps women step into their most powerful selves. Each session is designed to honor who you are and reflect back to you the strength that’s been there all along.
Priyanca combines luxury portraiture with deep listening and storytelling, creating images that not only look beautiful, but feel like truth. This project is about visibility, confidence, and transformation. You leave with powerful wall art that reminds you everyday of your highest self.
Apply here to be part of the project.
Be Seen. Be Heard. Be Remembered.
You have a story. You have something to say. Let’s show the world who you are becoming.
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In November 2025, Bridgett will take the TEDx stage in New York City at TEDxWomen to deliver
a talk on “The Moment of Decision” exploring the neuroscience, emotion, and identity shifts
behind adult learners’ choice to return to school. Through her storytelling work, she is helping
bring visibility and dignity to adult learners by sharing their powerful comeback stories and
spotlighting the barriers and breakthroughs on the road to education and career transformation.
She is currently writing her first book, which draws on her professional expertise, research, and
personal experience as a “comebacker” herself, weaving together compelling narratives about
reinvention, resilience, and the pursuit of purpose at any age.
Bridgett has played a key role in launching adult learner engagement campaigns across the country, partnering with state and regional leaders to stand up and support large-scale initiatives in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Washington. Her work has helped connect tens of thousands of adults to education pathways and workforce opportunities that align with their goals.
She currently serves as Vice President, Adult Learner Engagement and Impact at the newly launched national nonprofit, the Center for Academic Innovation. She previously was Vice President of Coalition Strategy at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), where she led CAEL’s long-standing national partnerships with the energy and telecommunications sectors. In that role, she developed and advanced scalable workforce-education strategies to drive economic mobility for adult learners and incumbent workers. Prior to her role at CAEL, she served as Chief Strategy Officer at The Graduate! Network (TGN), where she co-created employer engagement strategies that reached nearly 4,000 businesses and over 6,000 workers nationwide. She also led research, learning, and impact efforts that helped shift the narrative around adult learnersand their potential.
Bridgett holds both an MBA and a Master’s in the Art of Teaching. She is available for keynote speaking, storytelling workshops, and strategic advising on topics including:
- Adult learners and comeback stories
- Employer-education partnerships
- Cognitive flexibility and career reinvention
- Employer-sponsored education and tuition assistance
- Storytelling for systems change and stakeholder engagement
Connect with Bridgett on LinkedIn
As part of the Trailblazer Empowerment Project by Priyanca Rao, we were honored to photograph Bridgette Strickler an inspiring leader whose work aligns deeply with our mission to celebrate women in leadership through intentional, powerful imagery. Priyanca Rao Photography specializes in CEO headshots and personal branding tailored for women in executive, creative, and leadership roles, including, recruiters, CEOs, COOs, interior designers, influencers, HR professionals, corporate c-suit executives, marketing executives, mentoring coaches, podcast cover headshots, actors, and authors. Known as a top NYC and Westchester photographer, Priyanca also serves clients throughout Connecticut (CT), New Jersey (NJ), and Long Island, delivering branding photos that elevate websites and social media presence. Whether you’re a founder, healer, or change maker, this women’s empowerment project continues to spotlight authentic voices through meaningful portraiture designed to help you stand out and lead with confidence. These Westchester Therapist Branding headshots photos hopefully help inspire and empower other therapists who are entrepreneurial and want to grow their business. Know that you can do it too!
