Tami Luchow
Tami Luchow wasn’t supposed to be the 46-year-old wife and mother of two with a resume inclusive of titles like actress, news producer, motivational speaker, ardent disabilities advocate, sports enthusiast and the nonprofit leader she is today.
Forty-six years ago, she was laying in an incubator – her home for the first few months of her life – born two months premature, weighing just over 2 pounds, missing part of her right leg, a few fingers and some toes. The odds were not in her favor. However, she beat those odds and was brought home from Mount Sinai to begin a life motivated by perseverance and advocacy. Today, she helps countless individuals defy the odds themselves.
“I spent my early years proving to the world – and most of all to myself – that I could do anything, especially things that people said a kid with one leg couldn’t do,” says Luchow.
The premature baby that beat the odds turned teenager and trained for the Paralympics, trying to earn a spot on the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. She never made the team, but went on to compete in international events. She tried acting (starring aside Richard Pryor in Bustin’ Loose), played softball in high school and went onto Yale as an undergrad; earning her master’s at Columbia. Her career led her to producing news segments for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. She was the quintessential jack of all trades, but her true passion was helping others.
Luchow started tamiluchow.com, where as an aspirational speaker she travels the country orating at businesses, organizations, schools and camps with a simple message: People with disabilities are viewed as people first. Her speeches are filled with messages of respect, equality and harmony.
“I speak about people first practices to promote diversity, leadership and respect for all people, including people with visible and invisible disabilities and differences,” Luchow says. “My workshops often include the idea that we are all unique and we all have value to add to any given situation, as long as there is a foundation of respect and understanding.”
Most recently, Luchow’s own personal experience led to her founding the nonprofit Care For Life and Limb, Inc., with a mission to raise awareness about health care issues and needs connected to people with disabilities and their families.
The impetus for creating the nonprofit was when, last year, Luchow discovered a line of fine print on her own private health care policy reading, “One limb per lifetime…after the age of 18,” with the further stipulation of “no maintenance and no repairs.” She says she wants to work for change so that this type of “life sentence language” will no longer be allowed.
“If there is one thing I hope people walk away with after meeting me is that we are all unique, we’re all different, we all deserve respect, we all have something wonderful to offer the world and we all deserve to be the very best that we can be,” Luchow says. “My work promotes people first practice, in the language we use, and the stereotypes we challenge. I truly believe that when someone shows they care by sharing their smile, that small act can positively impact another human being’s whole outlook on life.”
Take a look at (201) Magazine's 2017 "People to Watch in Health":