What Pride Teaches About Leadership

I’ve spent my life helping others find their voice. Coaching students. Supporting teams. Guiding women to lead with clarity and confidence.

But here’s the part I don’t always say out loud: I’m still learning to speak my own truth.

This Pride, I want to honor someone who helped me get a little closer.

Pride Looks Like Case

My cousin, Case Erickson, is one of the most grounded, brilliant, wholehearted humans I know. He’s a queer entrepreneur, a bestselling author, a TEDx speaker, and recently—a reality TV star on Sweden’s number one show, Allt för Sverige.

Case’s story is one of reinvention. Reintegration. Realignment.

He once ran three multi-million dollar restaurants near D.C. He produced Austin’s top food truck festival for years. He helped launch Rebel Cheese—a plant-based cheese biz that landed on Shark Tank. He’s been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. He’s advised boards, shaped brands, and built community.

But none of those things are what make me most proud.

What makes me proud is the way Case lives—deeply, honestly, and out loud.

His book, Coming Out by Going In, is a soul-level exploration of what it really means to tell the truth about who you are. It’s about the closet, yes—but it’s also about the internal closets. The ones built from shame, trauma, expectation, and fear. The ones that tell us we have to be shiny and successful to be safe.

Case teaches a different kind of success—the kind rooted in authenticity. In integration. In freedom.

His TEDx talk, Authentic Momentum, is a masterclass in wholeness. In how we move from surviving to thriving—not by performing, but by coming home to ourselves.

Why This Matters (And Why I’m Tearing Up As I Type This)

Because I know how hard-won this kind of freedom is. Because I know what it costs to unlearn the performance and reclaim your voice. Because I know how lonely it can be, and how powerful it is to witness someone else light the path.

A few years ago, I publicly shared my own story about living as a closeted bisexual woman—about the mental health toll of staying closeted, and what it took to come out while working as a teacher. I talked about being invalidated by friends who said I was “just confused,” and about how visibility matters—especially for queer students looking for a reason to believe they’ll be okay.

You can read that story here, but here’s what I haven’t shared until now:

I’m older than Case. And I still haven’t come out to my mom.

This blog post might end up being that. I’m scared, yes. But I’m also ready.

Because I believe what I teach: that your voice is sacred, and your truth is never too much to matter. And if I can’t live that—what business do I have helping others lead?

Pride and Leadership

We don’t always connect Pride with leadership—but we should.

Because visibility is leadership. Telling the truth is leadership. Taking off the armor and showing up as your whole, integrated self? That’s leadership too.

If you’re building something—whether it’s a business, a classroom, a brand, or a life—you need self-trust more than you need perfection. You need authenticity more than approval. And you need to remember that performing isn’t the same as leading.

Case reminds me of that. And I hope, in some small way, I remind you.

Meet Case Erickson

• Author of Coming Out by Going In: The Freedom to Be Yourself

• TEDx Speaker – Authentic Momentum: Fueling Our Dreams

• Reality TV Cast Member – Allt för Sverige, Season 12

• Entrepreneur – Former restaurant owner, Trucklandia Fest founder, Rebel Cheese advisor

• Featured On – Shark Tank, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox

• Consultant and Coach – Helping brands and leaders root success in authenticity

Get Case’s book, Coming Out by Going In, here on Amazon. Watch his TEDx talk. Let his story remind you what’s possible.

Because this is what Pride looks like, too: A man who came out by going in—and made it a little safer for the rest of us to do the same.

Coming Soon: Lead With Heart

If this post moved something in you, just wait.

Lead With Heart—my upcoming book—is part memoir, part manifesto, and all about what happens when we stop performing and start leading from within. It’s for every recovering people-pleaser, closeted dreamer, overfunctioning fixer, and quiet rebel who's ready to come home to themselves.

Right now, it's out for developmental edits and officially on submission. Stay close. The best is coming.

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