Chinyere Oparah explores why successful adults often recognize ADHD later in life, and explores the grief, relief, masking, and hope that can follow a late diagnosis. October is ADHD Awareness Month. And lately, I have had the honor of witnessing the emergence of a profoundly life-changing new awareness. It often begins with a successful and brilliant human telling me about something they cannot seem to make themselves do. They are a senior leader. They have advanced degrees,

Chinyere Oparah reflects on the challenges facing higher education leaders in this moment and how coaching and peer support can help leaders navigate uncertainty, transition, and difficult decisions with courage, clarity, and community.

Chinyere Oparah offers advice for leaders taking on new roles that can’t be found in traditional leadership books. For women, leaders of color, LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent leaders, proving your worth can be the wrong first move. Instead, she offers practical strategies for building power, practicing strategic courage, protecting your sustainability, and staying long enough to make the impact you came to make.

What if the greatest barrier to authentic leadership isn’t confidence, but the energy it takes to hide who we are? Many leaders spend years performing versions of themselves they believe will be accepted, credible, or safe. For Black women, autistic leaders, and others navigating systems shaped by bias and exclusion, the costs of masking can be profound—including burnout, isolation, and diminished wellbeing.

Honestly, I didn’t fully realize the depth of my own fatigue until the semester finally ended. And this comes during a season when I’ve been doing work I deeply love: teaching graduate leadership students and emerging sociologists, supporting leaders navigating institutional and political complexity, helping organizations think about neuroinclusive cultures, and coaching courageous leaders doing transformational work under difficult conditions. I know I'm not alone: As c

An exploration of burnout, overwork, and leadership for women of color in higher education — and why stepping back is essential for sustainability.

What does it take to sustain courage as an equity leader in higher education today? In this conversation with NADOHE board member Yvette, we explore the LACE leadership framework and the role of coaching in helping chief diversity officers and equity leaders navigate political pressure, institutional resistance, and burnout. Discover how coaching can support strategic courage, relational leadership, and institutional transformation in challenging times.

Sleep deprivation has become one of leadership’s most normalized sacrifices. In this essay, Chinyere Oparah explores how burnout, late-night work, and constant responsiveness undermine leaders’ wellbeing and decision-making. Drawing on coaching experience, sleep research, and critiques of grind culture, she argues that reclaiming sleep is both a leadership practice and a form of resistance. The piece offers leaders practical strategies for restoring healthier rhythms of work

Chinyere Oparah explores what it means to lead with courage in seasons of fear. Reflecting on the fallout from the 2025 DEI executive order and the conversations sparked at AAC&U, she examines the tension between strategy and complicity, and invites leaders to consider how small, collective acts of integrity shape institutional culture.

As we close out a grueling year, Chinyere Oparah reflects on grief, ambiguous loss, and the quiet resilience required to keep leading with integrity and heart. As the year comes to a close, I’ve been sitting with the weight of what this year has asked of us. I suspect I'm not alone in feeling like 2025 was one of the hardest years I've lived through. Many of us are ending the year holding immense grief – sharp and visceral, or stifled and unnamed, because there was no time to

Chinyere Oparah explores the relationship between food, work, stress and leadership, and offers practical ways to reconnect with our bodies as a source of wisdom rather than an afterthought.

Chinyere Oparah explores how leaders can recover from abrupt transitions, heal workplace trauma, and chart a new path forward.

Former VPAA Dorothy Mosby shares her battle with the "Four Horsemen of Higher Education leadership" and the lessons she learned from having the courage to leave.

Disruption is everywhere—but we don’t have to lose ourselves in the chaos. Equity-driven leaders are facing mounting pressure, but leading through it doesn’t have to mean powering through on fumes. We need new models—trauma-informed, emotionally intelligent, rooted in purpose and replenishment. In Chinyere Oparah's latest blog, she shares five practices for leading through disruption without abandoning your vision, your values, or your wellbeing.