Our Voices

This year, the Disability business resource group (BRG) is leading the firm in celebrating Disability Pride Month. Nathan Wright, executive sponsor of the Disability BRG, personally connects with the celebration’s theme: Smash the Stigma.

Professional stress triggered Nathan’s challenges with disability during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, briefly leaving him to wonder if he’d made the right choice in becoming a leader in his local office. Today, he is successful in his role as a leader in the estate, gift and trust group and as a principal in the tax practice with the support of his healthcare team and other firm leaders—but getting there wasn’t easy.

Nathan proudly advocates for a more inclusive environment for those living with disabilities, leveraging his personal experience to remind us all that some of our colleagues and loved ones may be managing unseen challenges behind an upbeat demeanor.

How do you relate to this year’s Disability Pride Month theme?

There are stereotypes about disability that aren’t true. People who are smiling may not be okay. People who admit to challenges with disability aren’t constantly in bed all day. The truth is that people are navigating their challenges every day in different ways, and each of us can be supporters for those living with disability by making our offices a better place.

It's the Disability BRG’s first year calling our celebration Disability Pride Month, and that’s important because it allows us all to be more transparent with ourselves about what we’re going through. My disability is not something that holds me back. It’s part of who I am, and living with it helps me be better to my friends, my colleagues, and also myself.

Can you share your experiences with disability?

When I came to Moss Adams in 2017, my leaders saw potential in me. They asked if I wanted to step into the office tax leader role, which I did officially in 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our office was one of the first to shut down due to a reported case. Things were intense, and all of the decisions to protect the firm and our people were on my shoulders and it weighed very heavily on me.

I started wondering if Moss Adams was the right place for me, but my wife, Kristen, reminded me that leaving wouldn’t solve the problem—it was difficult everywhere. By fall 2021, I worked with my executive coach to prepare for a discussion with my leaders. These wonderful leaders told me, ‘You’re more important in this conversation than the title. Maybe this isn’t the right use of your leadership skills.’ They were supportive of finding another opportunity for me to lead.

Did you also seek help outside of the firm?

Yes. I ended up working with my health care provider, a psychologist, and a psychiatrist. Finally, I was prescribed some medications to help. Every medical professional I worked with validated what I was experiencing and offered to help.

I’ve learned that I’m prone to intense anxiety and, in some cases, panic attacks when I’m stressed, but I didn’t get a formal diagnosis from my doctors. That leaves me in a grey area. A formal diagnosis isn’t always easy to reach, but informal diagnoses are no less important.

How are things different for you today?

Overall, I’m better now. I call it the maintenance phase, but it’s active maintenance. I’m taking my medications because I still need them, and I now help lead the estate, gift and trust tax practice which is near and dear to my heart.

Through this process, I’ve shifted from my role as office tax leader with an understanding of what I can handle and how to manage the natural stressors of leadership. It’s very freeing, and I appreciate our firm for helping me succeed through this transition. It's really deepened my trust in our firm’s leadership.

And I’m excited about the recent combination with Baker Tilly because it’s clear how important belonging is to us all, and I never want to see our inclusive environment change.

How has sharing your story helped others?

I’ve had the opportunity to share my story in internal meetings, and I talk freely about it with people in my personal life. At times, people will come to me one-on-one to discuss what they’re going through. I have more sincere conversations with people, which helps me check in authentically with my advisees and team members. I encourage my advisees and team members to take care of themselves. They can’t succeed in their careers if they don’t. We’re a team here, so I know the work will get done.

Sharing our struggles helps us all build an environment where people feel comfortable talking about their own. Maybe we don’t have the same challenges, but offering different perspectives and experiences may help lift someone else up. It’s my gift to share my story and bring more awareness to disabilities.

My personality is similar to my dad’s, which means I’m usually trying to make people laugh. I’m not trying to hide anything by smiling, but behind it, I have plenty of struggles that people don’t often see. There is so much complexity to someone’s physical presentation, and there are many invisible disabilities out there, so it’s important to smash those stigmas.

That’s one of the benefits of the Disability BRG. Smashing the stigma in our industry is exactly what we want to do.