Jeffrey C Smith

After contracting ulcerative colitis at age five, rheumatoid arthritis struck at age six. By the following year, Jeff Smith was a malnourished 7-year-old fighting for his life. Mayo Clinic declared it was the worst colitis they had seen in one so young. He made history by becoming the 2nd youngest to have most of his intestines removed and replaced by an ileostomy.

Unexpectedly, the arthritis spread into Jeff’s eyes causing total blindness by high school.

Surprisingly, Jeff said the stutter he had developed under stress from long stretches in hospitals as a child was his most debilitating challenge. Despite this, he became the first blind student to graduate from the University of Minnesota with a degree in journalism.

Through speech therapy, Jeff was finally able to release years of pent-up, unarticulated thoughts and ideas, on stage of all places, performing as a magician where he met his future wife, Devon. After working for 25 years in Community Education, in 2016, Devon was in an automobile accident. As a result, she lives today with the effects of a traumatic brain injury that include vision, balance and stamina deficits, and inability to drive.

Jeff and Devon live out daily that attitude can be the difference between feeling defeated or thriving.

The two have been married for 20 years and have adopted 3 lovable dogs, each needing special attention and care.

Jeff stays active as a motivational speaker on overcoming challenges.