Steve Ferreira Speaker & Booking Information

My name is Steve Ferreira and I was born with cerebral palsy. When I was 15 years old, I decided that I wanted to try my best to make a difference. I felt I could not only positively affect the lives of disabled people, but also those of everyone else around me. Because of this, I decided to start speaking at local high schools about what it is like to live with a disability. To this day I have spoken over 150 times at more than 20 different regional high schools. In addition to this, I have spoken at an eighth grade graduation ceremony and local Kiwanis and Rotary club events. Even now, while attending college, I remain involved in events that aim to raise disability awareness in my community. Not only am I an active member of the Rotaract Club (a club which aims to educate the public about the obstacles disabled persons face in their day-to-day lives), but I have started speaking at churches as well. Regardless of the amount time these various speaking appearances take, I will continue pushing myself and spreading my message. Participating in the Rotaract Club and speaking at schools, clubs, and churches has been, and will certainly remain to be, an important part of my life as well as my being. My motivation to start public speaking was inspired by a program called Challenge Day . Challenge Day’s vision is that every child would live in a world where they felt safe, loved and celebrated. Challenge Day has a three step program to create positive change. The first is to wake up and notice what is happening in the world. The second is to create a vision for what you DO want your life to look like.
Finally, you need to act and have the courage and commitment that it takes to be the change. As a motivational speaker, I, Steve Ferreira, aim to raise disability awareness within each and every community I address. When people look at me, get to know me and understand my professional success and academic success, they see a positive, productive and valuable person in the professional world and in the community. Though it is apparent that I have a physical disability (Cerebral Palsy), most people do not understand, or at the least acknowledge, that everyone has some sort of disability. Disabilities can manifest in any manner whether it be physical, emotional, social, etc. The list is practically endless. The real question at hand becomes this: why are visibly disabled persons treated differently? The answer is simple; most people do not fully understand our disabilities. Though I may progress at a different or slower pace in my life, I am still capable of achieving anything I set my mind; there is no obstacle I will not attempt to tackle enthusiastically. My drive and my passion in life has always been to achieve above and beyond what is expected of me. Every day I continue trying to achieve more at school, work, or on the field while keeping in the back of my mind that nothing can stop me. Many of my friends, some disabled and some not, share this lust for life.