Episode 404 – Being Unstoppable Through Change, Creativity, and Lifelong Learning with Mary Dunn and Natalie Belin
I really enjoyed this conversation with Natalie and her mother, Mary, because it reminded me how an unstoppable mindset is often built quietly, over time, through creativity, learning, and persistence. Together, they share what it has been like to navigate life across generations while facing learning disabilities, health challenges, workplace adversity, and the constant need to adapt. We talk about Natalie’s journey with attention deficit disorder and anxiety, how creative outlets like baking, art, music, and storytelling helped her find focus and confidence, and why returning to school later in life became an act of self-trust rather than fear.
Mary’s story adds another powerful layer. She reflects on growing up with low self-esteem, navigating male-dominated workplaces, and dealing with sexual harassment long before there were systems in place to address it. As a mother, artist, and professional, she shares what it means to keep moving forward while supporting her daughter’s growth. Throughout our conversation, we explore accessibility, creative entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, and why accommodations and understanding still matter. I believe you will find this episode both honest and encouraging, especially if your own path has been anything but linear.
Highlights:
00:00 – Hear how creativity and resilience shaped an unstoppable mindset across two generations.08:35 – Learn how attention deficit disorder and anxiety changed the way focus, learning, and confidence developed.14:33 – Discover why stepping away from a demanding career can open the door to new growth.21:23 – Understand how workplace sexual harassment leaves lasting effects long after it happens.35:16 – See why protecting and celebrating local artists became a personal mission.59:09 – Learn why accessibility, accommodations, and empathy still matter in everyday life.
About the Guest:
Mary Dunn:
Mary was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She was the only child of Norman and Lucille Rump. At a young age, she liked to draw and as she grew older she enjoyed painting. Her first painting was in oil and Mary was eleven years old. However, because of the expense of art supplies, it was difficult to pursue a continuous endeavor in that particular form of art.
While in high school, nothing really exciting happened as Mary was on the shy side. She didn’t belong to any groups and she really just wanted to graduate. She graduated in the upper third of her class. The most momentous part of the graduation was that Jeff Goldblum was also a graduate of her class.
After graduation, Mary continued her education at The Pittsburgh Beauty Academy. There she studied cosmetology and acquired a teacher license. Although she never taught, she did work at a few different shops and also managed a shop. These experiences helped Mary to become less shy.
At that time, she met her first husband and had two children. The marriage lasted for eleven years, and Mary was left with two small children. Mary realized that her background in cosmetology would not be sufficient to raise two small children. She decided to go to college.
With the support of her parents, she was accepted to attend Carlow College which is now Carlow University. There she studied business and minored in theology. She almost minored in art, but she needed one more credit to have that as a minor. It was important for her to graduate in order to take care of her children.
While in college she belonged to several organizations. One organization was an honor society called Delta Epsilon Sigma. There she became an assistant chair of the organization. The second organization was OASIS. The organization was for non-tradition students. She was vice-president during her senior year at Carlow. She graduated in 1991 cum laude.
After Carlow, she found her first employment opportunity working the Equitable Gas Company as a “Technical Fieldman”. In this position, Mary would draft pipeline installations, work up costs for those installations, and fill in for supervisors when they went on vacations. The job was difficult as it had usually been filled by men prior to her. She was thrust into a job that she learned on her own and was subject to sexual harassment. At that time, sexual harassment was not spoken about. Mary didn’t even realize that her peers were doing these things to her. When she supervised union personnel, they were nice and valued her expertise. However, when she returned to the office, more harassment continued.
During that period, Mary decided to get a Master’s Degree and enrolled in Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz school of Public Management. Her classes were very valuable as she learned about leadership, information systems, and marketing communications. She graduated in 1996 with distinction.
Even though after she graduated from CMU, she continued to be sexual harassed. She thought it might be a good idea to document the issues that made her position difficult. She began to take notes on these incidents. When she went to Human Resources, Mary was told that she should confront these people and tell them how she was feeling. Mary couldn’t do that because she felt it would make matters worse. She applied for another position within the company. In 1997, Mary became Program Manager of Energy Technology. While there, Mary developed and implemented a marketing plan to promote the use of alternative fuels.
As a Program Manager, Mary became a member of Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities which focused on alternative fueled vehicles. During this time, she became a board member and focused on grants and wrote the Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities Newsletter.
In 1999, her position was eliminated at Equitable. In some ways, Mary was relieved about the elimination, but in other ways, it was the first time this ever happened to her. She was now remarried and was concerned about her children. It was very scary.
Thankfully, Mary was not unemployed for long. She was hired at Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission as a Transportation Planner. In this position she implemented a newly designed client tracking system of their products and services that helped to increase revenue.
Additionally, she worked on a communication plan to implement branding and crisis communications.
Eventually, Mary became a Marketing/Communication Specialist for Southwestern Pennsylvania Communications. She was responsible for multi-media communications connected with branding. Mary designed logos for special projects, arranged special affairs, open houses and conferences. She remained a part of Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities. Mary additionally prepared presentations for executive management to deliver regarding the Joseph A. James Memorial Excellence in Local Government Achievement Award that recognizes a municipal government elected or appointed official in any local government, agency, or Council of Government for a lifetime of exemplary governance or management. Unfortunately, a new Executive was hired to replace the past Executive who had passed away. Because of this, our whole department was eliminated.
After Southwestern, Mary was hired as the Manager of Administration and Human Resources for THE PROGRAM for Female Offenders. While at THE PROGRAM, Mary was responsible for maintaining the policies and daily operations in THE PROGRAM. She implemented a cost effective foodservice program, introduced staff ID cards and implemented the Windows NT network server and computer security using a Digital Subscriber Line which is a type of high-speed internet connection that uses existing copper telephone lines to provide internet access to three PROGRAM facilities.
Additionally, Mary implemented a human resource database for directors and managers that targeted specific employment information. Mary maintained safety equipment and introduced a safe evacuation plan for her building..
Unfortunately, because THE PROGRAM was grant based and when it was time to acquire grant money much of the previous grants were not renewed and Mary lost her job. Mary eventually was hired by Roach and Associates, Inc. as a Project Manager. In this position, she negotiated oil and gas leases for exploration and productions of future gas wells in Clearfield County Pennsylvania.
During this time, Mary was responsible for permitting activities with the state, county and federal agencies as well as prepared training seminars to meet pipeline safety regulations as per U.S. Department of Transportation, CFR49, Parts 192-193. Mary authored documentation regarding pipeline regulations for various housing authorities and gas production companies within Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York.
Besides working at Roach, Mary became part of the Transition Team for Peduto for Mayor of Pittsburgh. That was such a memorable experience as my team focused on some of the issues facing the newly elected Mayor. It was nice to be a part of change.
After working ten years at Roach and Associates, Inc., Mary decided it was time to retire in 2015.
While working at Roach, Mary began dabbling in art again. It had been quite a while since college and painting. But she began to work in pastels and eventually more in the line of acrylic painting. She became president of the Pittsburgh Pastel Artist League. She no longer is president of that group. Mary now belongs to the Pittsburgh Society of Artists where she was juried into the group. She has had her work display at The Galaxie in Chicago, Pittsburgh Technical Institute, Monroeville Library, Gallery Sim, Boxheart Gallery, Southern Allegheny Museum of Art, Saville Gallery in Maryland and various other galleries around Pittsburgh. Her Study in Pastels won an Award of Excellence from Southern Allegheny Museum of Art. Mary also came in second place in the Jerry’s Artarama Faber Castel Contest.
As time went on, Mary decided to focus more on her art work and began teaching students how to paint with Acrylic. She also began a YouTube channel, Pittsburgh Artist Studio, where she gave free art lessons in acrylic to future artists around the country. Unfortunately, Mary developed chronic back issues, and she had to give up her teaching. She has had two back operations to alleviate the pain, but the second operation really didn’t help. It has caused more painful issues. Therefore, it is difficult for her to paint a long period of time.
Currently, Mary devotes her time to illustrating her oldest daughter’s books for children. The books are a series about a little boy’s adventures in his life. Her books can be found on Amazon under her name “Nicole Leckenby”.
Additionally, she has illustrated a book for her younger daughter, Natalie Sebula, entitled “The Many Colors of Natalie”.
In conclusion, now that Mary is retired, she has had more time to work on different art projects a little at a time. She lives with her husband Steve and two dogs Grumpy and Sally. She belongs to a group of wonderful women who review Bible Psalms each week. Since my minor in theology, I do enjoy reading various books on different religious subjects. I am thankful for each day that I have and continue to work on the gifts God has given me.
Natalie Belin:
I am focusing on the arts. I am a creator with an ambitious attitude. I have no problem thinking BIG and dreaming BIG. While everyone else stays inside the lines, I boldly color outside the lines.
Natalie resides near Pittsburgh, PA. She is 40 years old and loves adventures. Within these 40 years Natalie has experienced highs and lows. However, during the low points she was like water: adaptable, resilient, and always finding a way through.
At toddler age, it was brought to the attention that she had high pressure in her eyes. However, nothing was really done about it because of her age. Typically, high pressures occur in older adults. After many years, one eye doctor took it seriously. He prescribed eye drops and finally recommended a laser technique to open the tear ducts. This alleviated the high pressure and since no eye drops have been needed.
In 5 grade, she was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Her mother, Mary Dunn advocated for her until someone listened, and her teachers realized it was a real problem. Steps were taken to help Natalie focus more. As she grew older, it was important to do activities that helped her focus such as cheerleading and possible careers in culinary.
Because of the importance of focusing, Natalie decided that culinary arts would be beneficial. Natalie graduated in October of 2004 from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute with an associate’s degree in Specialized Technology Le Cordon Bleu Program in Patisserie & Baking. While there, she was elected class president.
The Pennsylvania Culinary Institute offered externships to various prestigious areas to hone the craft. Natalie’s externship was at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulpher Springs where she was ultimately hired. However, Natalie decided to return to Pittsburgh after a car accident. Natalie continued to work as a pastry chef for about five years.
After, she decided to further her education, and Natalie graduated in December of 2023 from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities. Some of her academic achievements are National Society of Collegiate Scholars, National Society of Leadership and Success, Alpha Sigma lambda-Alpha Chi Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh, Delta Alpha PI Honor Society.
During her academic life, Natalie became an Emmy nominated producer for Pitt to the Point (a class focusing on the news as well as behind the scenes of a news/magazine program that covers the City of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh regional campuses as well as national and international events.)
Currently, Natalie is in a Graduate Certification Program which is also at the University of Pittsburgh. The Certification is in Sports, Entertainment, and Arts Law (SEAL). She hopes to use this program as a steppingstone to complete her master’s degree in Sports, Entertainment, and Arts Law.
In addition to the SEAL certification, one could say that Natalie is a woman of many colors. She works full-time as an Administrator for the Rehabilitation Science Program in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. This is where she provides administrative support for general program management, advising and faculty.
Another aspect of Natalie’s many colors is writing. Several years ago, she wrote a poetry book called The Many Colors of Natalie. This is a book for 18+. There are several illustrations in the book that complement the poems. Mary Dunn, Natalie’s mother, created the illustrations.
In August of 2020, Natalie launched The Many Colors of Natalie Blog. She started this blog to give a new perspective to Pittsburgh other than being known for sports. This allows individuals the ability to educate themselves on different variations of Pittsburgh’s art or artists as well as bringing awareness to the art scene. Natalie’s motto is Love Art & Support Your Local Artist!
Additionally, Natalie has been a model/actor since 2012. Most of her work consists of being an extra in various music videos and movies.
Furthermore, she is an ambassador for Ambassador Sunglasses and Just Strong Clothing. Just Strong Clothing’s Mission “We are a clothing brand on a mission to empower those who are not just strong for a girl, they are just strong. Whether you are an experienced lifter, a new starter or have simply overcome great adversaries in your life, the JustStrong community are here to empower and motivate you to never give up.”
“Ambassador was formed to extract, refine, and exhibit the marriage between what was and what will be in fashion culture. When wearing Ambassador, you break the mold of the mundane to embrace your unmatched individualism.”
Besides being an ambassador, Natalie became a Creative Percussion Artist in 2020. “Creative Percussion is a family-owned business, established in 2018, and run by husband-and-wife team, Kevin and Cheri Feeney.” Her picture is on the site as a CP percussion artist.
Not only is Natalie a musician, but she dabbles in various mediums in art. Her mixed media piece Peace, Love, and Woodstock is currently in the Woodstock Museum located in Saugerties, New York. “The purpose for the Woodstock Museum is: To gather, display, disseminate and develop the concept and reality of Woodstock, encompassing the culture and history of a living colony of the arts, with special emphasis placed on the exhibition of self-sustaining ecological technologies. To encourage and increase public awareness of Woodstock by providing information to the general public through cultural events, displays of artifacts, outreach programs, communication media events and personal experiences, and to contribute, as an international attraction, to the cultural life and prosperity of our region; and to engage in all lawful activities in pursuit of the foregoing purposes.”
Lastly, Natalie and her mother Mary Dunn started a side hustle several years ago. Mother and Daughter Collaboration (vending show name) is a great opportunity for Natalie to showcase her entrepreneurial skills in addition to her art. Their Etsy name is Maker’s Collab Studio.
In conclusion, Nat is excited for the future, and to see what is in store. She considers herself to be dynamic and resilient. Even those who know Natalie would say the same. Regardless of what she has been through, she keeps going. She realizes that the tough times eventually do end. In self-reflection, the “tough time” may have been a life lesson, or a possible steppingstone to what’s next in her life. Only time will tell. Natalie will always be a supporter of the arts, and she will always create in some way. As Natalie ages, she sees the importance of advocating for the disabled. At one point in her life, she was embarrassed about sharing her learning disability because she felt that we live in a society where having a disability isn’t necessarily welcomed and is frowned upon. Do not fear individuals who need special accommodations. Instead, educate yourself. Try being that individual who needs certain accommodations, and the accommodations are not provided or easily accessible. Progress has been made in educating the ignorant. However, there is more work that needs to be done.
Ways to connect with Natalie & Mary**:**
Blog website: Home – The Many Colors of Natalie
Personal website: Home | natalie-sebula-belin
Facebook: (1) Facebook
Instagram: Natalie Sebula (@themanycolorsofnatalie) • Instagram photos and videos
Etsy: MakersCollabStudio – Etsy
About the Host:
Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.
Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.
https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/
https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/
accessiBe Links
https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe
https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/
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