Glider Spotlight: Meet Dr. Wendy David - Author, Skier, Clinical Psychologist & World Traveler.

In this monthly series, we put the spotlight on our Gliders community to celebrate individuals who inspire us. This month, we’re highlighting Dr. Wendy David, a Seattle-based Glider and psychologist who spent decades working with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs before starting her own practice.

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Where do you live? How did you end up there?

I live in Seattle, WA. I moved to Seattle from California 45 years ago, after a visit to the Pacific Northwest drew me in. I was tired of the California heat and loved the opportunities for nature, skiing, and water sports available in the area.

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Tell us a bit about what do you do for work.

I work now part-time as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in my own private practice. I served for 25 years as a Staff Psychologist at the VA Hospital, where I worked with male and female veterans with military-related PTSD. I very much enjoyed my work there, which allowed me to teach/supervise interns, develop programs, conduct individual and group psychotherapy, as well as research. I retired from the VA Hospital in 2015 and have been in my own private practice since then. Since Covid, I have changed from in-person therapy sessions to using Zoom and Tele-Health.  

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What's a typical day like for you?

I’ve never been a morning person, even though for 25 years I had to be at work by 7 A.M. So now that I am my own boss and scheduler, I work with clients 3 afternoons a week. When not working, I enjoy singing in a community chorale, playing the ukulele, walking with my Guide Dog, getting together with friends, reading, attending lectures and the theater, and going out to dinner. My husband is also totally blind and we are involved in Ski for Light, a cross-country ski program that meets yearly for a week of cross-country skiing in various parts of the United States. We also enjoy traveling, and have been on multiple cruises, to Hawaii many times, Europe, and I just returned from Vietnam in April. In 2010 I wrote a book called “Sites Unseen: Traveling the World without Sight,” which is available on both BARD and Book Share.

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If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

My superpower would be to drive a car. One of my biggest frustrations remains the freedom of everyday transportation. Now, with recent challenges with Uber and Lyft and Guide Dogs, I would so love to jump into my own car and go wherever I want, whenever I want. Maybe when Waymo comes to Seattle, that will be my Superpower!

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Who is your biggest inspiration, and why?

I recently heard a talk by Brian Stevenson, the author of “Just Mercy.” It was one of the most inspiring talks I’ve heard. He shared his story of growing up poor, black, and marginalized, as well as his passion for equal rights and civil liberties and non-discrimination. As I often feel that the blindness community has been marginalized in many ways, his talk very much resonated with me and I appreciated his passion and sentiments. We are all human and can all work together to make our struggles easier.

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What's one accomplishment or thing in life that you are most proud of?

I would have to say I’m most proud of, as well as grateful for, my career accomplishments as a Clinical Psychologist. I feel honored and privileged to share others’ personal and emotional journeys and appreciate the trust they have placed in me to value and witness their stories. I love feeling useful and purposeful, and I can’t think of any endeavor I could have chosen that would have fit the bill better.

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What's one or two lessons you've learned in life that you'd like to share?

Be flexible, “Don’t sweat the Small Stuff,” and always pack a sense of humor.

Also, have continued faith and knowledge that throughout all of my travels, I’ve never been permanently lost.

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What's one big question in life, work, or society at large that's been occupying your mind lately?

I will never understand bigotry, unkindness to other human beings, war, and children dying of hunger. It makes no sense to me and I hurt for others’ suffering.

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What's got you most interested in Glide?

I’ve been a Guide Dog user for 52 years. As wonderful as my dogs have been, I love to travel and cherish spontaneity in my life. The airlines and many countries’ requirements for traveling with Guide Dogs have made it so much more difficult, frustrating, and expensive these days to travel with our chosen canine mobility aid. Also, as I get older, I sometimes find the everyday caring for my dog tiring, as much as I have loved each and every one of them. I am so excited about the possibilities for independent travel in both known and new places that Glide can offer and am very impressed by the passion and expertise of the team Amos has put together. I hope to be able to assist the team in any way they see fit and can’t wait to finally get a Glide of my own!

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Anything else you'd like to share with the Gliders community?

Independence has always been so important to me. Being able to get around by myself, go to and where I want, and know that even if I get temporarily lost, I will be safe and able to find my way back is paramount. Life is so full of things to explore, places to go, whether or not you can see with your eyes.  I am so excited for the opportunity to learn a new way of getting around that opens up the doors and arenas for those of us who are visually impaired. Thank you Glidance for your amazing work and involving the blindness community in its foundational components. You are a role model for all organizations who construct advances for visually impaired, not just “for them,” but in tandem.

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Thanks so much, Wendy!!