Why should I book Jesse?
Jesse Dufton is an exemplar of achievement in the face of adversity, having confronted and overcome immense challenges throughout his entire life. He has a genetic disorder which gradually damaged his eyes and took all his useful vision. Sight loss is the most feared and impactful disability, posing a plethora of challenges and barriers to those affected. Jesse has deftly overcome innumerable obstacles in multiple spheres.
In the academic sector, the hurdles Jesse faced were staggering. Educated in the standard state school system, he was always Unable to read the whiteboard, the educational landscape was inherently stacked against him and yet he still progressed to the highest level of academic achievement and earned a doctorate in Materials Chemistry from an elite institution, ranked in the top 10 of UK universities and in the top 10% globally. An outstanding achievement considering the additional impediments Jesse had to overcome. Notably, during his doctoral studies, Jesse lost the ability to read and write in the literal sense, and yet he demonstrated exceptional tenacity and ingenuity to complete his PHD.
In a corporate context, the systemic adversity faced by the visually impaired is starkly illustrated by a single, harsh reality: roughly 90% of severely visually impaired or blind people are entirely shut out of employment. Entering the workforce presents massive structural and societal barriers. Jesse has continually navigated this daunting environment, overcoming dramatic hurdles to rise to a senior position in a global engineering firm, establishing himself as a subject matter expert working at the cutting edge of Intellectual Property and clean energy technology.
However, the sheer scale of the adversity Jesse tackles is most vividly exposed through his elite rock climbing. Climbing is an inherently dangerous pursuit fraught with intense physical and psychological obstacles. For Jesse, this adversity is magnified exponentially, as he is unable to see the rock, or the gear upon which his life depends.
Rather than avoiding the inherent jeopardy by relying on others to lead and bear the risk, Jesse actively embraces the highest level of challenge by choosing to lead climb, putting himself at the sharp end, refusing to be held to a lower standard despite his disability. He challenges outdated disability narratives turning away from reliance and dependency to a paradigm of participation, inclusion and agency.
His rock climbing makes him unique. He has repeatedly set and then broken his own global benchmarks. As well as establishing first ascents in the frozen mountains of arctic Greenland and Morocco’s remote Anti-Atlas Mountains.
Jesse has consistently faced down the seemingly impossible. His unparalleled, cross-domain credibility comes from a lifetime of navigating severe obstacles. His unique perspective on confronting intense challenges makes him the definitive global authority on the topic of adversity.
Jesse Dufton speaks on adversity to corporate clients in the UK and globally.
Jesse Dufton 