Teatime with Miss Liz Serves: Monica DuBeau Title You Might Be a Zebra: When Refusing to Give Up Becomes the Diagnosis Tagline Sometimes the hardest battle is being believed. Description On June 5th at 3 PM EST, Teatime with Miss Liz welcomes Monica DuBeau — entrepreneur, former IBM executive, AI compliance leader, author, advocate, and survivor whose extraordinary journey transformed personal crisis into purposeful impact. After spending 25 years building a successful corporate career that included leadership roles at JPMorgan Chase, IBM, and co-founding an AI compliance company, Monica’s life took an unexpected turn when mysterious symptoms began disrupting her daily life. Despite years of seeking answers, she was repeatedly dismissed, misdiagnosed, and told her symptoms were stress-related. Refusing to accept uncertainty, Monica applied the same investigative mindset that fueled her professional success. After tracking 111 medical appointments across 26 providers, she ultimately uncovered the truth: she was living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Craniocervical Instability (CCI), a rare condition requiring highly specialized brain and spinal surgery. Now in recovery, Monica is turning her experience into advocacy through her memoir, You Might Be a Zebra, and a growing patient resource platform dedicated to helping others navigate rare disease journeys and find answers sooner. This Teatime is about self-advocacy, perseverance, identity, healing, and life’s most unexpected challenges. Opening Teatime with Miss Liz, where we serve real-life T-E-A through stories that educate, inspire, and remind us of the strength that lives within each of us. Today, we welcome someone whose journey is a powerful reminder that sometimes we know our own story better than anyone else. Monica DuBeau spent years searching for answers while facing symptoms that few understood and many dismissed. Yet she never stopped advocating for herself, never stopped asking questions, and never stopped seeking the truth. Her story is one of courage, resilience, determination, and transformation — proving that even in our darkest chapters, purpose can emerge. Monica, welcome to Teatime with Miss Liz. ”Closing Today’s conversation reminds us of the importance of listening—to our bodies, our instincts, and our own inner voice. Monica DuBeau’s journey shows us that perseverance can uncover answers, that advocacy can create change, and that our greatest struggles can often become our greatest purpose.Through resilience, courage, and unwavering determination, she transformed a deeply challenging experience into a mission to help others feel seen, heard, and believed. As we leave today’s Teatime, consider this: What would happen if you trusted your own voice enough to keep searching for answers when others told you to stop? Because sometimes the breakthrough begins when we refuse to give up. Monica DuBeau is a former IBM executive, entrepreneur, AI compliance leader, author, and advocate. After years of searching for answers, she uncovered her own diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Craniocervical Instability. Today, she shares her journey through advocacy, writing, and resources designed to help others navigate rare medical conditions. Favourite Colour Pink One Word That Describes Her Zebra Her T-E-E Tracked • Exposed • Authored Tracked the clues others missed Exposed the truth behind years of unanswered symptoms Authored a new chapter of advocacy, awareness, and hope Three Phrases That Share Her Story* Fragile Emotional State* The Cage* The Woman With The Tea Set Feature Topics You Might Be a Zebra Self-Advocacy in Healthcare Rare Disease Awareness Leadership Through Adversity Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & Craniocervical Website:https://monicadubeau.com/Book Information:https://monicadubeau.com/booksLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicadubeau/#teatimewithmissliz #YouMightBeAZebra #RareDiseaseAwareness #PatientAdvocacy #MakingADifferenceOneCupAtATime