Amber Woods radiates positivity. A smile that can be seen across a room captures your attention as she logs onto our Zoom call. You wouldn’t blame her though from having a poor disposition.
In 2013, she stood working at her local grocery store in Maryland, when she suddenly couldn’t see out of her left eye. A year later, her life radically changed.
The 37-year-old Prince George’s County native became legally blind. She stepped down from her job at the grocery store. What she didn’t know at the time, was how this monumental moment wouldn’t  deter her fortitude.
“It was a tragedy that actually came with a nice benefit though,” Woods says. “And I think it’s all about how you make of it. It’s about attitude. I was able to meet people who unfortunately if I wasn’t blind I would have never met some great positive people.”
Woods never looked at drowning in self-pity. She quickly found help and hope in L.I.F.E. Inc where she now serves as Board Vice President.
“11:32 “LIFE Inc. really brings the peoples voice,” Woods says. “We actually listen. We want to hear what’s on peoples minds.”
Her B.S. Business Administration degree and minor in Federal Contracting and Acquisition from University of Maryland Global Campus she earned in 2018, is being put to good use. She became a volunteer at Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind and The National Federation of the Blind.

​“We’re in a really good place now,” Woods says. “People are finally tending to listen. And they’re biggest issue is retention. You know, keeping employees, and one is really start listening to their people.”
The Japanese Anime fan has found joy within her D.C. Anime Club. It’s helped her meet new and interesting people.
But it’s her former co-workers at her grocery store and regulars that she has a soft spot for.
“If I’m not careful, it could be hours that we’re talking,” says Woods referring to her visits back to her old job. “So, that’s one of the things that I know I went above and beyond the call. And after six years later people are still remembering me. So I still know I made a big impact.”