Ollie Cantos and Sons
8 Lessons from Model Leaders

The National Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame will shortly announce the Class of 2017 honorees for the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established to honor those who are making a significant difference through mentoring and to raise awareness about the importance of mentoring for individuals with disabilities.
This story is about one of the 2017 inductees. It was written by Molly Howlett, a former intern at the US Department of Education, and published in the Inside ED news blog. We hope that in reading it, you will gain a perspective on how mentoring can impact both those mentored and the mentors themselves. You will also learn how mentors can instill lifelong leadership principles.
Ollie’s Leadership Principles
- Leadership is both a mindset and an action.
- Humor helps. Do not take yourself too seriously.
- Take risks and persist once committed.
- Have mutual trust and genuine concern for others.
- Value differences in people.
- A leader is only as successful as those he or she is leading.
- Relationships are important … so be yourself.
- Replace low expectations with high expectations.
The full article is below.
Ollie Cantos, an attorney in ED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and his triplet sons, Leo, Nick, and Steven, met with ED employees recently at Conversations About Leading (CAL), a monthly professional development activity at ED, to share their experiences and thoughts about leading.
The story of how Cantos came to be the boys’ dad and of the seven years they have been together learning and growing demonstrates valuable truths about the nature of leading that can have a positive influence not only in this unique family, but also in the workplace and broader community.
The story begins in 2010 when Cantos became a mentor to 10-year-old triplet brothers, who are blind, as he is. A church friend who knew it was hard for their single mother to care for the boys insisted that Cantos meet them. The night Cantos showed up at their home, the boys’ lives changed forever — as did his.
Never having known others who were blind, the brothers were shocked when they first met Cantos. In fact, Nick says that he did not initially believe that Cantos was really blind, so he brought out a braille Bible for Cantos to read. After this “test” dispelled the doubts, the foursome rapidly connected as Cantos began spending time with the boys, teaching them how to live in the world both as blind men and as leaders.
Eventually, he became their father through adoption. The new relationship sparked many foundational events that transformed the way the boys viewed the world and their role in it as leaders.
Leo, Nick, and Steven were born in Colombia and immigrated to the United States with their mother and grandmother when they were just three years old. Born with a disease that occurs in premature babies and causes blindness, the brothers had many challenges: In the first through fifth grades, they often were the objects of bullying; they felt isolated, rarely leaving their mom’s home for seven years other than for school and church; Nick got into several physical fights; Steven became a recluse; and for all three, making friends was nearly impossible. They escaped only through the video games they played together. These hardships became increasingly difficult for Nick, who said those years were the worst of his life. He even contemplated suicide. Nick says that his dad saved their lives.
Cantos, having been born blind and understanding their hardships, came into their lives at just the right time. He knew what it was like to have kids put their foot in his way as he walked down the hallway, and so he could relate to the boys better than anyone else. Cantos was able not only to teach the boys how to perform everyday tasks ― from how to use their canes and access audio-described movies, to cooking and doing laundry ― but also to show them that, while their disability is a part of who they are, it doesn’t define them entirely. Cantos serves as a strong example of this principle. He currently serves as special assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary within OCR, and previously held leadership positions as special assistant and later special counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. He also was associate director for domestic policy at the White House under President George W. Bush.

As a mentor and father, with his love, guidance, faith and positive involvement, Cantos has enabled the boys to thrive. He has embedded in them core values that define their development as young men and leaders. Through his own leadership stance, Cantos is intentional about helping his sons develop theirs and share it with others. In meeting with ED staff, they discussed this identity.
First and foremost, Cantos teaches his sons that leadership is a mindset. To instill this message, Cantos took the boys to a conference given by the National Council on Independent Living, where he led them to the middle of a crowded room, faced them in three different directions, and told them to network with others for an hour. While the boys originally were hesitant, protesting, “Dad, we’re only 11!”, Cantos used this opportunity to demonstrate how anyone can have influence in their own sphere. Even as 11-year-olds in a room filled with adult strangers, Cantos explained to the CAL audience, Leo, Nick, and Steven had something to offer them.
Cantos continues the leadership lessons by pointing out that leadership is not just a mindset, leadership is an action. Since meeting Cantos, the boys proactively have made community service a significant part of their lives, collecting money for kids’ school supplies, serving in local food banks, mowing lawns, creating first-aid kits for the homeless, and mentoring young elementary school kids. Of this work, Leo said, “Sweat is good when it goes to a good cause.” All three young men noted that they view their work as a way to help people heal, and good leadership requires such service.
Humor also is significant in the triplets’ effectiveness as leaders. They do not take themselves too seriously, and are not afraid to laugh at themselves or each other. In their conversation with ED staff, the boys had the entire room laughing at their jokes. When times were hard, they said, humor was a salve that has made their growth as leaders more enjoyable.
Taking risks, as well as persisting once committed, both are essential leadership growth factors. For Steven, becoming the first blind person in U.S. history to be a drum major of a large high school marching band that integrates students with and without disabilities made him realize that he was a leader. Cantos inspired him to take the risk, and Steven pursued this dream through to success. In the Cantos family, one should always have a goal, and should be unrelenting in working toward that goal.
Another important leadership growth lesson from Cantos is that mutual trust and genuine concern for others make it possible to take risks. In a secure environment, people feel able to try new things and have new ideas without fear of judgment or failure. Such an environment is ideal for building camaraderie and making a family, or workplace, truly great.
Valuing differences in people is a key Cantos value. Leo, Nick, and Steven have unique personalities and skills, and Cantos has come to understand each of them as individuals, including how each prefers to learn, communicate, and spend his time. With this knowledge, Cantos has built loyalty with his sons, allowing each of them to put strengths to work while also developing in other areas.

Cantos lives a key leadership lesson every day: A leader is only as successful as those he or she is leading. As the leader of his family, Cantos determines his success by what he enables his sons to do. If they succeed in life, he will feel that he too has succeeded. This mentality fosters trust in their family, because the boys know that their dad is invested in their well-being.
The family elaborated on the importance of relationships for leading. As young boys, Leo, Nick, and Steven learned from Cantos not only how to properly shake hands and make eye contact with those they meet, but also that they should be themselves and never try too hard when making friends. The brothers say their dad also helped them learn that they should always choose friends who will make them better people.
For now, here is our final leadership lesson from the Cantoses: Leaders always replace low expectations with high ones. For the boys, this skill has been essential to learning that blindness is not a problem; rather, what people think of their blindness is the problem. To keep expectations high, Cantos requires that his sons be involved in seven extracurricular activities at once, and hold leadership positions in at least three of them. Neither he nor the boys are satisfied with mediocrity, and they never offer anything but their best.
In the years since Cantos came into their lives, Leo, Nick, and Steven have gone on to conquer their childhood adversities and, today, continue to grow in spite of challenges. They are completing their senior year of high school, and each are on track to reach the rank of Eagle Scout by this June. Leo and Nick have already been in the working world; they were paid interns for two South Korean technology companies last summer, and have been are paid interns at the National Industries for the Blind. Steven serves as elected student body secretary, is the drum major of his high school marching band, and is a mentor to low-income elementary school kids. Leo’s goal is to practice computer law, Nick aspires to keep building his Amway business and to delve into alternative dispute resolution, and Steven aims to practice copyright law.
The boys say their dad inspired them to adopt a leadership mindset ― take risks, build their network, and replace low expectations with high expectations ― to get where they are today. Leo, Nick, and Steven are not the only ones changed by this relationship, however. Cantos says that his life is blessed because of his boys and now they are his “primary reason for life.”
The Cantos’ story has been inspirational for many. In addition to a piece done by a local ABC News affiliate, the family’s evolving journey together first was featured nationwide on National Public Radio in February 2014 with a listening audience of some 13 million people. Since then, PEOPLE Magazine has done a feature on them, which was circulated to more than 40 million, as well as a related video. An eight-page spread in the September 2016 issue of The Washingtonian Magazine featured them along with an online video.
“I want them to have the spirit of commitment to others.”
The bottom line. While the story of Cantos and his sons is inspirational, it is not meant only to inspire. It is intended to drive ED staff to action in their own spheres by giving them clear and workable ideas about what it means to be a leader.

About the National Disability Mentoring Coalition: The mission of the National Disability Mentoring Coalition (NDMC) is to increase the awareness, quality and impact of mentoring for individuals with disabilities across the nation. Member organizations share core values and align with the Coalition’s objectives to streamline communication, standardize and systematize data collection, reduce duplication of efforts, increase mentoring opportunities, and improve outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities. Learn more about the NDMC, review its Membership, and visit the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame at www.disabilitymentors.org. You can also follow NDMC on Twitter or email us at dshields@forwardworks.net.
This #DisabilityMentors publication is a space for individuals to share stories and testimonials to elevate the importance of establishing a national disability mentoring policy and increase funding to enable more mentors to raise expectations, build confidence and positively impact youth and adults with disabilities.
