Lori Frisher is a leader, an advocate, an entrepreneur, an athlete, a two-time cancer survivor, and a public speaker who dares to dream beyond her present circumstances. She was born with a severe hearing loss and relies on lip-reading and two cochlear implants to communicate.

She garnered academic and athletic scholarships to the University of Hartford, where she competed in Division 1 tennis. Along with being elected commencement speaker, she graduated with academic honors and was subsequently hired as a media planner at Avrett, Free and Ginsberg in NYC. It was here where she met the top editors from We Magazine, a lifestyle publication for the disabled, their friends and families; and  was recruited. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that fueled her soul then, and today as the underlying passion for Ready or Not! Media.

She was also a survivor of 9/11 as she was on one of the last trains into the World Trade Center before the first plane hit; her office was two blocks away. Unfortunately, this tragic event also precipitated an early demise for We Media.

Not one to let misfortune bedevil her livelihood, Lori opted to tap into her passion for creativity, and business acumen, to launch a boutique advertising agency, Pink Dog Marketing. Her clients included ESPN, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, the New York Press, Entergy, Staten Island JCC, and the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. As successful as she had become, after 3 ½ years, Lori opted to close her business when she was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma, to focus 100% on beating this affliction. She did.

Faced with a new lease on life, Lori entered the world of enterprise sales. One of her first endeavors, Disaboom, a startup focused on launching a social network for people with disabilities, hired her to lead their business and community development efforts. Following this, she worked with some of the largest telecom companies, such as XO Communications, Comcast, and Integra. All this despite being deaf, as she constantly challenged herself to achieve the top sales goals. And yet, even with her business success, in 2019, she felt more could still be done around doing business with the disability community.

Once again, tapping into her vast well of creative energies, she launched Top Shelf Baskets, a bespoke “storytelling” gift basket company, which borrowed from her days selling gourmet gift baskets and novelty items after she graduated from college. At that time, her customers included some of the biggest gourmet brands across Long Island, like Dean & Deluca, Pugliese Vineyards, Pindar Vineyards, and Schmitt’s Farms. At Top Shelf, her clients include: Sotheby’s International, Keller Williams, REMAX, Compass, Cactus Advertising, Colorado Trust Foundation, and NBC.

Yet, something was amiss, and as shared on the About Us page, the pandemic provided the spark that launched Ready or Not! Media.

As if this wasn’t enough, Lori, indefatigably, also commits her time and passion to help those who find themselves in life-challenging situations. She serves as a spokesperson and volunteer for many non-profit organizations such as the Cancer League of Colorado, the Listen Foundation, the Melanoma Research Foundation, the Global Downs Syndrome Foundation, the US Paralympics, the Invisible Disabilities Association, the Women’s Insider Network, the Lotus Network, Second Act Women and the Clayton Contributes Fund.