Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & Martyn Sibley

In this final episode of the year, our hosts Mai Ling and James, recap some highlights from the show in 2024. They list some of the top takeaways from our lineup of incredible guests over the past year. Our hosts also recount a few of their own achievements and milestones this year. Join us for this brief retrospective as we look forward to 2025.

In our final interview for 2024, Meier Galblum Haigh joins the show today to talk about changing the conversation and perceptions around disability. Meier is the founding Executive Director of the Disability Culture Lab, a nonprofit disability media and narrative lab building communications infrastructure by and for the disability community. Mai Ling speaks with Meier about defining ableism, what sets the Disability Culture Lab apart from other organizations, and combatting ableism in all forms, from institutional barriers to internalized discrimination.

James is flying solo in this episode while Mai Ling is traveling and he brings us a fascinating conversation with our guest, Professor Mark Cook, a Melbourne-based Consultant Neurologist who specializes in the treatment of epilepsy. James talks with Mark about what prompted his desire to work in epilepsy research specifically, the impact that epilepsy has on a person’s life, the effects of MRI technology in epilepsy treatment, and the value of getting involved with people outside your specialty. This interview is jam-packed with interesting information and valuable takeaways for your own endeavors.

Mai Ling and James kick off the episode talking about some recent family and cultural moments that Mai Ling experienced. Then Mai Ling introduces our guest for this episode, SLP, vocologist, and Kapila Voice and Speech Services CEO, Ruchi Kapila to talk about gender-affirming voice services. In this conversation, Ruchi defines gender-affirming voice care, shares thoughts on when it is ok to consider oneself a leader, and explains what the Trans Voice Initiative is and the work it undertakes.

Today, we are happy to share a fascinating conversation with speech recognition scientist, speech and language pathologist, and CEO of Say It Labs, Erich Reiter. James chats with Erich about the founding of Say It Labs, a company that develops speech recognition-based ‍video games designed for people with speech disorders. They also talk about how AI integration into these video games is such a huge benefit for both SLPs and those using the games, as well as some of the science behind the causes of stuttering and why it’s important to understand. Join us for this deep dive, info-packed discussion.

Our Ability’s President and CEO, John Robinson, joins Mai Ling on today’s episode to discuss some important issues for National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). John talks about his advocacy for people with disabilities in the workforce, how Our Ability is attacking the problem of matching job seekers with employers, how ableist language has affected job listings, and why the trend toward remote work is a good sign.

Mai Ling kicks off this episode with an exciting report on her recent trip before introducing today’s guest for Deaf Awareness Month. Melissa Elmira Yingst is a deaf community advocate, media personality, and host of The Melmira Show. Through her interpreter and friend, Mara Bowdidge, she talks with Mai Ling about her work in the deaf community, growing up in a deaf family, building a social media following, and the value of working with an experienced interpreter.

In today’s edition of the show, James sits down with Jacqueline and Alexa Child, the sister co-founder team of Dateability, the only dating app for the chronically ill and disabled communities. Jacqueline and Alexa share their personal experiences that led them to embark on the mission of launching the Dateability app, why it is so important to cater to these communities of users, how they were able to create a product without having technical backgrounds, and some of their user's success stories.

Elizabeth Orme joins the show today to talk with James about her work to support special educators and help them prevent burnout. Elizabeth is the Founder and CEO of Creatively Focused, a company whose aim is to simplify workflow management and administrative tasks for special educators. She talks about some of the frustrations special ed teachers face and how to address them, shares some thoughts on viewing disability through an entrepreneurial lens, as well as how technology can be used to address burnout.

James speaks with this week’s guest, Diego Mariscal, about his disability advocacy and entrepreneurship. Diego is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Disabled Officer of 2Gether-International (2GI), the leading nonprofit startup accelerator run by and for disabled entrepreneurs. He shares what 2GI is and what they do, some resources for disabled entrepreneurs, and his thoughts on the benefits that people with disabilities have with regard to entrepreneurship.

Mai Ling has an insightful conversation with Peter Fischer, the Accessibility Compliance Guru at Arizona State University in today’s episode. As the owner of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) consulting firm for almost 20 years, Peter was the perfect choice to help the Xceptional Leaders team to commemorate the anniversary of this important legislation. Peter shares a brief history and overview of what the ADA is, talks about the challenges of retrofitting a university campus for accessibility, and how his own experience with rheumatoid arthritis shaped his work. 

Our guest for today is Nicole Cuervo, the founder & CEO of Springrose, a startup designing adaptive intimate apparel that improves quality of life for women with limited mobility. She speaks with Mai Ling about her journey as an entrepreneur by sharing exactly what adaptive intimate apparel is, why it is needed, and the personal experience in her family that led her to develop her products. Nicole also talks about her approach to the expansion of her product line, how to find your ideal customer, and the importance of considering research and development when setting pricing.

In today’s episode, James sits down with the CEO of Arc Angel Communications, David D'Arcangelo, to talk about his work to bring more people with disabilities into the workforce. As a legally blind person, David knows firsthand the challenges that many people with disabilities face when seeking employment. He talks about his passion for improving the human condition, disability as part of your identity, how to get more people with disabilities into the workforce, and focusing on the ability part of disability. Don’t miss this engaging, insightful conversation!

In recognition of Aphasia Awareness Month, we knew June would be the perfect time to focus on aphasia. So today Mai Ling chats with Dr. Anthony Kong, an expert on aphasia with an emphasis on aphasia among speakers of Chinese languages. Anthony begins by sharing a bit about what aphasia is and then goes deeper into how the specific elements of Asian languages can cause aphasia to be even more pronounced in speakers of those languages. He also talks about why he felt he needed to focus specifically on aphasia in Chinese speakers as well as some tips on how you can effectively blaze a trail in an underserved area yourself.

Today we are joined by Speech Language Pathologist Ebony Green. Ebony is the CEO and founder of SLP Business Suite and she talks with Mai Ling about how she got started as an SLP, starting a private practice, fighting imposter syndrome, and pivoting mid-career. She also shares her passion for networking and connecting people which led her to launch the Made for More SLP Business Conference.

Dr. Michelle Boisvert joins this episode of the show for an informative conversation with Mai Ling. Using her expertise as a Speech-Language Pathologist, Michelle co-founded easyReportPRO.com to address some of the challenges that SLPs face which she knew could be simplified with the use of technology. She talks about what easyReportPRO is, how it works by incorporating AI, and the impetus to start the platform. Mai Ling also asks her about how she built her team, the future of AI in healthcare, and thoughts on other uses of AI in the SLP arena.

Oanh "Kim" Vuong is our guest for today’s episode. As a person with cerebral palsy and an AAC user who is an active advocate, she offers a unique and valuable perspective on disability leadership. Mai Ling chats with Kim about the independent confidence she developed at a young age, her advocacy work in southern California, and some of the initiatives she’s currently undertaking. From curriculum development to beach accessibility issues, Kim is an example of a leader who tackles the task despite the challenges.

In this episode, our hosts tackle the timely topic of using Artificial Intelligence tools in your disability-focused business. Mai Ling and James give you a crash course on AI, covering this subject from various angles including ethical considerations, practical uses of tools like ChatGPT, integrating AI into your entrepreneurship efforts, tips for writing prompts, and more!

We have two great guests in this episode! James sits down for a conversation with Jhillika Kumar and Conner Reinhardt, the CEO, and COO respectively, of Mentra. As a neurodiversity employment network, one of the goals of Mentra is to connect neurodivergent jobseekers with jobs, but it goes beyond that. Jhillika and Conner talk in depth about all the problems that Mentra aims to solve, why a neurodiverse workforce is an advantage, and how universal design fits into this discussion. They also share a bit about their own experiences with neurodiversity.