AAC and the Journey to Ms. Wheelchair Arizona with Brooke Brown
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
Release Date: 10/23/2023
2024: Recapping a Year of Exceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
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Combatting Ableism through the Disability Culture Lab with Meier Galblum Haigh
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
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Cutting-Edge Epilepsy Research and Treatment with Mark Cook
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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...
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Gender-Affirming Voice and SLP Specialties with Ruchi Kapila
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
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Stuttering AI-Gaming Magic with Erich Reiter
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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...
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Matching People with Disabilities and Employers with John Robinson
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
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Deaf Community Engagement and Advocacy with Melissa Elmira Yingst
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
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Dateability: The Dating App for People with Disabilities with Jacqueline & Alexa Child
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
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Reducing Special Educator Burnout with Elizabeth Orme
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
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The Billion-Strong Minority Disability Entrepreneurship with Diego Mariscal
Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & James Berges
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.
info_outlineJames and Mai Ling kick off the episode with some updates and top takeaways from the conversation with today’s guest. AAC user and disability advocate Brooke Brown speaks with Mai Ling about her experience as Ms. Wheelchair Arizona 2022 and the Arizona State Coordinator for Ms. Wheelchair America, her journey to achieving the title and position, and the role AAC played in the process. Brooke also shares her thoughts on the word “inspire” in the context of people with disabilities and more in this International AAC Awareness Month episode.