Our guest today, Leila Denna Staiger, is a speech-language pathologist and founder of SLPs Talk Tech. Under Leila’s leadership, this professional community is exploring emerging tech and AI tools and discovering how to put them to work for clinicians, researchers, and educators. She joins Mai Ling for a conversation to talk about how to build community around emerging technologies, some of the practical uses of AI in healthcare, and the ethics of using AI in private practice.

Our guest for today’s episode is the founder of the Be Perfect Foundation, Hal Hargrave. Mai Ling talks with Hal about the horrific car accident that left him with a spinal cord injury, which then led him to the genesis of the foundation. Hal also shares his thoughts on the importance of leaders knowing when they need to pivot, the value of staying positive despite setbacks, and how he also founded a second organization called The Perfect Step where he serves as president, all in an effort to be a support and encouragement to people who are living with paralysis like him. Don’t miss this powerful conversation!

Mai Ling and James share some fun updates in their lives and leadership journeys at the top of today’s episode. James follows that up with a great conversation with comedian and disability advocate, Pamela Rae Schuller. Pamela talks about living with Tourette syndrome, her path into the world of comedy, and why humor is so important when talking about disability. She also shares her thoughts on leveraging what makes you different and disclosing what you want when you want about your disability.