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.

In today’s episode, Mai Ling speaks with CPA Michael Ringel about the unique challenges faced by families who have loved ones with disabilities, with regard to financial planning. In this information-packed and frank discussion about money management and planning for your financial future, Michael talks about how he reached the decision to focus on this particular segment of the market, how the approach of his team might differ from other financial advisors, and shifting one’s mindset about wealth. Don’t miss this important conversation!

Our guest in this episode is Emily Mischel‍, Co-Founder & CEO of FlexTogether, a telehealth practice that was “founded to radically expand access to respiratory care.” Emily chats with James about the impetus for the creation of the business, what problems it aims to address, and why they’re so important. She also shares thoughts on approaching the business side of the equation in addition to the healthcare aspect and the value of entrepreneurs pivoting when necessary.

In this solo episode, our host, Mai Ling Chan, draws on her years of experience in the arena of disability entrepreneurship and gives some tips and practical advice for fellow business owners. Mai Ling shares some in-depth perspectives as she spotlights the Exceptional Leaders Network that she founded. The ELN is a vibrant, growing community of folks who all have a passion for making a difference with their innovative and creative disability-focused businesses. After you listen to this episode, be sure to check out the ELN for yourself here: https://www.mailingchan.com/eln.

After a fun introduction in which Mai Ling and James bring us up to speed on what’s going on in their careers, James introduces Shay Senior, a social entrepreneur and this episode’s guest. Shay is the CEO and founder of Palta, an inclusive fashion clothing company, and he talks about the personal injury that led to him launch Palta. Shay also shares about working on the Israeli Paralympic team uniforms, the distinction between adaptive fashion and inclusive fashion, and the importance of staying focused on your core business as an entrepreneur.

We’re kicking off the new year with Speech-Language Pathologist, Vanessa Abraham, as our first guest. After Mai Ling and James catch us up with some updates after our short break, Mai Ling sits down with Vanessa to chat about her very personal experience of losing the ability to speak and her journey to regain it. Vanessa shares details about this traumatic experience in this vulnerable conversation and her desire to use that experience to help others who can benefit from what she learned from it. Her full story is chronicled in her book, Speechless, and she talks about the process of writing the book as well.