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 Li…

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 epile…

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 voic…

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 …

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 langu…

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, gr…

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 cat…

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 …

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 entreprene…

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 …

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 f…

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 t…

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…

Today James sits down with Rachel Archambault, who is a speaker and consultant in the area of trauma-informed care as well as a licensed speech-language pathologist. Rachel collaborates with service providers (SLPs, doctors, PT/OT, etc.), parents, businesses, schools, hospitals, universities, rehab, and communities to incorporate trauma-informed ca…

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…

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 …

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 initiati…

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…

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 th…

In this episode, Mai Ling is joined by guest Anna Voelker, founder and Executive Director of SciAccess, Inc. SciAccess is an international nonprofit that promotes disability inclusion in STEM education, outreach, and research and Anna speaks with Mai Ling about the beginnings of the non-profit, what universal design is, and having an early interest…

Our guest today is speaker and award-winning author Carol Van Den Hende. She talks with Mai Ling about her novels which are helping both people with disabilities and their loved ones. These fictional stories draw from Carol’s Chinese American heritage and in addition to telling heart-warming, genuine narratives, they also explore themes such as acc…

Certified ADHD Coach, public speaker, and entrepreneur, Kim To, joins Mai Ling Chan on this episode to share her thoughts and experiences with ADHD. Kim talks about the journey to her diagnosis and why she moved into coaching others with this same challenge. She also talks about the unique situation of being an Asian woman with an ADHD diagnosis, w…

Today’s guest on the podcast is fellow podcaster, Maya Chupkov. Maya is the Executive Director, Producer and Host of Proud Stutter, an award winning and multi-nominated podcast and advocacy nonprofit organization that is de-stigmatizing stuttering and embracing speech diversity. She speaks with James about her story of growing up with a stutter, wh…

Our guest for the very first episode of 2024 is award-winning professional actor, voice actor, and broadcaster Zach Damon. We’re thrilled to kick off the new year talking to Zach about his advocacy work in the disability space using his skills and experience in media production. Zach has developed a TV show that he also hosts, along with numerous o…

Don’t miss the final episode of the Xceptional Leaders podcast for 2023! Our hosts, Mai Ling and James, share some valuable information as they look back over this past year. They talk about the strides that were made in the area of disability in 2023, highlights from some of this year’s guests, and success stories from around the world. They also …

Our guest today is neurodivergent Ukrainian entrepreneur and mental health enthusiast, Julia Ovcharenko. She talks with Mai Ling about the stigma around ADHD and adjusting to ADHD and neurodiversity diagnoses as an adult, which is a very personal topic for Mai Ling, as she shares in the introduction segment before the interview. As the CEO and Foun…

James 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, an…

Mai Ling chats with Nikki Powis about some fantastic resources for disability entrepreneurs in today’s episode. Nikki is the Director of the National Disability Institute and she shares how she started at NDI and some of the top challenges for entrepreneurs based on her over three decades of experience in this space. She also gives some tips for in…

Today Mai Ling has a chat with the founder of AccessAbility Officer, Tanner Gers. AccessAbility Officer’s aim is to make work and the web better through the services they offer, including digital accessibility training and certification, as well as staffing and recruiting. Tanner shares with us his journey to founding this organization, starting wi…

Dr. Mona Minkara chats with James in today’s episode about how to use other senses beyond eyesight to observe scientifically. Mona is a blind assistant professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern University and a travel vlogger who lives by the maxim that vision is more than sight. In this fascinating conversation with James, she talks about her in…

In today’s packed interview, James chats with Merlee Jayme, Chairmom® and Founder of the Misfits Camp. Merlee shares some of her backstory, including some experiences in her early, formative years which had a profound impact on her life and her approach to marketing and creativity. She also talks about her passion for creating careers for the neuro…

Mai Ling sits down with founder and CEO of YellowBird, Michael Zalle, to talk about being a successful leader as a person with a disability. As a veteran tech entrepreneur, Michael pulls from his extensive experience in the business world to share about when it might be advantageous to disclose a disability to potential investors. He also talks abo…

In our opening segment, Mai Ling and James talk about the importance of networking in your local area, in addition to building a national or international network. This valuable discussion is followed by Mai Ling’s interview with founder and CEO of Adapt the Game, Victor Ocando Finol. Victor talks about his experience as a sports fan with limited m…

Today we’re featuring an informative conversation between James and fellow speech-language pathologist, Alan Vu. As an SLP and an AAC specialist, Alan was able to leverage his professional background and his personal experience as a person who stutters to help create a new app that combines AI with AAC, called Flexspeak. James and Alan talk about w…

Mai Ling starts off this solo-hosted episode with an update about our new episode collections that make it easy to do a deep dive into a specific topic. Then she brings founder and CEO of Space Dream Productions, Koura Linda, onto the show to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion in film production and how her company is working in that arena…

The topic of today’s episode is personal for Mai Ling. Before our guest joins the show to talk about ADHD, Mai Ling shares her own personal experience with her diagnosis. James then sits down with startup founder and expert ADHD/neurodiversity advocate/speaker, Chris Wang to talk all about ADHD and its effects on adults. Chris is the co-founder and…

Our guest today is Elisa Shipon-Blum, or Dr. E, as her patients call her. She is the President and Director of the Selective Mutism Anxiety and Related Disorders Treatment Center (SMart Center). Dr E is an expert on Selective Mutism (SM) and has helped to treat thousands of patients over the past three decades. She speaks with Mai Ling about how sh…

In the introduction to this episode’s interview, Mai Ling shares an exciting announcement about an upcoming project that she’ll be working on. Then we jump into a conversation between Mai Ling and Dr. Li-Rong “Lilly” Cheng, who is the Director of the Chinese Cultural Center at San Diego State University. Dr. Cheng was the founder of the Asian Pacif…

Comedian and screenwriter Greg Roque joins the show today for an insightful conversation with James. As a teen, Greg had a spinal injury which paralyzed him and he brings his unique perspective on life as a disabled person to his comedy. He shares with us a little about his approach to comedy, where the line is for comedy about disability, and the …

Before we introduce our guest in this episode, Mai Ling shares a major update about a new venture that she is embarking on that has a connection to our guest. And that guest is technology explorer, evaluator, and reviewer, Yonah Welker, who has a mission to reshape how nations, cities and ecosystems embrace human-centered algorithms, environments, …

Our guest today is UK-based, Disability Inclusion Specialist Michael Grimmett. Michael talks with James about an inaccessibility incident at his local pizza restaurant that he was able to use to shine light on accessibility issues. As a wheelchair user and disability advocate, Michael’s personal experiences have given him a platform to talk about t…

Our hosts, Mai Ling and James, share some important updates on what is going on in their respective careers before we dive into a discussion with our guest. Sawsan Zakaria chats with Mai Ling about her participation in the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge on multiple occasions. As an actress and model with a neuromuscular disease called spinal…

Today, we welcome to the show Vanessa Castañeda Gill, the Co-Founder and CEO of Social Cipher, a game-based, social-emotional learning platform for neurodiverse youth. Social Cipher launched their first game called Ava, and Vanessa shares the story of its development and the impact it’s made on the target audience. She also talks about growing up w…

Just a few years ago, our guest Sandie Roberts, suddenly found herself at the intersection of being a middle-aged woman and a full-time wheelchair user. Unable to find adequate fashion options to suit both her new situation and her personal tastes, Sandie decided to do something about it. Sandie sits down with Mai Ling to talk about these unique ex…

Speech-language pathologist and educator, Sandy Dorsey, is our guest this week on the show. As a global advocate for children with special needs, Sandy talks with James about how disability is viewed in developing countries and what she’s doing to overcome stigmas about disability and educate the public. She’s also the founder of the non-profit org…

As we kick off the first episode of the new year, Mai Ling and James share their thoughts on new year’s resolutions. Then Mai Ling sits down with Chanda Hinton, Executive Director of the Chanda Center for Health and Chanda Plan Foundation, to talk about her journey of founding and running the health care center. They also discuss proactive and prev…

For our Xceptional Leaders 2022 finale episode, Mai Ling and James share some thoughts and observations on the new National Disability Institute report, Small Business Ownership by People with Disabilities: Challenges and Opportunities. They also share some highlights from past podcast guests that pertain to some of the points addressed in the NDI …

Our guest for this episode is Dr. Carlene MacMillan, an expert in mental health and VP of Clinical Innovation at Osmind. Carlene’s area of focus is exploring innovative mental health treatments for anxiety and depression, among other conditions. She talks with James about some of these treatments such as psychedelic assisted therapy and Transcrania…

Today, James and Mai Ling share some updates on their journeys and then Mai Ling brings us an insightful conversation with speaker, writer, and social media influencer, August Rocha. August talks about the value of participating in and even building your own online communities in today’s culture. Intersectionality, advice for starting a TikTok acco…