Xceptional Leaders with Mai Ling Chan & Martyn Sibley

Our guest today is Steven Woodgate. Steven chats with Martyn about his personal experiences with dyslexia and how he turned those challenges into his superpowers. He also shares about using his unique perspective on problem solving in the business world, using technology advancements to your advantage, and overcoming obstacles as a neurodiverse person.

Charlie Randell and Georgina Twelftree are a couple in an interabled relationship and in this conversation with Martyn they open up about the challenges they face with accessibility and overcoming misconceptions and stereotypes. Charlie has cerebral palsy and depends on mobility aids to get around and they have decided to share their experiences and candid, real-life situations to help educate and inform others who are in similar situations. Through their blog, YouTube videos, and social media content, Charlie and Gina are sharing valuable information with the world.

Martyn and Mai Ling are back with another great episode and they share some important updates at the top of the broadcast. Then Mai Ling has an insightful conversation with speaker, blogger, and business consultant Sheri Byrne-Haber. As a subject matter expert in the fields of disability and accessibility, Sheri is a prominent and sought-after voice in the disability community. Using her knowledge and personal experience, Sheri consults with Fortune 200 companies and government agencies and she shares some of her wisdom and information for those working in the disability space.

In this episode, Mai Ling talks with CEO of the XR Association (XRA), Elizabeth Hyman, about the benefits of using immersive technology in ways to empower persons with disabilities. XRA is the trade association representing the technology manufacturers that power the virtual, augmented, and mixed reality industries. Elizabeth helps to define the terminology and explain the work XRA is doing to integrate these powerful technologies in innovative ways by creating industry best practices and working directly with developers. This conversation is full of information on this exciting emerging technology.

Our guest this episode is the founder of The Disability Union in the United Kingdom, George Baker. George founded the first union by and for disabled people and carers because he believes that “the only way to further disability rights and increase inclusion is for all disabled people to work together and support each other.” He shares with Martyn the impetus for the union, how it operates, and the benefit it brings to members.

After a few episode hiatus, Martyn is back to share what he’s been up to the past few weeks. Mai Ling also shares some updates before welcoming this week’s guest, Ruchi Kapila. Ruchi is a Bay Area-based speech-language pathologist, vocologist, presenter, and soprano with experience in acute care and acute rehabilitation hospital settings. They provide gender affirmative voice services privately and is licensed in California and Texas. Ruchi is also co-creator/co-host of the podcast The Hyndsyte Project, an interview series with BIPOC Trans and Gender Nonconforming activists.

Our Xceptional Leader guest today is the founder of The Informed SLP, Meredith Harold. Mai Ling Chan chats with the fellow SLP about her path to creating the business, juggling motherhood and her career, and where things are today. Meredith also serves on multiple boards and committees in the SLP field and is a co-host of the Evidence & Argument podcast which explores the science of speech–language pathology. You don’t want to miss this conversation on the inner workings of a successful business.

Martyn and Mai Ling bring our regular updates today and then in our interview segment we welcome special guests Sarah Berkovich, Henry Evans, and Henry’s wife Jane. Sarah is a filmmaker who made a VR film about Henry and his life as a quadriplegic and how he uses augmented reality technology to enrich his life every day. Mai Ling talks with them about the making of the film, how Henry integrates tech into his life, and what effect it all has on his wife and family. Listen to the end for some bonus audio!

Our featured guest for today’s episode is blogger and podcaster Rob Gorski, The Autism Dad. Rob has built an online community for families with autistic kids starting with his blog over a decade ago. He chats with Mai Ling about the origins of his online efforts, specific struggles he’s faced with his own kids, and some of the challenges that come along with sharing such personal information in a public forum.

Mai Ling and Martyn bring us up to date with all that is going in with their respective efforts in the disability space, including the release of the new book, Becoming an Exceptional AAC Leader. Then Mai Ling chats with guests Jackson and Ken Robol about how Jackson is building his skills as a broadcaster in spite of his autism. In the middle of the pandemic, Jackson, a high school student, launched a live-streamed interview show and has had celebrity guests from a variety of arenas. Don’t miss this inspiring personal story!

Writer, poet, and podcaster Lateef McLeod joins the show for this episode to talk about communicating with the written word as a person with a disability. As an AAC user, Lateef has a unique life experience and perspective to share with our community. In addition to his own writing projects, he is also a contributor to the upcoming Xceptional Leaders book and he discusses what that process was like with Mai Ling Chan as well.

Our hosts, Mai Ling and Martyn, decide to give the guests a break and just share some valuable information with you from their personal entrepreneurial experiences. So in this episode they talk all about exit strategies. You’ll learn about some of the various types of exits, tips on how to navigate the process of selling your business, and why it’s important to set yourself up for a successful exit from the outset.

We are happy to be joined on the show today by Kyndra LoCoco. She is the Accessibility Partner Programs Manager at Google and she chats with Martyn about her work in the disability community. Kyndra shares her background, her journey to becoming a googler, and her personal connection to the disability community. They also touch on topics such as how Google addresses accessibility in their products, verbiage changes in the community and much more.

Deborah Jaffe is our guest today and she joins the program to talk about the two disability focused Facebook groups of which she is the creator and admin. She talks with Mai Ling about how the groups got started and the steps required to manage them and keep engagement alive. Deborah also shares how she filters through news stories, helpful info, tips, etc. to find what is applicable to the members of the groups. This information is valuable to anyone looking to build a community in the disability space.

We’re joined today by entrepreneur, Josh Wintersgill. He is the founder of Able Move and creator of the easyTravelseat, an amazing product which makes it easier for wheelchair users to move from their chair to airline seats. Josh shares with Martyn about some of the highs and lows since launching his business, he talks about pivoting and diversification in product offerings, and how the pandemic has pushed his team to innovate.

In our first episode of 2021, we start off with a fantastic conversation with entrepreneur Harout Markarian. Harout is an author as well as the founder and CEO of Markarian Robotics. Mai Ling chats with him about his vision for creating efficient and affordable products for the mobility challenged using robotics. Harout’s goal is to make life accessible for all through this new company and he’s sharing this message via his book and podcast too.

In this final episode of 2020, Mai Ling and Martyn take a few minutes to share some thoughts on the past year. They also also share a few thoughts on networking and then chat a bit about holiday plans. We hope you enjoy this fun, short, wrap-up episode of the show.

Today’s featured interview is an insightful conversation with Alan Brightman. Alan is a former executive of both Apple and Yahoo where he was a pioneer in the field of assistive technology. He talks with Mai Ling about the early days of developing accessible technology, the hurdles and challenges they had to overcome, and laying the foundation for the tools available today. This is a fascinating interview packed with information and insights.

Today we’re sharing an important discussion about hidden disabilities with our guest Victoria Jenkins. She is a designer, garment technologist, and the creative director and founder of Unhidden Clothing. Martyn talks with her about the challenges of living with a disability that is not visually obvious as well as her work designing and altering clothing to make them suitable and comfortable for people with disabilities.

Today’s guest is prolific storyteller Mathew Klickstein. Mathew is a writer, speaker, and filmmaker; just to name a few. He talks with Mai Ling about his work with the Kids of Widney High, a group of young adults with developmental disabilities who formed a touring rock band. These experiences inspired Mathew to write the YA book titled, The Kids of Widney Junior High Take Over the World!, which imagines what the real-life kids might have experienced in Junior High.