Stutter Block Party Podcast

This is an interview with Kory from back in 2021. Due to heavy workloads at work, I wasn't able to prepare and upload it until now!

Lorraine and Rosie are bi-lingual (Spanish and English) friends who met at an NSA meeting and live in Texas.  Both have had experience stuttering in both languages and have come to realize the need for support in the Spanish stuttering community.  

Derek Daniels is a Professor of Speech Language Pathology in Michigan.  He has been involved in the SLP world ever since he began his Masters in SLP shortly after receiving his Bachelors.  Derek is a person with a stutter and is passionate helping his SLP clients as well as the students he oversees.

Nakia works in cyber security for the federal government and is actively involved in the stuttering support community.  She wanted to share her story about how, despite having a stutter, she has been able to successfully pursue her goals at school and in the workplace.  She wants people to remember that everyone is born with innate talents and they should utilize those talents to achieve their goals.  

Tom Scharstein has been a long-time member of the stuttering support community.  He is part of a new project called World Stuttering Network that is an online forum for leaders from all stuttering organizations around the world to meet and share ideas.  He is a passionate advocate for people who stutter and devotes much of his time toward bettering the stuttering community.  

Adriana is a college student on her way towards a Masters degree in nonprofit management.  She was raised for most of her life in Honduras and so has been able to experience how life is different there than in the US, as well as how stuttering is viewed and treated differently in both countries.  Once she finishes college, she hopes to work for an organization that provides aide to countries in need of assistance.

Alan is a fellow person who stutters from Salinas, California.  He has stuttered ever since he was young but has only recently "accepted" it, which he talks about in this episode.  Alan was involved in the food industry for much of his life and has for the last several years been living a vegan lifestyle.  He's also a huge fan of trail running.

Jia is currently an SLP Masters student at Michigan State University.  She came to the US about 6 years ago from China and so has been able to experience the differences between the two countries, especially when it comes to how stuttering is approached.  She has a passion for helping others who stutter, particularly those in China who may find it difficult to navigate society with a stutter.  She runs a podcast called Stammer Talk that is primarily in Chinese with some English sprinkled in.  It can be found at https://open.spotify.com/show/47tjgK5ZIRtuFXMcIpWZ48

Danny is originally from Los Angeles and is currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania.  He hopes to become a sports psychologist.  He started coming to terms with his stutter in college and is enjoying becoming involved and meeting people in the stuttering community.  Like all other pws he is constantly working towards being able to speak with full confidence whether or not he stutters on the outside.  

Alex is a person who stutters who hopes to one day become a chef.  In this episode we talk about how his relationship to his stutter has changed over the years, as well as about his career and personal interests. Alex wants everyone to know that although having a stutter can be tough, with enough determination and perseverance, a person who stutters can get the most of what they want out of life.

Julia is (as of this episode) the current Indiana state president of FFA, an organization that promotes agricultural education to youth.  She is headed to Purdue University where she will be studying Agricultural Education.  Julia is a passionate advocate for people who stutter and wants to spread the message that having a stutter doesn't have to prevent you from becoming whomever you want to be.

Today we talk to James Hayden, a self-published author and TedX speaker on the topic of stuttering.  His book, "Dear World, I Stutter", is available at Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.