Beyond 6 Seconds: Neurodiversity stories from neurodivergent people

Amir Bormand is the Co-founder of Elevano, a candidate-centric technical recruitment company. On this episode, Amir and I talk about how he quit his job to start Elevano right when he got married, and how his wife's support and belief in his abilities were critical to the success of his business. Most of our conversation, however, focuses on the aftermath of a near death experience that Amir had a...

Georgie-Ann Getton-Mckoy is an execution strategist, serial entrepreneur, community builder, speaker, author and diversity in tech enthusiast. She loves helping businesses and people become more productive, find creative solutions to their problems, and execute on their ideas, and she's an expert at turning "dreamers" into "doers." Her new book, "The Art of Getting Sh*t Done" was published in Febr...

Nikhil Pampati is a high school senior at the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies in New Jersey. In his free time, he serves as the cofounder and CFO of the national nonprofit Jobscopia , which runs programs that connect students with professionals and provide them with real-life insights into potential careers. On this episode, Nikhil shares the story of...

Marc Mawhinney is a lifelong entrepreneur who helps coaches get more clients (without paid advertising)! He achieves this with his coaching programs; his two podcasts (Natural Born Coaches and The Marc Mawhinney Minute); his Facebook group The Coaching Jungle, and his exclusive print newsletter – Secret Coach Club.  In this podcast, Marc tells us about his personal experiences with overcoming two...

At the end of 2018, New York City stand-up comedian Mike Lemme traveled to London, Paris and Rome to perform in some unusual venues – conference rooms that he rented in local office buildings – while documenting his experience on YouTube. On this podcast, Mike describes his adventures from his European conference room comedy tour (including his encounters with drunk people, newlyweds, protests & r...

What happens when you're a high performer at work, with decades of success and upward progression in your career, and then you get laid off for the first time? That's what happened to Kevin M. Yates. When his role working in learning & development was eliminated, Kevin found himself in the unfamiliar and frustrating situation of job searching while unemployed. As weeks of job searching turned into...

Charlotte Underwood is a mental health advocate and writer in the UK with a passion for preventing suicide and providing support for those in need. On this episode, Charlotte shares how her own personal experiences inspired her to write about mental health, the biases and stigma that people with mental illnesses often face in the UK, and how she raises her voice to encourage people to talk about m...

Jeff Weisbein is the founder and Editor-in-Chief at BestTechie – a company he started when he was 13 years old and grew it into a digital media company that makes technology easy for everyone to learn about. He also hosts a podcast called TechieBytes, which features insightful and thought-provoking conversations with tech experts and business executives. On this episode, Jeff shares what inspired...

Stacy Sherman is the Director of Customer Experience (CX) at Schindler Elevator Corporation. When she's not at her day job, Stacy shares her extensive CX expertise on her blog, DoingCXRight, which provides mentorship and knowledge sharing with CX professionals looking to differentiate their companies and personal brand.  On this episode, Stacy shares: What inspired her to start DoingCXRight back i...

Amanda Watson has 20 years of experience in apparel buying, merchandising, and wholesale in San Francisco. She has worked for major fashion lines throughout her career, including Macy's West, Donna Karan, and Ralph Lauren. She was working at IGIGI Dresses when she came up with the idea for StyleForIt -- an online site where plus size women can consign and buy pre-owned current fashion sizes 12–32...

Daniel Gefen is the CEO of the Gefen Media Group, a podcast production and booking company. He hosts a podcast called "Can I Pick Your Brain?" and is the author of the bestselling book, "The Self Help Addict." On this episode, Daniel describes himself as a former Self Help Addict, where he was trapped in a vicious cycle of consuming life-changing knowledge without taking any life-changing action....

Jacqueline Jasionowski left her 18+ year career in the corporate automotive world to start her own business, Shift Awake, which is dedicated to working with leaders to create purpose-driven environments and game-changing results. Jacqueline believes consciousness is innovation. Leveraging her expertise in leadership coaching, customer experience and human resources, she intends to flip the way mos...

Kevin Patrick Allen has been a reporter from sea to shining sea, telling stories of ordinary people facing extraordinary challenges. Now, he's produced a documentary called "What Comes Next" that examines what happens when you lose a dream, lose a loved one, or even lose your freedom. The project was an opportunity to go beyond the skipping-stone nature of today's journalism into a deeper explorat...

Lisa DeLay has always been interested in the spiritual, and how humans can connect with the divine and each other in healthy and healing ways. In this episode, Lisa talks about the spiritual and family crisis she faced in her childhood and young adulthood, her studies of religion and spiritual formation, and her work as a part-time professor at Gratz College, where she helps new K-12 special educa...

In this bonus episode, organizational change and culture expert Karen Jaw-Madson (my guest from Episode 52) talks about finding and working with a publisher for her book "Culture Your Culture: Innovating Experiences @Work" – and why she describes her experience as a "soap opera!" She shares what she learned, the advice that helped encourage her through all the rejections, and her own advice for au...

Karen Jaw-Madson is an organizational change and culture expert who enjoyed success as a corporate executive before pursuing a "portfolio career" comprised of research, writing, consulting, teaching/speaking, and creative pursuits. Her book "Culture Your Culture: Innovating Experiences @Work" was released in June 2018. This book is a guide for implementing the methodology she created -- Design of...

Natasha Nurse is a licensed attorney by trade who held various stints in the corporate world prior to making a foray into fashion, writing, media and entrepreneurship. Natasha started Dressing Room 8 to provide a web-based resource where women can gain personal and professional empowerment through her fashion and lifestyle focused blog, consultation and coaching services. She is also the Program C...

Gina Marie Agderian is a New Jersey-based, independent author who self-published her first novel in April 2018 titled "The Letters in the Old House." In her novel, a woman at a crossroads in her life discovers mysterious letters in her aunt & uncle's Jersey Shore beach house, then goes on a mission to figure out the story behind the letters while learning about herself in the process. In this epis...

Esther Hofknecht Curtis is a blogger, writer, and content creator who established Parrot Content + Copy to develop her freelance business. She is also the creator of the #GuestBloggerProject, which she hosted in May and October 2018 to provide a platform for writers to share their stories and understand how the project impacts organic social media reach and SEO for the project's host. Based on her...

When you don't have the words, let your gloves say it for you! Flip 'em the Bird, Inc. is a women-owned, Minnesota based start-up founded by Susie Moschkau and Natalie Buckman. While freezing at their office jobs and looking for some comic relief to combat the day to day challenges of corporate life, Susie and Natalie hatched their idea for Flip 'em the Bird fingerless gloves! After 2 decades of f...

Professor Marcia McNair is the co-author of Sistas on Fire, an award-winning theatrical performance that addresses pressing social issues from an African-American female perspective.  On this episode, Marcia shares what inspired her to create Sistas on Fire about 10 years ago, and how it evolved from a collection of writings into a theatrical experience that incorporates the spoken word, music and...

Samantha Harris is an Emmy-winning entertainment journalist and TV host. Most of you may know Samantha from her eight seasons as the co-host of the hit show, Dancing with the Stars, or her many years as one of the hosts of Entertainment Tonight. In this podcast, Samantha shares her breast cancer story, which began when she trusted her instinct about a lump that she was told was "nothing." Out of t...

Rhodes Perry helps business leaders, change agents, and visionaries at all levels cultivate workplace cultures of belonging through his leadership & management consulting firm. He is an award-winning social entrepreneur, best-selling author, and sought-after speaker. He is also a nationally recognized LGBTQ thought leader with two decades of government and nonprofit experience, having worked at th...

This episode features Larry Sprung, the President and Founder of Mitlin Financial, Inc.  He also serves on the National Board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).  On this episode, Larry discusses the critical events in his life that shaped his career and advocacy:   How his mother's long battle with breast cancer led him to a career helping people plan for critical financial...

Becky Curran is the Disability Equality Index (DEI) Director at Disability:IN, where she is responsible for managing the overall DEI program. Born with achondroplastic dwarfism, Becky talks about her life & career as an advocate for increasing disability inclusion, including:    Her childhood health challenges and experiences with social exclusion The importance of her support system of family, fr...