TranscendingX - Raw Conversations and Practical Tips to Break Through Stuttering, Communication Fears, and Become Who You Truly Are

GUEST BIO John Gomez was born and raised in Northern New Mexico.  He attended Colorado College where he earned a degree in Philosophy and American Ethnic Studies.   He graduated from California State Los Angeles University with a Master's degree in Communication Disorders in 2009.  Presently, he works as a Speech Pathologist for the Los Angeles Unified School District.  He is also part-time facult...

Guest Bio:  Lovejoy Muchenje is a native of Zimbabwe. He is a person who stutters and currently lives in the Greater Richmond Area in Virginia. Lovejoy is actively involved in the stuttering community; he is currently the National Stuttering Association (NSA) co-leader for the Richmond Chapter. Lovejoy has degrees in engineering and currently works in the transportation field as an environmental e...

Guest Bio:  Matthew Bernucca is from Tampa, Florida but has spent the last 11 years in New York City. He graduated from the International Center of Photography in 2017 and has been pursuing a career in photography ever since. www.matthewbernucca.com Matthew co-leads the Brooklyn chapter NSA support group. In this episode Matthew and Uri discuss: -Growing-up - Photography and the arts - Most memora...

Guest Bio: Barry Yeoman is an award-winning freelance journalist in Durham, North Carolina. He works in both print and audio, putting human faces on complex social and political issues. He also teaches journalism at Wake Forest University and Duke University. He has been involved in the stuttering self-help movement since 1992, and most recently wrote about stuttering and neurodiversity for The Ba...

Guest Bio: Derek E. Daniels, Ph. D., CCC-SLP, is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Wayne State University, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. He has been a certified speech-language pathologist since 2002. Derek is a person who stutters, provides clinical services for people who stutter, and supervises graduate student training in...

Guest Bio: JUSTIN MATLEY is a multi-award-winning Post Sound / Re-Recording Mixer, Sound Designer, and Music Supervisor who works on a plethora of television, film, radio, podcast, internet, and experiential-based projects for the broadcast, motion picture, and advertising industries. He currently works both at his clients' facilities and in-house at his private studio. A 17-year industry veteran,...

Impromptu Convo with @speechdude Chris Wenger What happened next... was wild... Chris reached out to ask me about the emotional side of stuttering therapy. And let's just say, I was star struck. Chris has an incredibly CREATIVE edutaining Instagram handle @speechdude - how many people do you know as social media stars (26k followers) with such huge heart and soul, and personal care to do good and...

Guest Bio: Vivian Sisskin is a Clinical Professor in the Dept. of Hearing and Speech Sciences. She is an  ASHA  Fellow and a  Board Certified Specialist in Fluency Disorders . Sisskin was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. She served as Coordinator for ASHA's Special Interest Group 4, Fluency and Fluency Disorders, and received the ASHA Media...

Guest Bio: Gareth Walkom is originally from Basingstoke in the UK and now resides in the beautiful city of Ghent in Belgium. Gareth is a proud person who stutters and leads the way in utilizing how people who stutter and speech pathologists can benefit by using virtual reality as a tool. Working on this topic since 2015, Gareth studied for a bachelor's degree in Digital Media Technology at Notting...

Guest Bio: Michael Sugarman has been an activist in the stuttering and disability communities since the 1970s. He was co-founder and former Executive Director of the National Stuttering Project and former chair of the International Stuttering Association. Michael wrote for academic journals and promoted people-first language and stuttering awareness in "It's Ok to Stutter" ( Journal of Fluency Dis...

Guest Bio: Robyn Croft is a Ph. D. student and a speech-language pathologist at the Lang Stuttering Institute at the University of Texas at Austin , where she works with children and adults who stutter. During her undergraduate tenure, Robyn studied abroad in Jerusalem, where she was able to blend her passions for Israel and speech-language pathology through an internship at Schneider Speech. Afte...

Guest bio: Reuben Schuff, MS, PE is an aerospace engineer, Person who stutters (PWS), space enthusiast, juggler, Toastmaster, and author. His contributions include being a formal family chapter leader with the National Stuttering Association (NSA), FRIENDS workshop leader , Camp SAY West Coast volunteer, Stuttertalk guest, host and author of Fluency: My Untrustworthy Friend (cross-posted to Indian...

Special Episode What a remarkable Conversation with these three outstanding young men. - Jonathan Costello (Connecticut, USA) - Brayden Harrington (New Hampshire, USA) - Elazar Abrahams (New York, USA)   Reflecting on the significance of Joe Biden's example as a person who stutters becoming President (elect) of the United States of America. Jonathan and Brayden are extraordinary young men. Not onl...

Guest Bio: Cathy Olish-Maciejewski is from Grosse Ile, Michigan, and works in HR in the Executive Recruiting organization at Ford Motor Company.  She is a covert person who stutters and has been a member of the NSA for 21 years. During this time, she served on the NSA Board of Directors for seven years, is a former adult and kids chapter leader, and has led at least 60 workshops at NSA conferences...

Guest Bio: In addition to Carl's professional accomplishments (Six Sigma Consultant at United Health and his leadership role on the board of National Stuttering Association) Carl cleans-up real nice, sporting the bow tie and vest with dance moves to match. Recently featured on national television, Carl makes time to lead next gen efforts to advocate and offer supportive programming for parents, ki...

Guest Bio: Dr. Erik X. Raj holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a practicing speech-language pathologist who works with school-age children and adolescents with various communication difficulties. He is currently an assistant professor and clinical supervisor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at Monmouth University in...

Guest Bio: Joseph Donaher, PhD, is the Academic and Research Program Director of the Center for Childhood Communication at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia .  Dr. Donaher is an Assistant Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania . He is a board-certified specialist in Fluency and Fluency Disorders. Currently, Dr. Donaher serves on the Editorial Review Board for ASHA's P...

Guest Bio: Andrew is a proud person who stutters, and master's student at the Duke, Fuqua School of Business. He has global experience with focus on finance and refugee advocacy. Tammy, Andrew's mom, works at Citigroup and has supported Andrew since day one. Both Andrew and Tammy live in New York. In this episode Andrew, Tammy, and Uri discuss: - Impressions from the day we met - Significant exper...

Guest Bio: Mr. Reeves is currently involved in To Be Like Me, a program created to educate school-aged children about disabilities and differences… including stuttering. Mr. Reeves is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, the Public Service Award from...

Guest Bio: Dr. Maguire is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (DFAPA). Dr. Maguire is listed in the "Best Doctors in America" and in the past as "Orange County Physician of Excellence" as recognized by his peers. He also serves as the Chair for the National Stuttering Association and in the past, as Vice Chair of the International Stuttering Association. He has received...

Guest Bio: Kristin Chmela, M.A. CCC-SLP BCS-F spends the majority of her time working with individuals of all ages with fluency disorders at the Chmela Fluency Center in the suburban Chicago area.  She has lectured on the topic of childhood stuttering around the world.  She is co-founder and co-director of Camp Shout Out, a therapeutic program for school-age children who stutter and a hands-on tra...

Guest Bio:  Pamela Mertz hid her stuttering for close to 30 years. People closest to her did not know she stuttered because she hid it so well. "Avoidance" was her preferred way of hiding. For years, Pam intentionally chose to not speak up, get involved and let her "Real Pam" out. Then, in 2006 she was fired from a 20+ year job due to stuttering. That was her "rock bottom" moment, and she decided...

Guest Bio:  I have had a stutter my entire life. I battled it many times, winning some and losing others. Ultimately I have won and it helped me achieve where I am today. I graduated with two degrees (B.S. and M.S.A) from Babson College in Accounting. I am currently an Accounting and Audit at Accenture. All of my spare time (and then some) is spent training for my next Ironman triathlon. Links:  N...

Guest Bio: Rich Stephens is a person who stutters and is the President of SAY: Australia, the first international arm of SAY: The Stuttering Association For The Young founded in 2001 in NYC by Taro Alexander. Rich graduated from Salford University/UK as a Psychiatric Nurse and spent 6 years supporting people of all ages with mental health difficulties in the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. During hi...

Guest Bio: Katie Gore is the founder and principal of speech IRL , a communication consulting and speech therapy practice.  She is the founder and former Chapter Leader of the City of Chicago chapter of the National Stuttering Association and formerly served on the NSA Board of Directors as Professional Relations Co-Chair.  She is the co-founder and Community Outreach Chair of Shared Voices , a Ch...