Poetry, Presence, and French Vanilla: Here’s Derek Daniels’ NSA Story

Meet Derek Daniels. He’s been part of the NSA family since 2002, starting in Houston and now calling the Detroit/Royal Oak Chapter home.

When he walked through that first NSA Chapter meeting door, he was looking for community. Like so many of us who stutter, he found more than that. He found validation. He found connection. He found people who just… got it.

Over the years, the NSA has become something deeper for Derek, a space where his experience as a person who stutters is affirmed. That sense of affirmation has helped shape every part of his journey. As a professor, researcher, and clinician, Derek’s career blends purpose with passion. He teaches, travels, networks, supports people who stutter, and still finds time to grow as a poet.

What’s Derek proud of? A lot. Personally, it’s been his evolution as a writer. Professionally, it’s receiving both the NSA’s Professional of the Year and Scholar Award. But more than accolades, it’s about staying true to himself and showing up fully in his work and in the community.

He’s got advice for newcomers, too: “You have a community that embraces you for who you are.”

And if you really want to get to know him? Offer him a soft chocolate chip cookie, turn on a little Taylor Dayne or Jon Secada, and ask him what he loves about London.