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< Back Shea Quinn Speaker LCDR Shea Quinn is currently serving on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard as an MH-65 aircraft commander, conducting counter-narcotics operations from Coast Guard cutters. Shea graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2009 and has been stationed in NH, FL, WA, and CA. Previous Next

Learn how Haley Aguayo,a person who stutters, achieved career success. Get inspired by their journey. Manager, Benefits & Compliance Haley Aguayo Briefly describe your daily job duties. As the Manager of Benefits and Compliance to a 300-employee international organization, I oversee the management and creation of benefits plans and ensure that we are compliant regarding various federal and state legislation requirements. I establish positive relationships with employees, benefit brokers, and vendors to ensure our benefits are communicated efficiently and carried out effectively. Benefits are the backbone of employee retention and recruitment, and it is my job to ensure we develop creative solutions to build a robust and competitive benefits package that serves our demographics while also keeping up with the latest trends. As a person who stutters, share the most challenging part of your job. I think with any environment, people are used to fast-paced communication styles. When you stutter, it puts a different pace on meetings and conference calls. As with many career paths, my job involves a lot of communication. I frequently speak with employees, brokers, and vendors. During my career, there have been times when I have been presenting and someone who is participating remotely says that the line is breaking up or that the sound is coming in choppy. During these moments, I have to explain that I stutter, which clears the air, and then I can continue. However, I have never encountered anyone who was rude about it, as they only care about the overall message and my knowledge surrounding the subject. Did you self-disclose your stuttering during the job hiring process? If so, how did you do it and how do you currently disclose your stuttering to unsuspecting co-workers, clients and or customers? I am a firm believer in self-disclosure as it helps me feel more relaxed and confident during the interview process. When the recruiter first contacts me to set up the phone screen, I respond confirming the best schedule for me and ask if they wouldn’t mind scheduling a few extra minutes to the interview because I stutter and I’d like to ensure that I have ample time to answer any questions they may have. Then, during the in-person interview with the hiring manager, I usually state in the beginning along with my introduction, “Before we begin our conversation, I’d like to let you know that I stutter, so if you don’t understand something I say or if you need me to repeat something, please let me know and I’d be glad to do so.” And then I head into the interview portion. I feel this acknowledgment not only shows confidence on my behalf but it also allows the listener to understand what is happening, so they do not jump to assumptions. I used to struggle with being present in interviews because internally my mind was so loud with anxiety and actively finding ways to avoid stuttering. I would say words that wouldn’t make sense because they were easier to say or avoid talking about certain accomplishments, that I wasn’t focusing on showing my personality and my attributes for the role. I knew that my experience and background were a great fit, but I couldn’t convey them because I wasn’t present in the conversation. When your focus is elsewhere, it’s hard to shine in an interview. I think what helped me the most was realizing that the interviewer is human too. They are not perfect; they face struggles and adversities in their life as well. However, they saw something in me and that is why I was there at the interview. They believed that I was one of the top candidates out of the many who applied, which is encouraging. Once I realized this, it was easier for me to let my personality shine and I was able to answer and engage in the conversations confidently. I made them feel at ease with my professionalism, knowledge, and expertise. If I happened to stutter, so be it. Because at the end of the day, the hiring manager just wanted someone who they can trust to come in to do the job well, and I knew that I was absolutely that person. Describe how stuttering makes you a better, more valued contributor at work. I believe that stuttering has allowed me to be a good listener. When you work in human resources, people want to be heard. Showing my stuttering also shows my vulnerable side. There’s a humbling aspect of showing your struggle every day, and people find that relatable. Can you imagine working with someone in human resources who you find intimidating or not relatable? They wouldn’t be very approachable and they wouldn’t be effective at their job. I can choose to hide it by avoiding words or using techniques to be perfectly fluent, but I’m not fluent. I stutter, and it’s the way I am genetically programmed to speak. I once had a coworker tell me that maybe stuttering is my superpower. She went on to say that it has made me empathetic, patient, and a good listener, and not a lot of people have those skills. I couldn’t have said it better myself. What is your proudest moment at your current company? I’m still relatively new at my company, as I haven’t been there for a full year yet. But when I started, I hit the ground running wide-eyed with passion and excitement. This job is fast-paced and I was coming up on the busiest time of the year in regards to open enrollment planning and several compliance related projects. I might have had a few nerves here or there during this time period related to stuttering, meeting new colleagues, or leading presentations, but in all honesty, my main focus was that I came to do a job, and I worked hard to ensure that I was going to get it done accurately and efficiently. I’m proud that I was able to lead a successful open enrollment period, implement a new mental health benefit, complete several compliance audits, and find ways to improve existing procedures to better serve the organization, all within my first few months there. What’s your best advice for people who stutter just entering the workplace and for those in a career striving to achieve greater success? Be true to your passions because you will never be happy if you settle. Apply for that job that pushes your comfort zone. I majored in Graphic Design in college because I thought it was a safe choice regarding stuttering. I only learned after I graduated that I made the wrong decision because I realized that my calling was to help people. I was bored and didn’t find satisfaction with what I was doing, and I knew that I didn’t want to keep doing it for another 40 years until I retired. 40 years is a long time to do something that you’re already bored with! In college, I would have never seen myself as both a Human Resources leader speaking with people every day, but I love it. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone so that you can continue to grow. Don’t let stuttering define what your barriers are and don’t let it have control over your happiness. I promise that you will find confidence and happiness through pushing your limits and exceeding in ways you never thought imaginable. Stuttering is only a hindrance if you let it become one.

Join the Syracuse - Adult stuttering support group. Connect with others, share experiences, and access resources through the National Stuttering Association. Syracuse ADULT CHAPTER IN-PERSON MEETINGS NORTHEAST REGION Official NSA Chapter - New York State Welcome to the NSA Syracuse Chapter! The National Stuttering Association’s® motto: If You Stutter, You’re Not Alone®, is what our NSA Chapters are all about! Chapter meetings are open to people who stutter, family members of people who stutter, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and anyone that wants to learn more about stuttering. Feel free to reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) to find out more about our chapter. We hope you will join us! How do you typically meet? In-Person Meetings What age group can attend? Adult What languages are spoken? English How much does it cost? Free! Meetings Here is information on the location and schedule of our meetings. Reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) for more information! Where? The Syracuse Chapter does not have one home and meets at various locations including coffee shops and libraries. They also meet via Zoom. Anyone hoping to attend should email Chapter Leader, David Haas, at davidhaaswmw@gmail.com to join our email list to receive information about any upcoming meeting. When? Meetings are held the 4th Thursday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Chapter Leaders Who leads the meetings? David Haas Chapter Leader Get in touch! davidhaaswmw@gmail.com (315) 766-6502 - Questions? We know that attending your first NSA Chapter meeting might be a little intimidating so we’ve tried to answer some of your questions! We know once you get there, you’ll be greeted by Chapter Leaders who have been in your shoes before and are happy to welcome you! ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. Testimonials Read more about the power of chapters and support groups from NSA members themselves! "When I attended my first conference in 2019. I was welcomed into this "stamily" with open arms and haven't left the bear hug since!" Lexi Hewitt Exton, PA Chapter "Other people who stutter are the best sources of support, love, and encouragement on your journey. Don't be afraid to reach out, no matter what stage you're at." Gina Waggott Author, Entrepreneur "This community has helped me rediscover myself as a confident and capable person who stutters." John Ontiveros Lorem, CA Chapter

Join the Houston - Adult stuttering support group. Connect with others, share experiences, and access resources through the National Stuttering Association. Houston ADULT CHAPTER IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL MEETINGS CENTRAL SOUTH REGION Official NSA Chapter - Texas State Welcome to the NSA Houston Chapter! The National Stuttering Association’s® motto: If You Stutter, You’re Not Alone®, is what our NSA Chapters are all about! Chapter meetings are open to people who stutter, family members of people who stutter, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and anyone that wants to learn more about stuttering. Feel free to reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) to find out more about our chapter. We hope you will join us! How do you typically meet? In-Person & Virtual Meetings What age group can attend? Adult What languages are spoken? English How much does it cost? Free! Meetings Here is information on the location and schedule of our meetings. Reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) for more information! Where? Meetings are held at Vineyard Church – 1035 E. 11th Street (enter at door on Norhill Street, 2nd floor ) Houston, TX 77009. *Upon arrival at Vineyard Church, text the Chapter Leader to be buzzed in. When? In-person meetings are held on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 2:00-4:00PM. Email the Chapter Leaders if you would like to join virtually. Chapter Leaders Who leads the meetings? Arianna Gilliam & Tiffany Ramon Chapter Leaders Get in touch! nsahoustonchapter@gmail.com (713) 922-0670, 832-264-9694 - Questions? We know that attending your first NSA Chapter meeting might be a little intimidating so we’ve tried to answer some of your questions! We know once you get there, you’ll be greeted by Chapter Leaders who have been in your shoes before and are happy to welcome you! ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. Testimonials Read more about the power of chapters and support groups from NSA members themselves! "When I attended my first conference in 2019. I was welcomed into this "stamily" with open arms and haven't left the bear hug since!" Lexi Hewitt Exton, PA Chapter "Other people who stutter are the best sources of support, love, and encouragement on your journey. Don't be afraid to reach out, no matter what stage you're at." Gina Waggott Author, Entrepreneur "This community has helped me rediscover myself as a confident and capable person who stutters." John Ontiveros Lorem, CA Chapter

Meet Lexi Hewitt, a valued member of the National Stuttering Association team. Learn more about their role and contributions. Lexi Hewitt Regional Chapter Coordinator - Southwest Region Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah Lexi Hewitt is a certified K-12 school counselor and has a National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Certification (NCC). She has been a member of the NSA since 2019 and volunteers as the NSA Exton Adults & Family Chapter Leader, which she started in 2023, as well as the Regional Chapter Coordinator for the Southwest Region. One of her passions is creating content to help the stuttering community grow. She has taught Chapter Leaders how to use Canva, runs the NSA Exton social media pages, and creates content for the NSA! She loves singing along to Taylor Swift, nerding out about TV shows, and being a person who stutters.

< Back James Hayden Speaker James is a brother, son, friend, and person who stutters from the New Orleans area. He is the author of Dear World, I Stutter: A Series of Open Letters from a Person Who Stutters. His work has been published by numerous outlets and organizations. He’s also presented at numerous universities and conferences. Outside of stuttering advocacy, he enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with loved ones, and consuming way too much Survivor related content. Previous Next

< Back Cha Holmes Speaker Cha Holmes is the proud dad of Clint Holmes, who resides in Atlanta, GA, with his beautiful wife Rebecca and their daughter Hollis. Previous Next

Join the Mt. Pleasant - Adult stuttering support group. Connect with others, share experiences, and access resources through the National Stuttering Association. Mt. Pleasant ADULT CHAPTER IN-PERSON MEETINGS SOUTHEAST REGION Official NSA Chapter - South Carolina State Welcome to the NSA Mt. Pleasant Chapter! The National Stuttering Association’s® motto: If You Stutter, You’re Not Alone®, is what our NSA Chapters are all about! Chapter meetings are open to people who stutter, family members of people who stutter, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and anyone that wants to learn more about stuttering. Feel free to reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) to find out more about our chapter. We hope you will join us! How do you typically meet? In-Person Meetings What age group can attend? Adult What languages are spoken? English How much does it cost? Free! Meetings Here is information on the location and schedule of our meetings. Reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) for more information! Where? Panera Bread at the Tanger Outlets -- 5070 International Blvd Charleston, SC 29418 When? Meetings are held on the 1st Thursday of each month from 6:30-8:00PM Chapter Leaders Who leads the meetings? Mark Trifone Chapter Leader Get in touch! Marktrifone52@gmail.com (203) 914-7097 - Questions? We know that attending your first NSA Chapter meeting might be a little intimidating so we’ve tried to answer some of your questions! We know once you get there, you’ll be greeted by Chapter Leaders who have been in your shoes before and are happy to welcome you! ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. Testimonials Read more about the power of chapters and support groups from NSA members themselves! "When I attended my first conference in 2019. I was welcomed into this "stamily" with open arms and haven't left the bear hug since!" Lexi Hewitt Exton, PA Chapter "Other people who stutter are the best sources of support, love, and encouragement on your journey. Don't be afraid to reach out, no matter what stage you're at." Gina Waggott Author, Entrepreneur "This community has helped me rediscover myself as a confident and capable person who stutters." John Ontiveros Lorem, CA Chapter

Learn how Glenn Foster,a person who stutters, achieved career success. Get inspired by their journey. Systems Analyst Glenn Foster Briefly describe your daily job duties. I’m a systems analyst at The MITRE Corporation which is a non-profit group of federally funded research and development centers. I work on projects supporting the Federal Aviation Administration modeling the National Airspace System, analyzing future bottlenecks at airports and performing benefits analysis for planned airspace and airports improvements. Our research products are briefings and technical reports. I have worked at MITRE for 21 years. As a person who stutters, share the most challenging part of your job. As a person who stutters, I have always been extra anxious when delivering briefings. Giving briefings is an important part of my job where I communicate our work to an internal audience, federal sponsors, and sometimes at an aviation conference. My stuttering varies from day to day. I always try to take my time and say all that I want to say but it is challenging when there is a large audience. Over the years I have learned to be more open and accepting of my stuttering. Did you self-disclose your stuttering during the job hiring process? If so, how did you do it and how do you currently disclose your stuttering to unsuspecting co-workers? I did not self-disclose my stuttering during the job hiring process. Part of me now being more open about my stuttering is I’ve talked with my managers about it and they have been very supportive. My managers tell me I’m an effective communicator and that feels good. I sometimes “advertise” – disclose that I am a person who stutters – as I start to give a presentation. I often try to insert humor into my disclosure which relaxes me and seems to help the audience become more engaged. Describe how stuttering makes you a better, more valued contributor at work. I feel stuttering has helped me become a very good listener and that helps me be a good team member on projects because my listening skills translate into having an eye for detail. Also, I take extra pride in my briefings and spend more time preparing my slides and formulating a clear explanation of our projects. What is your proudest moment at your current company? (Does not have to be related to stuttering.) I joined Toastmasters to help me become more comfortable with my stuttering during presentations. I once entered a humorous speech contest in our Toastmasters club and won 3 rounds of competitions. The final round was in a large auditorium in front of 200 people. I didn’t place in the top 3 in that final round, but I was very proud to have gone through that experience. Throughout the contest rounds I found myself being more driven to win, rather than worry about my stuttering. That feeling was new to me and was only possible due to my avoidance reduction speech therapy. What are your long-term career aspirations? I am in the twilight of my professional career and thinking about retirement so my long-term aspirations are post-retirement. I have always loved spending time with children and hope to find a volunteer opportunity with them. Now that I am more open with my stuttering, I would also like to help children who stutter in some way. I have always enjoyed comedy and really enjoy working on my humorous speeches for Toastmasters so maybe I can continue that. What’s your best advice for people who stutter just entering the workplace and for those in a career striving to achieve greater success? I advise people to be as open as they can with their stuttering. I have found that my management has been very supportive when I have talked about my stuttering challenges and hopefully that would be true in most workplaces. Being open with your stuttering allows you to put more concentration on the content of the work and less on stuttering. I used to, and sometimes still do, attempt to speak while at the same time doing mental gymnastics trying to hide my stuttering. It can be exhausting! So, if you have an opportunity to disclose your stuttering from the beginning please do it. You can be an effective communicator and stutter at the same time.

< Back Evan Jordan Speaker Evan Jordan is a graduate student in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and is a person who stutters. He enjoys participating in the stuttering community, and has been a co-chapter leader for the Lafayette NSA Chapter for the past year. He intends on pursuing a career in speech therapy and counseling using the experience he has gained through his own path to stuttering acceptance. In his free time, he likes to create, including drawing and working in landscaping. Previous Next

Join the Visalia - Kids stuttering support group. Connect with others, share experiences, and access resources through the National Stuttering Association. Visalia KIDS CHAPTER IN-PERSON MEETINGS SOUTHWEST REGION Official NSA Chapter - California State Welcome to the NSA Visalia Kids Chapter! The National Stuttering Association’s® motto: If You Stutter, You’re Not Alone®, is what our NSA Chapters are all about! Chapter meetings are open to people who stutter, family members of people who stutter, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and anyone that wants to learn more about stuttering. Feel free to reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) to find out more about our chapter. We hope you will join us! How do you typically meet? In-Person Meetings What age group can attend? Kids What languages are spoken? English How much does it cost? Free! Meetings Here is information on the location and schedule of our meetings. Reach out to the Chapter Leader(s) for more information! Where? Visalia Hearing Center 2316 W. Whitendale Ave #A Visalia, CA 93277 When? Meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 5:30 PM. Meetings will resume in January 2026. Chapter Leaders Who leads the meetings? Stacy Patterson Chapter Leader Get in touch! spattersonnsa@gmail.com 559-303-2846 - Questions? We know that attending your first NSA Chapter meeting might be a little intimidating so we’ve tried to answer some of your questions! We know once you get there, you’ll be greeted by Chapter Leaders who have been in your shoes before and are happy to welcome you! ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. Testimonials Read more about the power of chapters and support groups from NSA members themselves! "When I attended my first conference in 2019. I was welcomed into this "stamily" with open arms and haven't left the bear hug since!" Lexi Hewitt Exton, PA Chapter "Other people who stutter are the best sources of support, love, and encouragement on your journey. Don't be afraid to reach out, no matter what stage you're at." Gina Waggott Author, Entrepreneur "This community has helped me rediscover myself as a confident and capable person who stutters." John Ontiveros Lorem, CA Chapter

< Back Jacqueline Toscano Speaker Jacqueline Toscano, SLP.D. CCC-SLP, is a bilingual (Spanish/English) speech-language pathologist at Mass General Hospital in Boston, MA. She specializes in stuttering, cluttering, fluency disorders, and multilingual language development. Jacqueline teaches graduate students at the MGH IHP. Previous Next