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< Back Mitch Guerra Keynote Speaker Mitch Guerra, a Waco native, graduate of Texas A&M University, and recipient of a master’s degree from Dallas Baptist University, stands as a passionate advocate for students navigating diverse challenges. As a person who stutters, Mitch shares an authentic and engaging message of perseverance, inclusivity, and hope. Currently serving as an elementary P.E. teacher and tennis coach, Mitch encourages young people to embrace active lifestyles while discovering the value in their own stories. He believes that every challenge—whether personal, physical, or emotional—can be a stepping stone toward growth. Mitch’s story reached a national audience as a contestant on Survivor 48, where he proudly represented the stuttering community and demonstrated that authenticity and competitiveness can go hand in hand. Through his journey, both on and off the island, Mitch continues to inspire others to embrace their obstacles, own their experiences, and reshape how they see themselves and the world around them. Previous Next

< Back Chyncia Smith Speaker Chyncia Smith has stuttered since she was five years old. Up until 2021, she spent most of her life letting stuttering tell her what to do. Since then, she’s been learning how to appreciate the unique quality of stuttering she possesses. She’s grateful for the rich community stuttering has ushered her into and continues to learn from and build connections with the many people within that community. Her varied background includes time spent in accounting, the outdoor adventure industry, athletics, writing and mentorship. Ever since attending her first NSA event, she’s been blessed and encouraged by the amazing and world-wide community of people who stutter. Previous Next

Join the New Haven - Adult stuttering support group. Connect with others, share experiences, and access resources through the National Stuttering Association. New Haven ADULT HYBRID MEETINGS NORTHEAST REGION Official NSA Chapter - Connecticut State Welcome to the NSA New Haven 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? Hybrid Meeting 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? Southern Connecticut State University – HHS Building (493 Fitch Street New Haven, CT 06514) and also online via Zoom. Parking is available in the Fitch Street garage in the ‘clinic’ spaces on the street level. Meetings are in Room 239 on the 2nd floor of the HHS building. When? Meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month* from 6:30-8:00PM. *Email to confirm meeting date, as some months meeting may change based on the university schedule. Chapter Leaders Who leads the meetings? Alida Engel & Danette Fitzgerald Chapter Leaders Get in touch! alidaengel@sbcglobal.net , opticschic4@gmail.com - https://www.facebook.com/NSANewHaven 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 Sam Jacobson Speaker Sam Jacobson has been involved in the NSA since 2010. Now based in Pittsburgh, he previously lived in Chicago, Cleveland, and Columbus — where he valued the sense of community fostered by each city’s local NSA chapter. Professionally, Sam works as a software engineer in banking. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, music, writing, running, reading, and hiking Previous Next

< Back Stacey Nierman Speaker Stacey is a mom to three children, ages six, nine, and twelve. Her nine-year-old son is a person who stutters. She is a teacher and feels passionate about helping all people embrace who they are. Stacey had been looking for a local stuttering community for several years. Last summer, she attended the NSA’s National Conference in St. Louis and was blown away by the support for families. She found herself embraced by parents who experienced the same wide range of emotions she did, and she felt hope for her son’s future. Her son could stutter freely, surrounded by people of all ages who stuttered. Stacey lives in the Kansas City metro area and helped co-found the KC Area Family Chapter last fall. She aims to connect, support, and educate in a judgment-free zone. Previous Next

Join the Wayne - Adult stuttering support group. Connect with others, share experiences, and access resources through the National Stuttering Association. Wayne ADULT CHAPTER IN-PERSON MEETINGS NORTHEAST REGION Official NSA Chapter - New Jersey State Welcome to the NSA Wayne 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? Wayne Public Library - 461 Valley Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470 Preakness Room (In back by Reference Desk) When? Meetings are held on 1st Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 7:30PM EST. **Our January 2026 meeting will be held on the 2nd Thursday, January 8th! See you then!** Chapter Leaders Who leads the meetings? Matthew Reis Chapter Leader Get in touch! mreis221@gmail.com 862-226-3867 - 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 Riverside - Family stuttering support group. Connect with others, share experiences, and access resources through the National Stuttering Association. Riverside - Family FAMILY CHAPTER IN-PERSON MEETINGS SOUTHWEST REGION Official NSA Chapter - California State Welcome to the NSA Riverside Family 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? Family 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? Cal Baptist University Health Science Campus – Room #A7 3532 Monroe Street Riverside, CA 92504 When? Meetings are held from 5:00-6:30PM on the 3rd Sunday of the following months: September, November, January, March, May, July. Please RSVP if you plan to attend. Chapter Leaders Who leads the meetings? Cynthia Sandoval, Bryce Jacobson & Johanna Pulliam Chapter Leaders Get in touch! nsariversidefam@gmail.com (951) 347-1691 - 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 David Resnick,a person who stutters, achieved career success. Get inspired by their journey. Manager, Product Design David Resnick Briefly describe your daily job duties. I manage the Enterprise Product Design team at Hulu where I oversee the design of apps and services for Hulu’s Ad Platform, Content Management System, Customer Support, and Data & Analytics. I represent my team within my department leadership as well as with initiatives in other areas of the company. I keep my team running smoothly, facilitating a culture of open communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. Hands-on design is also part of my work, which entails figuring out how people can use our apps better and improving upon the look and feel for the Hulu brand. As a person who stutters, share the most challenging part of your job. Although I’m told that I do well in presentations and meetings, it is still terrifying when I open my mouth to speak in those situations. That fear has decreased over the years by gaining more experience, and also through the support of my stuttering community. I’m in a position where I have to do a lot of talking with business leaders and team members and I want them to have trust and confidence in me. It’s important to show them what I have to offer and not let my stuttering keep me from that. Did you self-disclose your stuttering during the job hiring process? Yes, I self-disclosed. I did so in the context of bringing up my work with Stutter Social and the National Stuttering Association. It’s a unique thing for most people to hear about and they always want to hear more. Self-disclosing lets others know that you’re not hiding and that you’re comfortable talking about stuttering. I’ve found this puts them at more ease, which in turn puts you more at ease! Describe how stuttering makes you a better, more valued contributor at work. No doubt about it, stuttering has made me a more compassionate person. I’m a better listener in terms of giving people the time and space to say what they need to say. And I can establish empathy faster because EVERYONE has “something” in their lives that has caused them pain, shame, embarrassment, struggle, etc. When people see me with my “something” on clear display, they open up more quickly about themselves and this helps build professional relationships. What is your proudest moment at your current company? My proudest moment was when I got promoted to manager. I was so excited I had to walk around the block a few times just to let the energy out! About two years earlier, I was laid off from a company whose private equity owners decided to take the company in a different direction. It was a big blow because things were going well for me. I had two young kids and it just came out of the blue. It knocked me off my feet for a bit. But, I decided I was going to see the opportunity in the situation. I worked diligently to up-level my career from that point, first as the lead designer at a known startup, and then as a senior designer at Hulu. When the manager promotion came around, it was like the completion of a two-year cycle of my hard work paying off. What are your long-term career aspirations? I want to uplift people’s hearts and minds through art, technology, and unconditional love. I don’t know how that will play out in my career and I don’t put limits on the possibilities. VP of Product Design? Inventor of new technology? Performing artist (with said new technology)? Writer and speaker? CEO of Hulu????? 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 have a whole lot to say about this topic and it has little to do with stuttering. To summarize, I’ll give you the “Three P’s”: Personality, Preparedness, and Positioning. Personality is a major factor in how others perceive and relate to you and also how you see yourself. Personality determines things like the opportunities you pursue and what people you attract to support you in your endeavors. Preparedness is about what you have done to date that makes you capable of doing the work you’re seeing to get a job doing. You’ve got to be prepared! This includes education, training, and work experience—and this also includes work ethics like persistence, diligence, and awareness. Positioning is the fusing together of personality with preparedness to put yourself in the best position to get the right job and follow the right career path for you. It’s probably the easiest of the Three P’s to do, but it requires that you get the other Two P’s right first. And to do it well, you need an understanding of your industry, market, peers, and professional network.

Learn how Wladimir Lyra,a person who stutters, achieved career success. Get inspired by their journey. Assistant Professor Wladimir Lyra Briefly describe your daily job duties. Planning, running, and interpreting computer simulations of astrophysical theories. Communicating my discoveries with my peers through scientific articles and talks, teaching undergraduate and PhD level classes. Mentoring graduate students on their research. Writing proposals for research money. Meetings with faculty peers and communicating with the general public via public talks and popular science articles. As a person who stutters, share the most challenging part of your job. Initially it was about giving talks, but that became second nature around the transition from PhD student to postdoctoral researcher. Now I give talks with ease. What is still challenging sometimes is talking to higher-ups who hold power over me. And at times also doing the occasional round table of “everybody introduce yourself” impromptu thing. Wouldn’t call it challenging, but certainly unpleasant. 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 students? I did, in the diversity statement: “This is perhaps the part I feel I am making myself the most vulnerable in this coming out essay [I had already addressed being Latino and non-straight], I disclose that I stutter. The disfluency is mild (as evaluated by speech and language pathologists) and not classified as a disability, or even a speech difference. Still, I am constantly in speech therapy to keep it in check. It does not affect my teaching, but I still open the first class of every course by saying ‘Before we continue, let’s get something out of the way. I have been speaking for 20 minutes now, you probably noticed it already: I stutter. It’s not that I’m nervous, it’s not that I’m looking for the word in English, it’s just the way I speak. I am comfortable with it, and I hope you are too.’ So far, it has been a complete non-issue.’” Describe how stuttering makes you a better, more valued contributor at work. I grew up with relatives telling me that there was stuff I couldn’t do because of it. If I had believed them, I would not have accomplished half of what I have done. If anything, my stutter makes me work harder because I knew it could be in the way of my goals. This experience helps me understand ableism. Perhaps because of it, I will be the first to tell a deaf student or a student in a wheelchair that their disabilities are not insurmountable obstacles to becoming a scientist. What is your proudest moment at your current company? Mentoring is my greatest source of pride. Helping students develop their true potential is priceless. I’m also proud to get federal research grants and publish influential results. What’s your best advice for people who stutter just entering the workplace and for those in a career striving to achieve greater success? Keep in mind that people are not as judgmental of our speech as we think they are. Insecurity, not stuttering, is your worst enemy. A moment of stuttering does not overrule a lifetime of successes, including those that got you the job. Nothing good comes out of trying to hide it. It’s not something you should feel shame about it. Don’t let it define you but wear it with pride, like we do in the LGBT community, and it can only positively affect your sense of worth.

Learn how Jonah Otis,a person who stutters, achieved career success. Get inspired by their journey. Senior Manager Jonah Otis Briefly describe your daily job duties. I’ve had several roles during my tenure at PayPal. Currently, I am responsible for learning and development, employee experience, and people business operations across PayPal’s technology platforms and infrastructure teams. That means I look after how our employees learn and grow, how our managers can best support their teams, and helping to ensure we’re building an inclusive workplace. As a person who stutters, share the most challenging part of your job. Definitely public speaking. I have a mild stutter and I’m prone to fluctuations in my fluency depending on the circumstances. The most challenging part of my job is usually when I’m anxious about something I’m working on and need to present it to a group. Sometimes I’m so focused on my fluency that I forget the flow of information I’m trying to communicate. In other words, when the message can get lost because the stutter has stolen all my energy. How supported at work do you feel by your co-workers, supervisor(s) and the company itself? I feel very supported, but not in an intentional way. I’ve spent most of my tenure at PayPal as a covert stutterer, and I never self-disclosed despite the fact that I know people can see and hear my stutter. Not once have I felt that I was not welcome or not included because of my stutter, and I’ve never been told that my stutter is a hinderance to my ability to do my job. 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 did not self-disclose my stuttering during the hiring process, and I kept it to myself for the next 14 years. Of course, I knew that people could see my facial contortions, blocks, clenching, etc., and hear prolongations, repetitions, and pauses in my speech. But I didn’t want to acknowledge it. That was, until an executive leader approached me about talking to his son, who also stutters. That unexpected request sent me on my own journey to self-disclosure and involvement with the stuttering community. Since then, I’ve been very open about my stutter, even mentioning it during public presentations I’ve given. PayPal has also publicly featured me in social media where I disclose that I’m a person who stutters. Describe how stuttering makes you a better, more valued contributor at work. While the disadvantages of stuttering are obvious, no one really talks about how it can be a superpower. In the competitive, fast-paced world of corporate America, stuttering gives me the superpowers of vulnerability and relationship-building. It goes without saying that as a stutterer, I’m vulnerable. But that vulnerability allows other people to let their guard down with me and be more open and honest. That openness leads to better ideas, innovation, and willingness to cooperate and collaborate. I’ve built a lot of relationships over the years which have helped me achieve professional goals. From a neurodiversity standpoint, being a stutterer has given me perspective on products, features, and usability that neurotypical people might not necessarily have. This helps when I am developing my own programs, helping to drive change in an organization, or supporting a product launch or test. What’s your best advice for people who stutter just entering the workplace and for those in a career striving to achieve greater success? My best advice is to self-disclose, own your stutter, and join a local NSA chapter for support. I can’t emphasize enough how much those things have changed my life for the better. Self-disclosure can be very hard but knowing that I have a community behind me makes all the difference. When we self-disclose and own our stutter, we disarm detractors and find our allies. We also neutralize some of our anxiety related to stuttering at work, taking away the worry about colleagues finding out that we stutter. I also recommend learning about the neurodiversity movement; the perspective that it offers helped me to see the value in being a stutterer.

< Back Tatum Machnica Speaker Tatum was born, raised, and currently resides in Huntsville, Alabama. She received her Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and her Master's degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) She currently works for a government contracting company, providing Systems Engineering support to the Army. Tatum’s passion is supporting the warfighter and she enjoys the hands on approach that engineering provides. When she’s not working or hanging out with friends you can find her teaching Pure Barre, attending HIIT classes, cycling, running, reading, or traveling with her husband. Tatum’s first NSA conference was in 2018, where the NSA community quickly became family. She is so grateful and excited to serve on the NSA Young Adults Committee. Previous Next

< Back David Alpuche Speaker David Alpuche is a photographer and author from Mexico City. He has been an active member of the NSA for more than a decade. He is one of the leaders in To Be Like Me, a non-profit dedicated to breaking down the barriers that exist for those with disabilities and shedding light on the positive impact of compassion. You can usually catch David playing chess, trying to learn a new language, or in the moshpit at a metal festival. David is the author of the book "1000 Answers: What Everyone Should Know about Stuttering." Previous Next