“Emily’s talk exceeded our expectations! She makes the topic of disability inclusion approachable, clear, and direct. Sharing her own stories brought the conversation and principles to life. We had excellent questions and engagement from our attendees. The biggest takeaway was that everyone should read Emily’s book!”
Lori Samuels Accessibility Director, NBCUniversal Media
“We were so thrilled to have Emily join us for ‘Expanding Perspectives.’ This conversation was extremely important for our Nasdaq audience as they embark on their diversity and equity journey. We received over a dozen audience questions and had over 250 employees tune in to listen to the session. This was an amazing turnout. It seemed like our employees really wanted to talk about the subject, and Emily gave them such a welcoming attitude, and a great platform to do so. We are incredibly grateful for Emily’s time, experience and authenticity.”
Hannah Goodfriend Diversity, Equity & Culture Analyst, Nasdaq
“Emily’s extensive knowledge of disability rights advocacy combined with her ability to engage audiences in a meaningful way is why we’ve had her speak at three different events in 2020. She first spoke to participants of The Arc of Texas Partners in Disability Leadership Program, which trains professionals working in the intellectual and developmental disabilities field in Texas on how to be effective stewards of the disability rights movement and leaders within their agencies and organizations. She was a keynote speaker at our annual inclusive education conference for teachers, school administrators, and other education professionals. She is such an enjoyable speaker that we booked her again for our annual local chapter conference to present on the importance of storytelling and advocacy. Emily’s strength is in meeting her audience where they are. She communicates clearly and with kindness, and her presentation style helps participants feel comfortable sharing what they’ve learned with others. Texas now has better disability rights advocates because of Emily’s knowledge, passion, and style. We highly recommend Emily, and are looking forward to working with her again soon.”
Ginger Mayeaux, MSSW
Director of Public Policy & Advocacy, The Arc of Texas
“Emily was a speaker on the Social Media/New Media Panel at the 4th Annual Disability & Change Symposium: Representation in the Arts and Media at Temple University. The audience included undergraduates, faculty, scholars, and community members. Emily spoke to self-representation using social media, including advocacy, building community, and influencing policy. She also discussed “inspiration porn” — reducing people with disabilities to pity-inspired emotional appeals. Emily gave equal time to the reality of trolls, the need to make thoughtful decisions about transparency and revealing yourself in the online public square, and the need for self-protection and self-care. Emily self-discloses in a quick, clever, forthright, and energetic manner. Her words and style were particularly resonant with the audience for this event.”
Kate Fialkowski, Director of Academic Programs
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
“Emily’s speaking engagement was approachable and meaningful for us and our employees. We’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response to the event. Emily was so fantastic to work with – the fact that she took time to speak with our employees while they were having their books signed meant so much.”
Allison G.
DEI Manager
“Emily moderated a panel of self-advocates at a Self-Advocacy Forum hosted by UJA-Federation of New York in December. Her passion, charm, wit, and thoughtfulness were apparent throughout the panel, both with her own contributions as a panelist as well as her role as moderator. Emily is an engaging, dynamic presenter with a keen awareness for her audience as well as her co-presenters, and as such she was able to seamlessly transition between panelists with very different experiences and points of view, while keeping the presentation unified and relevant. We would be delighted to have Emily come back to present any time; it was an absolute pleasure working with her, and she was an extremely important and engaging contributor to our program.”
Meredith Zylberberg, LMSW
Planner, UJA-Federation of New York
“Emily never fails to provide a meaningful and motivating presentation to New Jersey’s Partners in Policymaking classes. She leaves a lasting impact as she teaches participants about advocacy using content that honors history, weaves in her personal story and professional expertise, and engages the audience. The information she shares about the use of social media in advocacy and promotion of disability rights is thought-provoking and powerful. She encouraged everyone to think deeply about the negative impact of sharing posts that invoke pity over empowerment (e.g. inspiration porn) and ways to effectively create a movement using the technology available to us today.”
Colleen McLaughlin, MEd, Associate Director
The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
“Emily speaks to our occupational therapy students in their last semester before they head out for their internships and then their careers. She is so thoughtful. Couched in humor and using poignant examples, Emily talks about the powerful relationship between a client and their OT. She talks about her life, not her disability. Students are free to ask questions. No topics are taboo so the discussion does get a bit lively. The time just flies!”
Anita Perr, PhD, OT, ATP, FAOTA, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University
“When I coach educators and school leaders about how to be responsive to disabled students, I talk about the importance of being both empathetic and candid in their approach. Emily’s presentation modeled that with such depth of purpose, and adults and children alike responded to the safe space she held for their learning. And learn they did! This went way beyond awareness of Emily’s particular disability – her powerful narrative about how everyone can advocate will change the world one candid question at a time.”
Danielle Shylit
Educational Leader