Gavin Zilvasi is the founder and chairman of the Tia Maria Foundation. He's also a freshman in college at Villanova University. Gavin talks about his early challenges with speech, the impact of bullying, and the mental resilience he developed. The Tia Maria Foundation supports students in Elizabeth, New Jersey and is awarding its first scholarship at the foundation's upcoming gala on February 28, which you can learn about here.

Ben Miller is a videographer and person who stutters. Ben spent most of his childhood in speech therapy. His mother is a speech-language pathologist.

Maya met Ben at Sundance at the Proud Stutter event during the Festival. They both saw Ricky, which ended up winning the Jury Grant Prize for Best Director.

How does a stutter impact one's personality? This is just one of the many questions Ben and Maya dissect in a thought provoking conversation between two media artists who stutter. They explore the challenges of editing stuttering in media and reflect on how stuttering shapes their communication and artistic expression.

We’re grateful to Ben for sharing their story with us. Check out his reel of an art show he created here.

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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Matt Didisheim, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.

Learn more about Proud Stutter's impact campaign for its film project at proudstutter.org/impact

Do you know someone who stutters? Fill out Proud Stutter's survey here.

If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift at https://bit.ly/3xLezBk.

Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.

Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.

Cody Dew is a professor, researcher, and person who stutters. Cody's research focuses on how perceived communication skills influence stereotyping of people who stutter in the workplace. How can disclosing your stutter help? What are some strategies to make work environments more inclusive for people with speech differences?

Proud Stutter is going to Sundance! Join our creative team behind our upcoming documentary for a special event on January 25 at 5pm in Park City featuring award-winning filmmaker Reid Davenport (I DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE and LIFE AFTER). Get your free tickets today before they sell out!

In this episode

Dave Rodriguez is an experimental filmmaker who stutters. He made his way into filmmaking through the Miami punk scene and his areas of interest include the intersection of stuttering and experimental film. Dave explores the influence of generational trauma and neurological research on his films, notably 'Tartamudeo' and 'Disfluency Circuit.' Both Maya and Dave delve into the unique aesthetic choices in representing stuttering on screen, the challenges of academia, and impactful works by other filmmakers with disabilities, including Reid Davenport with his film I Didn't See You There.

Dave's Films

For T A R T A M U D E O (2019): https://vimeo.com/video/336718520

For Dysfluency Circuit (2024): https://vimeo.com/video/926613463

*For the password to watch Dysfluency Circuit, email info@proudstutter.org.

Reid's Films

-Check out Reid's IMDB page here.

We’re grateful to Dave for sharing his story with us.

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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Dustin Wells, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.

Learn more about Proud Stutter's impact campaign for its film project at proudstutter.org/impact

If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift at https://bit.ly/3xLezBk.

Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.

Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.

Kurt Kessler is a class action attorney who stutters from San Francisco. Kurt is not the only member of his family who stutters. How did that impact him growing up? What's it like going through law school with a stutter? Kurt is currently doing advocacy work with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's nonprofit, which is aimed at improving positive outcomes for people who stutter.

Elisha Boxer Magnifico and David Catlin are both professors at Northwestern University. Together, the developed "Break The Blocks," an improv program developed at the university to help build confidence in young people who stutter. They delve into the program’s conception, its structure, and the profound positive impact it has had on participants, parents, and student leaders.

For anyone interested in signing up for the improv workshop, they can either call: 847-491-3165, email NUCASLL at nucasll@northwestern.edu, or email Elisha directly at elisha.magnifico@northwestern.edu.

The flyer can be found at this google drive link.

We’re grateful to Elisha and David for sharing their story with us.

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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Dustin Wells, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.

Learn more about Proud Stutter's impact campaign for its film project at proudstutter.org/impact

If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift at https://bit.ly/3xLezBk.

Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.

Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.

Puneet Singh is a disability inclusion advocate with personal experiences of stuttering, dyslexia, and dyspraxia.

Puneet shares his challenges and triumphs, including the creation of his nonprofit and his latest initiative, Green Disability, focusing on the intersection of disability and climate change.

Open Call! Submit an essay for inclusion in “Still Speaking: A Collection of Essays on Navigating Life with Atypical Speech”

Follow Puneet on LinkedIn

Sign up for Puneet's newsletter.

More on Green Disability:

1.) https://www.caribbeanlife.com/climate-action-initiative-brings-together-disability-community-worldwide/

2.) https://www.youthxyouth.com/blog/how-a-delhi-heatwave-inspired-green-disability

3.) https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2023/10/healthcare-and-climate-change-a-tale-of-survival-with-disability/

In part 2 of our conversation with Raphael, we talk about our shared passion of filmmaking.

Raphael shares his journey in photography, his involvement with PBS Hawaii, and more creative projects.

We’re grateful to Raphael for sharing his story with us.

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Big thanks to Proud Stutter's recurring supporters: Jennifer Bolen, Jerry Slaff, Josh Compton, Pablo Meza, Dustin Wells, Alexandra Mosby, Ingo Helbig, Jonathan Reiss, Paige McGill, Wayne Engebretson, Swathy Manavalan, and Martha Horrocks.

PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY - FIRST 20 PEOPLE TO REGISTER WILL GET TICKETS TO OUR INVITE ONLY EVENT IN LA. BUY THEM HERE.

If you can become a monthly donor at $10 or more, we’ll give you access to ad-free episodes and bonus Proud Stutter+ content as a token of our thanks! Make your tax deductible gift at https://bit.ly/3xLezBk.

Proud Stutter is proudly fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media.

Want to lean more about what Proud Stutter has to offer? Sign up here to stay in the loop and take advantage of our upcoming events, actions, and educational materials.