#20 Stuttering Rockstar with Pamela Mertz

Guest Bio:  Pamela Mertz hid her stuttering for close to 30 years. People closest to her did not know she stuttered because she hid it so well. "Avoidance" was her preferred way of hiding. For years, Pam intentionally chose to not speak up, get involved and let her "Real Pam" out. Then, in 2006 she was fired from a 20+ year job due to stuttering. That was her "rock bottom" moment, and she decided to reclaim herself, her voice, and her true identity as a person who stutters. She finally embraced her stuttering self and no longer engages in the exhausting practice of trying to hide. Pam's open authenticity has had a reciprocal result: when she openly stutters, she invites others to be open about their "thing" and deeper conversations happen and strong relationships are built. Pam has facilitated many workshops on covert stuttering and women who stutter, locally and around the world. Pamela Mertz is a person who stutters and is actively involved in the global stuttering community. She holds numerous positions of leadership including: Board of Directors, National Stuttering Association Country leader, 50 Million Voices (international employment advocacy group) Blogger, https://stutterrockstar.com Podcaster, "Women Who Stutter: Our Stories." Past: Board, International Stuttering Association Host, "Stutter Social" (for close to six years)   Resources and Links: NSA Pamela Mertz Website Host Bio: Uri Schneider, M.A. CCC -SLP passionately explores and develops practical ways for us to create our own success story. Delivering personalized experiences of communication care informed by leading professionals and influencers, Uri is re-imagining the next-level of speech-language therapy for people to benefit in real life. Uri Schneider, M.A. CCC -SLP is co-founder and leader at Schneider Speech Pathology and faculty at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine. For more, visit www.schneiderspeech.com