Today, James sits down for a timely conversation with celebrated soccer coach Scott Martin. In addition to a decades-long career in, and advocacy for, the game of soccer, Scott has also worked as an advocate for the disability community. He shares with James the story of his experience with disability as an amputee, his love of soccer, and how he pushed through the challenges in life to pursue his dreams. You don't want to miss this conversation, especially if you're a soccer fan. You can read more about his story in his book, Play From Your Heart.

Today, Mai Ling sits down for an in-depth discussion about how to get outside investment for your disability-focused ventures with husband-and-wife entrepreneur team, Rich and Brittany Palmer. Leaning into their previous experiences with the startup world and the disability community, they founded Adaptation Ventures, a pioneering pre-seed fund and investor community dedicated to fueling tech innovation in disability, neurodivergence, and accessibility. Brittany and Rich share their individual stories, what brought their paths together, and how they have joined forces to help founders tap into venture capital and angel investment to fund their ventures. They clarify investment lingo, share tips and tricks, and more in this conversation.

Our hosts kick off this episode with some important tips and information for folks working in the disability community. This is followed by a fascinating discussion between Mai Ling and our guest, Joyce Ko, who joins the show to talk about her experiences as a disabled clinician. Joyce shares her very personal story of a traumatic brain injury as a child and the journey that led her to a career as a speech-language pathologist. She is transparent about the challenges she faced post-injury, both in her educational career and in daily life, but she refused to allow them to hinder her.

Today, James shares a great conversation with Dr. Kirk Adams, PhD, with us on the podcast. Kirk Adams is the founder of Innovative Impact LLC, through which he consults with corporate clients on diversity, inclusivity, and equity with a focus on the employment of people with disabilities. James talks with him about his own experience with blindness, the struggles he faced to enter the workforce, and how that led him to his work of advocacy for employment for people with disabilities.

Our guest for today's episode of the Xceptional Leaders podcast is one who undoubtedly exemplifies that label, Dr. Tamer Abou-Elsaad. He is a professor of Phoniatrics at Mansoura University in Mansoura, Egypt. He joins Mai Ling for a conversation to share the story of how he built a medical specialty from nothing in his country. He also talks about why Egyptian insurance covers 12 speech therapy sessions per month, his efforts to stop unlicensed practitioners from treating patients, and explains exactly what phoniatrics is. And he tells how hearing one lecture put him on a course to make a difference in his chosen field of study.

Samantha Elandary has worked exclusively with individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's and related disorders since 1999, and for our first episode of 2026, she joins the show to talk with James about her work. She is the founder of the Parkinson Voice Project, and she shares how she built a non-profit from her kitchen table, explains the difference between speaking with intent versus automatic speech, and gives some tips for those who are starting their own disability-focused business.

For our final episode of 2025, Mai Ling and James revisit some of the highlights from the past year of excellent guests. They go over the top takeaways from all of the exceptional leaders who have appeared on the show to share their expertise and experience with our community. This great retrospective will remind you of all the great info we've heard and perhaps entice you to re-listen to some of your favorite shows from 2025.

Dr. Rachel Khasky-Levy is our guest for today's episode of Xceptional Leaders. She is the CEO and co-founder of The Babel Group, and she brings her passion for connecting technology and clinical practice to this conversation with Mai Ling. They discuss the necessity and value of wearing multiple hats in a startup, encourage the listener to go ahead and ask the "dumb" questions, and comment on the fact that sometimes leaders need to blaze a new trail. Don't miss this informative chat with Dr. Levy!