Podcast Summary: TranscendingX #74 — Advocating for People Who Stutter with Maya Chupkov

Podcast: TranscendingX - Raw Conversations and Practical Tips to Break Through Stuttering
Host: Uri Schneider
Guest: Maya Chupkov – Writer, Storyteller, Public Relations Expert, and Host of Proud Stutter
Release Date: May 30, 2022
Episode: #74
Theme: Advocacy, safe spaces, and narrative change for people who stutter

Episode Overview

This episode honors National Stuttering Awareness Week by featuring Maya Chupkov, a dynamic advocate and creator of the Proud Stutter podcast. Uri and Maya engage in a candid conversation about breaking stigmas, advocating for people who stutter within and outside of professional environments, personal journeys of acceptance, and actionable paths to social change. The episode is rich with practical insights and heartfelt reflection on stuttering’s impact on identity, self-advocacy, and community.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Opening and Introduction

• Uri celebrates Maya’s work:
  “She is a force of nature, bringing impact and change on an individual level and on a social level...just having conversations that are worth having.” (00:41)
• Maya is described as a writer, storyteller, PR expert, and social justice advocate.

2. Personal and Professional Experience of Stuttering

• Maya shares candidly about her work life:
  • “My job really involves me talking all day and facilitating meetings...As a person who stutters...it's definitely a struggle.” (03:30)
  • Despite her openness about stuttering at work, she notes being misunderstood, especially outside her immediate organization. Societal speech norms are deeply ingrained and slow to shift.
• The double layer of challenges: internal self-judgment vs. external perception.

3. Creating Safe Spaces at Work (Practical Advocacy Tools)

• Maya proposes adaptations inspired by pronoun-sharing culture:
  • “I think we can do something else around speech or disability...like, here are my accommodations that I'm seeking today ...I have a stutter, it sometimes takes a little while for me to talk.” (09:03)
• Envisioning normalized inclusion/toolkit for all, not just people who stutter.

4. Journey through School and Early Years

• Childhood and teenage years were marked by avoidance:
  • “In middle school and high school, there were so many experiences I wanted to do, and I just didn't do them because I was afraid to stutter.” (11:35)
• Participation in non-speaking roles and performance arts (e.g., dance, choir) provided alternative outlets for self-expression.
• In college, Maya started to open up socially but still held back academically due to fear of public speaking.

5. Early Career and Professional Challenges

• Irony and growth in taking a PR job:
  • “The interview went really well...I must have not stuttered. Like, that was my mentality.” (14:39)
• As her career progressed, pressure increased—especially with tasks like cold-calling journalists in open-plan offices.
• Received ableist critiques: “You didn’t sound confident.” These microaggressions contributed to job changes and ultimately seeking work more aligned with her values.
• Traumatic experience in a state government job highlighted broader issues of gender and workplace abuse.

6. Connection & Solidarity

• Impactful moment of connecting with another coworker who stuttered:
  • “He called me and was like, I hear your stutter. And I just want to let you know...he opened up about his journey.” (20:09)

7. Self-acceptance and Advocacy: Inside and Out

• The importance of self-love as a foundation for advocacy:
  • Uri: “If you don’t have enough self-love...it's gotta start inside.” (22:00)
• Early memories of bullying in fourth grade and the lasting impact:
  • “Because I had a stutter, I was an easier target for bullies.” (23:05)

8. Building Inclusive Environments in Schools

• Maya’s suggestion:
  • “At a young age...have a conversation about stuttering with the class and start very young...That could go a long way.” (26:19)
• Stressing a light-hearted approach; the less a big deal is made of stuttering, the better.

9. The Power of Representation and Allyship

• Uri tells a story of two employees at a law firm connecting over their stuttering—showing how shared experience can create unlikely mentorships and breakdown isolation. (28:12)
• Maya underscores the role of allies:
  • “The more open it is, the more people are willing to—the more change we’ll see. If we’re just staying in our stuttering bubbles...we’re not going to shift hearts and minds.” (33:10)

10. Moments That Matter: Shifts in Acceptance

• Proud Stutter intentionally creates space for whatever pace people are ready for:
  • “It's not about forcing people to tell their stories. It's just allowing people to slowly have this deeper relationship with their stutter.” (34:42)
• On giving people the option to engage or just listen—no pressure.

11. Launching Proud Stutter: The Tipping Point

• Maya started the podcast to find a creative outlet, supported by her fiance and best friend, Cynthia (who serves as an ally and co-host):
  • “Once I started nurturing (my creativity), I became more confident as an artist...As soon as I started opening up about my stutter...it just went from being so hidden to just being out there, literally overnight.” (38:07 – 41:28)
• On not forcing others to join before they’re ready:
  • Uri: “You can’t push someone into the deep end of the pool...the way you’re doing it is just so, so classy.” (41:28)

12. Advocacy Beyond Podcasting: Policy Change

• Maya, along with fellow advocates, drafted and passed a stuttering awareness resolution at the San Francisco City Council:
  • “A local resolution...is such a powerful way to spread awareness in your own community...” (45:55)
• She has created a toolkit for other activists and is working with advocates in Denver and Australia.

13. The Evolving Stuttering Community

• Uri reflects on the mutual growth of the stuttering community and professionals:
  • “What I've seen evolve is really the mutual reaching out of the stuttering community to the professional community and vice versa.” (49:46)

14. Closing Reflections

• Maya’s dream message:
  • “Be proud and be you.” (52:04)
• Encouragement to check out both Proud Stutter and TranscendingX podcasts.

Memorable Quotes and Moments

• Maya: “I think so many of the norms around speech and stuttering is so ingrained in us as humans that sometimes it just takes time to really get people to understand stuttering.” (04:59)
• Uri: “If you don’t have enough self-love, you don’t regard yourself too highly, you’re going to treat everyone else like that...So that self-acceptance and then the advocacy.” (22:00)
• Maya: “It’s not about getting...forcing people to tell their stories. It’s just allowing people to slowly have this deeper relationship with their stutter.” (34:42)
• Maya (on inclusion): “If we’re just staying in our stuttering bubbles, we’re not going to shift hearts and minds that we need to feel safe as people who stutter.” (33:36)
• Maya’s sign-off mantra: “Be proud and be you.” (52:04)

Important Timestamps

• Host/Gust Introductions & Maya’s Bio — 00:30
• Maya’s current work challenges and internal/external obstacles — 03:26
• Creating inclusive workplace rituals — 08:32
• School experiences and holding back — 11:15 – 14:33
• Professional challenges in PR & Ableism — 14:33 – 19:51
• Community and workplace solidarity — 20:09
• Core of self-acceptance and advocacy — 22:00
• Early bullying and the need for early dialogue — 23:05 – 26:19
• Representation and shifting narratives — 28:12; 33:10
• Launching Proud Stutter — the inner and social journey — 38:07 – 41:28
• San Francisco resolution and national advocacy — 45:55
• Uri on the stuttering community’s evolution — 49:46
• Maya’s banner message/sign-off — 52:04

Tone and Language

The episode maintains an open, empathetic, and empowering tone. Both Uri and Maya share with honesty and vulnerability, modeling the very advocacy and mindset shifts they speak about. The conversation is practical, reflective, and fundamentally optimistic about the potential for change—both at the individual and societal levels.

For more resources and to connect with Maya and Uri:

• Proud Stutter podcast and toolkit: proudstutter.com
• TranscendingX podcast and community: transcendingx.com

“Be proud and be you.” — Maya Chupkov (52:04)