2026 Agenda
Our speakers share their lived experience of how identity, biology, and culture shape yours.
Neurodivergence looks different for every professional.
Keynote Speaker
Day 1 opener · 30-minute talk + 15-minute Q&A
Vivian Ip is a neurodiversity-affirming coach and educator. She has spent years guiding late-identified ADHD and autistic professionals who already have the label and the language but still can't figure out why work, relationships and life still feel so hard.
Her keynote goes past "what is masking" and into how culture, privilege, and professional adaptation built the identity you're now trying to untangle.
After her keynote you'll be able to tell which struggles are your wiring and which were trained into you so that you can stop spending energy fighting the wrong things.
Stop blaming yourself. Find what actually fits.
Vivian Ip
(She/Her)
Neurodiversity-affirming coach and educator
She explores "How was my identity constructed?" and "What can I do about that?"
Lightning Talks
8 minutes. One sharp, focused idea
Her talk looks at what happens when you stop hiding the parts of your brain that don't match the room. For Mahlena-Rae, that includes being an immigrant navigating a culture designed around someone else. For you, it might be neurodivergence plus something else entirely. You'll leave with a way to bring your real voice into the room and trust it.
Mahlena-Rae Johnson
(She/Her)
Conference Speaker Optimizer, Mr. J Media
Rachel's book, Perceptive, argues traits like heightened empathy and a strong sense of justice function as leadership assets, the kind that come with real challenges attached. Her talk makes the case that the qualities you've been masking to fit in are the ones your team, your family, and your future actually need from you.
Rachel Radway
(She/Her)
Leadership & Executive Coach, Principal of RER Coaching
Her talk, "Find the Friction," reframes recurring neurodivergent struggles as signals of a mismatch with your environment, not personal failure. For the reader who understands what they're supposed to do and can't work out why it doesn't stick, this relocates the problem from the person to the environment.
Brittany Carter
(She/Her)
Experience Design Strategist & Founder, Mostly Regulated
Her talk connects the dots between hormones, health, burnout, and cognitive capacity, then hands you the tools most people spend years searching for: how to identify the right formal accommodations, document and communicate them, and use workplace protections like FMLA during a burnout or symptom flare.
Subana Paramuthevar
(She/Her)
CEO/Founder - Olai Neuro
Workshop
A 30-minute session that teaches you the why behind your sensory experience, then has you try it live, right there in the room.
Modern spaces weren't designed for how human senses actually work. What you experience as too sensitive is your nervous system doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
From there, it gets complicated:
⇾ you don't know the specific sensory triggers already at play in your life,
⇾ you don't know when you're sensitive to one input while actively seeking another,
⇾ and you don't know how to explain what's happening, so you don't know how to ask for help.
Lacey designed her workshop around exactly that. She's the founder of Neuromix, where she researches how sound, light, smell, temperature, and physical space affect neurodivergent nervous systems, and translates that science into changes people can actually make.
Her workshop gives you the tools to finally see what's actually going on, including a twist most people don't expect. You'll leave with a concrete list: the objects, routines, and habits quietly working against your senses, and exactly what to change first.
Lacey Artemis
(She/They)
The Sensory Nerd, Founder Neuromix Consulting
Panel: Disability or Difference?
Three panelists and a moderator, live and unscripted. Each speaks from lived experience. No verdict. No conclusion. Just perspective.
Jen Bennett is a vocational evaluator, neurodivergent coach, advocate, and artist, and the founder of Pendulum Voc and The Autistic Cat. As an AuDHD practitioner navigating chronic illness, hormonal shifts, and a lifetime of masking, she speaks directly to the realities of workplace adaptation. She combines objective data with targeted coaching strategies to help people stop forcing themselves into jobs that weren't designed for their brains.
Revealed Soon...
(She/They)
Vocational Evaluator, Neurodivergent Coach, Advocate, and Artist | Pendulum Voc & The Autistic Cat
Dr. Tricia Diamond
(She/Her)
Founder, Diamond PMO Consultants
Jennifer "Jen" Bennett, MA, CRC, CVE
Is neurodivergence a superpower? To some, yes. To others, not even close, it's a disability. And you might land somewhere in the middle.
The goal of this panel isn't to change anyone's mind. It's to add perspective. The same brain that leads complex systems under pressure, spots patterns before anyone else, and stays locked into deep focus for hours can also carry something heavier, decades of masking, years spent wondering what was wrong with you, and workplace battles most people don't see.
Join us as three voices share three different lives. Maybe you'll see yourself in one of them.
Dr. Tricia Diamond is the founder of Diamond PMO Consultants. A dual U.S.-Dutch citizen, she spent 17 years in the Netherlands working across aerospace, education, and program management before returning to the United States to lead education and government project, program, and portfolio management. She came to understand her own neurodivergence later in life, after decades spent creating systems that worked precisely because of how her brain functions.
“I loved the talk on whether or not to disclose to employers. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable in this area, but I learned so much!”
— Neurodivergent professional, 2025 Summit Attendee
More Than Talks + A Workshop
✓ Two days of shared lived experience — real stories of navigating identity, biology, and culture in a world that works against your brain.
✓ Live Q&A with speakers — not a passive watch. You're in the room, and you can ask.
✓ Replay access — every session is yours to rewatch for 7 days, on your own schedule.
✓ The professional directory — a bonus of affirming coaches, providers, and spaces, yours to keep.
✓ Authentic Connection — curated time to meet with those who know and live your struggle.
✓ Giveaways — Sponsor giveaways throughout both days.
Join Us.
Discover how identity, biology, and culture shape your unique experience as a neurodivergent professional.
Leave with steps that enrich your work and life.
This is what we did last year
275+
16
Trusted voices
Registrants
The 2025 lineup
Belonging. Connection. Inclusion.
Keynote
"Creating Cultures of Neuroinclusion"
Pasha Marlowe
Panel discussion
"Making Communication Work for Every Brain"
Genie Love, Ambeka Khadse, Kendra Koch, Dr. Janice Castro
Workshop
"Empathy, Bridging the Gap"
Eva Vega
Lightning talks
"Powerless Professional to Powerhouse Leader"
Gwendolyn Janssen
"I Didn't Know I Was Masking"
Tyler Mitchell
2
Days
Day 1
Keynote
"Beating the Game of Social Anxiety"
Scott Josephson
Panel discussion
"This Shouldn't Be Normal! Calling Out Everyday Harm at Work"
Brigitte Shipman, Mercedes Swan, Heather Wallander, Rebecca Prejean
Lightning talks
"Should You Tell Your Employer About Your Diagnosis?"
Sarah E. Taylor
"It's Not About Better Calendaring: Managing Procrastination"
Rebecca Block, PhD
"Harnessing the Skills of Neurodivergent Talent"
Kate Isichei
Day 2
Michele Predmore (they/them)
Organization development specialist
ERG co-chair, disability inclusion
Testimonial
"I went looking for a resource that I could share with other people in my ERG. Having those tips about how disclosure isn't always needed, but learning how to advocate for yourself is more important, helped me reframe those conversations that we have with our community."
Not sure if you can make it?
Recordings will be available for all ticket holders.
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