Nina G

Employee Affinity Groups (EAGs) have made advances in their organizations. The goal of these groups is often, but not limited, to: -Educate nondisabled employees about disability issues including etiquette and basic questions -Reflect the experiences of Disabled employees and family members of Disabled individuals -Introduce and facilitate Disability centered recruitment, mentoring and retainment of employees Nina G has been working with corporations, K-12 schools and colleges to make their institutions more accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities since 2000. Armed with a doctorate in psychology and 13 years as a professional comedian, she is able to blend these worlds making her message of inclusion for people with disabilities accessible to all audiences through humor, storytelling and vital information. Nina has worked with Coca Cola, Oracle, Geico, PG&E and countless other colleges and organizations.

Content Themes: Customer Service; challenging internal bias; etiquette; building community. Target Audience: Corporate, non-profit. Description: Through humor, storytelling and direct instruction, Nina G shares insights on what having a disability is really like and what non-disabled people can do to be authentic allies. Participants will deepen their understanding of what disability means, how to best serve individuals with disabilities in the role that participants play and how to generally be an ally. Topics include humility, empathy building and how to join with the Disabled community. This presentation can be tailored to the audience to achieve outcomes such as elevating customer service for everyone, collaboration between communities and clinical skills.

Content Themes: Disability affirmation; Disability experience; motivational for teachers, parents and helping professionals; stigma; advocacy. Target Audience: Can be modified as a one-person show or a keynote. Perfect for non-profit organization fundraisers, conferences and college shows. Description: "How many people with Disabilities does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" Answer: "One to screw it in and 5 abled bodied people to say, 'you are such an inspiration!'" This joke is a favorite in Nina G's stand-up comedy routine. It brings to light (no pun intended) the struggle that people with Disabilities have living in an able-bodied society that reduces them to images of "inspirations" and "overcomers.” Nina challenges perceptions about Disability in her appropriately titled show, Going Beyond Inspirational. Going Beyond Inspirational deals with the pain, joys, and revelations growing up with Speech and Learning Disabilities.