Episode #107: “Black Americans Talking About Us” with Michael Obel-Omia, Donald Cunnigen, Denise Mendez, and Roy Hamilton

“Black Americans Talking About Us” with Michael Obel-Omia, Donald Cunnigen, Denise Mendez, and Roy Hamilton

 

Interviewer info

Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic communication impairments. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer.

Michael Obel-Omia

Michael Obel-Omia is a public speaker, writer, and educator who has aphasia due to a stroke in 2016. In his tireless efforts to improve, he has found poetry allows him to express himself in ways that speech cannot. An avid advocate for people with aphasia, Michael has published essays about experiences in the journal “Blood and Thunder: Musings the Art of Medicine; The Boston Globe; the Providence Journal; and Rhode Island NPR’s This I Believe. Michael lives with his family in the beautiful town of Barrington, Rhode Island.

 

Links:

Boston Globe article about Michael Obel-Omia

A Black Father Wonders: Is ‘The Talk’ Enough? by Michael Obel-Omia (Boston Globe article about disability and race)

Finding My Words: Aphasia Poetry by Michael Obel-Omia (book)

Ask the Expert with Michael and Carolyn Obel-Omia (National Aphasia Association video)

 

Roy Hamilton

Roy Hamilton, MD, MS, FAAN, FANA is a professor in the departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is the director of both Penn's Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation (LCNS) and the Penn Brain Science, Translation, Innovation and Modulation Center (brainSTIM). His research uses noninvasive electrical and magnetic brain stimulation to better understand the neural basis of language and to enhance aphasia recovery. Dr. Hamilton has also been recognized nationally for his work in diversity in neurology and academic medicine. He served as the inaugural Assistant Dean for Cultural Affairs and Diversity at the Perelman School of Medicine and is the inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion in Penn’s Department of Neurology.

 

Links

brainSTIM

Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation

Instagram

Twitter: PennbrainSTIM

 

Donald Cunnigen

Dr. Donald (Doc) Cunnigen is Professor emeritus of Sociology at the University Rhode Island, where he was the first Black full professor of sociology with tenure since the founding of the university in 1892. He was a member of the steering committee that started the Black Americans with Aphasia Conversation group and continues to be an active member of the group.

 

Doc Cunnigen videos

2011 Harlem Book Fair panel on the Obama Administration

.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}