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Peri Finkelstein on communication devices, stigma, and how technology is redefining what it means to be heard
Alycia Anderson welcomes Peri R. Finkelstein: Emmy-winning marketing consultant, keynote speaker, recent TEDx speaker, marathon participant, and founder/CEO of the Team Peri Foundation. Peri explains how assistive communication evolved from Proloquo4Text to 11 Labs AI voice technology, helping her be understood on podcasts and stages despite bias and past bullying. She shares growing up with nemaline rod myopathy, navigating surgeries, pain, fatigue, and a nontraditional childhood, and credits her mom as her primary support and collaborator. Peri describes how her May 2025 TEDx talk sparked a new commitment to vulnerable storytelling through Substack and a memoir. She also details the foundation’s scholarship and Peri Project, which provides caregiver kits in pediatric ICUs and plans hospital expansion through 2026. She closes with motivation to embrace differences, find what you love, and create your own path.
Quotes from Peri
Your differences are your secret weapon.
~ Peri Finkelstein
You have to find something that you love enough to make all of the noise fade into the background.
~ Peri Finkelstein
The Entrepreneurial Throughline: Episode 137
🎤 From Communication Device to TEDx Stage
💪 Growing Up with Muscular Dystrophy
🌟 Disability Doesn’t Define What You’re Capable Of
🤝 The Strength of Support Systems
🚶♀️ Stepping Out of Line: A Movement for Change
🏆 Achieving Milestones and Making a Difference
💬 “My Story Was Bigger Than Just Me”
🧠 Navigating Invisible Challenges
🚫 Dismantling Ableism & Ending Caregiver Burnout
✨ A Message of Empowerment and Authenticity
🗝️ Your Differences Are Your Secret Weapon
📏 Stop Shrinking Yourself
Timecoded Table of Contents
00:00 Podcast Welcome
00:25 Meet Peri Finkelstein
01:59 AI Voice Technology
07:39 Growing Up Disabled
12:10 Support Systems
15:53 Finding Her Voice
20:45 Step Out of Line
23:35 Million Dollar Impact
26:23 Marathon Mindset
30:06 Building a Nonprofit
33:12 Peri Project Mission
35:36 Behind the Scenes
38:47 Pushing Forward Message
41:23 Closing Thanks
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