About Us
Maya Chupkov
Executive Director, Host, Producer
Maya Chupkov is the founder of Proud Stutter, an award-winning podcast about changing how we understand and talk about stuttering, one conversation at a time.
As a woman who stutters, she is shiftingsocietal norms around stuttering and lifting up the voices of those with verbal differences.
Maya is also a filmmaker who is creating a feature-length documentary about two Black men who stutter. The film weaves how these men come to terms with their disability, how their disability is compounded by race, and how it impacted them growing up.
Maya is overseeing the impact campaign of the film, with community-building events happening in Park City, UT, Chicago, IL, and Raleigh, NC. The film’s audience includes the global stuttering community, speech therapists, educators, doctors, and loved ones. Her work has been featured in The Guardian and NPR.
Tessa Andrade
Board Member
Tessa is a content producer whose areas of expertise include marketing, marketing operations, project management, and video production. She is a person who stutters.
Johnnie Pina
Board Member
Johnnie is the Legislative Affairs, Lobbyist, Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations for the League of California Cities. He is a person who stutters.
The Proud Stutter Podcast Project is funded and supported by Maya Chupkov and patrons like you. Every dollar goes a long way to make this project possible and to help connect people from around the world. We keep our community members posted on the updates and resources made available because of your support.