Think Different Diplomats

Think Different Diplomats—the exciting, newly expanded Project Eye-To-Eye speakers board—brings current mentors, recent graduates, and our executive leaders to schools, universities, and conferences nationwide. Through lectures, workshops, and panel discussions, the Diplomats share their own LD/ADHD journeys to success—and inspire audience members to strive toward educational and personal empowerment, as well.

Program Summary

Our Diplomats will walk the audience through their journeys of educational and personal change, providing a new understanding of LD/ADHD and “learning” itself. At the core is a message of personal empowerment, academic success, and educational revolution for people who think differently. The presentation will also provide practical, accessible, hands-on tips for academic success.

Program Objectives

1) Helping the audience to understand the emotional experiences of students who think differently. We’ll put a face to what “cognitive difference” means.

2) Providing the audience with concrete tools to accommodate and empower students who are outside the lines--both inside and outside the classroom.

3) Empowering teachers, students, and parents to enrich the concept of “learning disabilities” with the revolutionary concept of “cognitive diversity.” We’ll help the audience to understand the paradoxes of disability.

Program Components

Part One: Intro to LD/ADHD
General background info, definitions, facts, and attributes

Part Two: What does it feel like to have LD/ADHD?
Living with doubt; stigma & language; bullying

Part Three: My Story
Each speaker illustrates his/her own journey of educational and personal growth

Part Four: Tools for Success
Meta-cognition, Self-Advocacy, Self-Esteem, Accommodations, Allies, and Community

Part Five: What happens now?
Motivation and Goals
What to expect: transitions to high school and/or college
Finding and developing your community

Project Eye-To-Eye Speakers

Think Different Diplomats
University Students and Recent Graduates

Professionals continue to lecture educators on the neurology of learning disabilities, and yet the bigotry of lowered expectations remains entrenched in our school culture. Our research, however, suggests that bringing successful LD/ADHD college students into school settings as role models for educators, students, and parents is the most effective way to change these attitudes. Project Eye-To-Eye’s successful LD/ADHD college mentors share their stories, serving as examples of LD/ADHD achievement within a supportive environment. We believe that this role modeling not only will change teachers’, students’, and parents’ beliefs about LD and ADHD--but over time, will lead to concrete changes in pedagogy, as well.

Our team of twenty-one Diplomats come from campuses across the country--from Walla Walla, Washington, to Atlanta, Georgia; from Santa Barbara, California, to Middlebury, Connecticut. Project Eye-To-Eye currently has thirty-eight mentoring programs in eighteen states, working with over 3,500 individuals.

David Flink, Think Different Ambassador
Project Eye-To-Eye Executive Director and Co-Founder

Diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD at a young age, David Flink struggled through much of his pre-college education feeling hopelessness and feeling left out of education as a whole. Although his parents and teachers frequently told him he would be able to go to college, David would have found that message more believable if it had come from a person with a learning disability (LD) who had finished college. With that in mind, David cofounded Project Eye-To-Eye in 1998, while he was a student at Brown University.

In addition to his ongoing work as executive director of Project Eye-To-Eye, from 2002 to 2004 David was an admissions officer at Brown University, serving as disabilities liaison for all Brown applicants with disabilities. He has spoken at colleges and universities across the country, and provided keynote addresses at national and international conferences including the International Dyslexia Association and the Education Revolution Conference held in San Francisco’s AT&T Park. In 2010, he was awarded a Prime Mover’s Fellowship sponsored by the Hunt Alternative’s Fund, which supports emerging and established social movement leaders who are developing innovative and inclusive approaches to social change at the local, national, and global levels. David holds a master’s degree in disability studies in education from Columbia University and bachelor’s degrees with honors in education and psychology from Brown University.

LeDerick Horne, Think Different Ambassador
Project Eye-To-Eye Board Chair and Director of Horne and Associates

LeDerick Horne spent most of his time in school believing he did not have much of a future. A severe learning disability (LD) combined with low self-esteem led him to doubt he would be able to go to college or pursue a meaningful career. But, in the challenging academic environment at Middlesex County College, and with the support offered for his disability through Project Connections, a Learning Disabilities Resource Program at the College, LeDerick became an outstanding student, compiling a 3.75 grade point average. He transferred to New Jersey City University and graduated with honors from NJCU in 2003.

Since graduation LeDerick has become the head of his own real estate investment company called Horne & Associates, LLC. He was appointed the Board Chair of Project Eye-To-Eye, a national nonprofit that provides mentoring programs for students labeled LD/ADHD. He is also recognized across the country as an advocate for people with disabilities. LeDerick has facilitated workshops, delivered keynote presentations, and spoken to thousands of students, teachers, and service providers about his experiences.

Marcus Soutra, Think Different Ambassador
Project Eye-To-Eye Managing Director

Marcus Soutra was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD at a young age and spent most of his childhood feeling stupid, misunderstood, and ashamed of his learning disability. Over time, Marcus grew to understand that his learning disability was, in fact, not going to determine his fate--and after finding success in school, chose to devote his life to paving the path for all students to find success in their education.

Marcus holds a degree in Social Science and Secondary Education from Keene State College and has worked extensively in both middle and high school classrooms. He is the founder of the first ever Project Eye-To-Eye chapter at Keene State College and is the creator of Keene State Disabilities Advocates (KSDA), a group that works to motivate and educate people on disability issues in the state of New Hampshire.

As Managing Director, Marcus oversees Project Eye-to-Eye’s nationwide programming. He has given lectures at the University of California-Santa Barbara, Dartmouth College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Radford University, and Brown University. He was also the keynote speaker at the New Jersey City University Conference on Transition. All of Marcus’ work is done with the goal of ensuring that other students who are labeled with learning disabilities are able to celebrate their differences and find success in that celebration.

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