Episode 271 features Paula Campbell-Schwab, who hails from Houston, Texas. Paula is a retired Special Education teacher and spends her time doing lots of fun things, such as yoga, water aerobics, and Tai Chi. At 72 years young, Paula is a force to be reckoned with.

Paula grew up in the Northeast, and lived in nine different states, before moving to Houston. She has been very active in the National Stuttering Association and in 1985, she helped co-found the NSA Houston Chapter. Fast forward to 2024, Paula was inducted into the NSA Hall of Fame. She said she found it so surreal, and tried to concentrate on all the others at the conference while on stage accepting her award.

Paula shared that a friend recorded her acceptance speech and she hasn’t watched it yet. Paula doesn’t like seeing herself stutter on screen, can be highly self-critical, and described years of wanting to be invisible, wanting to blend in, feeling like she didn’t have a voice. She goes on to share that now that she has found her voice, she likes “Authentic Paula” who is more “Real” than the Paula she knew growing up.

Listen in as Paula talks about why she chose teaching, learned ASL, how stuttering runs in her family, and what brings her back every year to the NSA.

Paula was very touched by a book written by mutual friend Hanan Hurwitz titled Stuttering: From Shame and Anxiety to Confident Authenticity. She brought copies of the book and gave one to every member of the Houston Chapter and arranged to have Hanan join a meeting and have an open discussion about the book and its meaning to members. 

If you don’t know Paula, make it your business to get to know her. She is a treasure.