Bridgette Hamstead Featured on Bird’s Eye Impact Podcast
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgette Hamstead Featured on Bird’s Eye Impact Podcast: A Groundbreaking Conversation on Neurodiversity Justice, Lived Experience, and Systemic Change
NEW ORLEANS, LA | October 8, 2025 — Bridgette Hamstead, acclaimed neurodiversity activist, keynote speaker, and Founding Director of Fish in a Tree: Center for Neurodiversity Education, Advocacy, and Activism, was featured in a powerful new episode of Bird’s Eye Impact, the podcast hosted by Dr. LaToya Hinton and created by Positive Impact Ventures. The episode, released today, offers an unflinching look into Hamstead’s personal journey, the roots of her work, and her vision for building a justice-aligned infrastructure for neurodivergent leadership.
The conversation begins with a poetic invocation by Dr. Hinton and evolves into a deeply honest and wide-ranging discussion between two late-diagnosed, neurodivergent women navigating life, leadership, trauma, and purpose. Hamstead speaks candidly about her upbringing in a psychologically harmful family system, her path through late ADHD and autism diagnosis, and the radical reclamation of identity that led her to found Fish in a Tree and help establish the Neurodiversity Coalition of America.
“I don’t ever want anyone to live with the idea that the essence of who they are is shameful,” Hamstead shares in the episode. “That’s why we built the communities we didn’t have.”
Throughout the episode, Hamstead outlines the urgent need for structural transformation, from educational access to healthcare equity to workplace redesign, and introduces two pioneering initiatives: a forthcoming Graduate Degree in Neurodiversity Studies and a Board-Certified Neurodiversity Consultant (BCNC) credential, both set to launch in 2026–2027.
These programs aim to fill critical gaps in legitimacy, language, and leadership across disciplines that routinely exclude or harm neurodivergent individuals. "There is no gold standard in this country for what we mean when we say 'neurodiversity consultant'," Hamstead explains. "We’re building that."
Dr. Hinton, a grant writer, researcher, and data analyst known for her uplifting approach to social enterprise, describes the episode as “one of the most candid and healing conversations” she’s hosted to date.
The episode also explores:
Late-diagnosed trauma, grief, and unmasking
The role of activism in healing
The neurodivergent lens on motherhood and identity
Pushback from ableist systems and how to resist
Social media as a tool for community care
The need for sustainable, justice-oriented leadership models
As Dr. Hinton states: “Any time you’re setting the groundwork for how to do business differently, or lead differently, you’re doing activist work.”
Listen to the Full Episode:
“Bird’s Eye Impact: A Conversation with Bridgette Hamstead” is now available on all major streaming platforms.
Listen and watch here:
https://youtu.be/Xk6Knoe0sAo?si=XptjelGWoH_pM_A1