2019 Graduate
"Leadership in the Digital Age"
MIT Sloan School of Management
Speaker
What began as an impassioned pursuit of spreading autism and mental health awareness around communities worldwide has grown into a multi-faceted effort to encourage all people to simply be their very bests. Russell has become one of the most sought-after speakers of his generation through his motivational and encouraging presentations. He is relentless in his craft and prioritizes the importance of connection whether in education, relationships, business, and everything in between. His speeches invite audience members to journey along as he illustrates through experience that life is truly what we make of it. Russell takes care to leave each group with thoughtful action items and tangible tools they can bring back into their own communities, schools, and businesses as they push on toward greatness.
Author
From a young age Russell found comfort, solace, and internal inspiration through his writing. From poetry and rhymes to spoken word and fiction, the written word became a tool for him to express his inner most self with a world that otherwise might never witness it. His book "Inside Out" garnered critical acclaim from Temple Grandin herself. It would be his writing that invited others to explore his story more... eventually motivating Russell to publicly share his experience with small groups around his community before becoming a prominent nationwide speaker.
Russell continues to write on the road in between events and in reflection once home again. Having spent a great deal of time writing on his own experience, he aims to expand his work to include more of the popular educational, motivational, and leadership themes found in many of his presentations.
Advocate
Russell believes that changing the mental health stigma comes through action. He is a council member for the Autism Society of America, a founding member of the Kulture City Speaker's Bureau, was appointed by the governor of Nevada to serve on the Council for Developmental Disabilities, sits on the board for the Autism Coalition of Nevada and chairs their statewide Youth Advisory Committee, and is the Youth Ambassador for Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve. He also holds other positions to encourage change across national communities.
As Russell demonstrates through his leadership in advocacy, the steadfast pursuit of our best selves is the most valuable way we can uplift and inspire the communities around us.
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In 2017 Russell made international headlines when he wrote a heartwarming Facebook post about a meltdown he had at an airport and the kind airline employee who went above and beyond to help him work through it. The story quickly went viral and was featured on Yahoo! News, USA Today, Autism Speaks and countless other media platforms. Everybody everywhere was encouraged to #BeLikeDavid!
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For more information on booking Russell for an event, learning more about autism advocacy, or tips for getting involved in your community, please contact us!