Communication First is a national, disability-led, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending, protecting, and advancing the civil rights of the more than 5 million people in the United States who find it difficult to communicate using speech. 

Tauna Szymanski is the Founder and Executive Director of Communication First, and Jordyn Zimmerman is a graduate student of education at Boston College studying Curriculum and Instruction. Before graduate school, she interned at the National Disability Rights Network and completed her bachelor’s degree in Education Policy at Ohio University, where she founded an inclusive collegiate cheer team called the Ohio University Sparkles. As a nonspeaking autistic student who was denied access to effective augmentative communication until she was 18, Ms. Zimmerman has personal experience challenging the educational status quo. 

Technology helped open Ms. Zimmerman's world and, in 2014, she began advocating for students through a series of national and global speaking engagements. She has keynoted conferences, written blogs for companies in Amsterdam, and been featured by educators in Singapore. An avid typist and advocate for all students, Ms. Zimmerman is passionate about ensuring every student is able to access effective communication and exercise their right to a truly inclusive education.

Jordyn’s website is www.JordynZimmerman.com and she can be followed on Twitter at @Jordynbzim. She communicates most effectively by typing.