Rich Stephens joins Chaya Goldstein-Schuff to talk about his smashing success of Camp SAY Australia, the first-ever sleep away camp for young people who stutter. Rich shares what made the camp experience so special, the power of radical empathy,  the unforgettable fun morning songs, and upcoming programming in the land Down Under.

Rich Stephens is a person who stutters and is the President and Programming Director of The Stuttering Association For The Young Australia (SAY: Australia), which is the first International arm of SAY, founded in America in 2001 by Taro Alexander. Rich is also the Camp Director at Camp SAY: Australia, Associate Camp Director at Camp SAY in America, and is the Australian Development Chair of the World Stuttering Network established in 2020. Prior to launching SAY: Australia in 2019, Rich lived in Manchester, UK. Rich spent 6 years working as a Psychiatric Nurse, with his work taking him across the UK, Dublin-Ireland, and Wellington New Zealand. Rich completed his BSc studies in Speech & Language Therapy and MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuroimaging at the University of Manchester. During his BSc studies, Rich first volunteered at Camp SAY in 2015 as a bunk counselor, and fast forward several years later is now bringing a new approach to supporting young people who stutter in Australia.
Links:
SAY:AUOfficial Blog of SAY AustraliaInstagramFacebookSAY Morning songs
Rich Stephens, President and Program Director email: rich@sayaustralia.org.au