Nina G: Comedian, Speaker, and Author Stand Up Comedian from Oakland, CA

Nina G is the America's only female stuttering stand up comedian who's journey brought her from Special Education to her doctorate. She has inspired countless audiences, classrooms and organizations. Whether she performing with the COMEDIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (CDA), training organizations about Disability issues, or telling her story, Nina is authentic, irreverent, and always funny. She is just as much at home speaking at a college or corporate event as she is telling jokes at a night night club. New for 2015 is Nina's one person show: Going Beyond Inspirational! Description: "How many people with Disabilities does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" Answer: "One to screw it in and 5 abled bodied people to say, 'you are such an inspiration!'" This joke is a favorite in Nina G's stand up routine. It brings to light (no pun intended) the struggle people with Disabilities have in an abled bodied society that reduces them to images of "inspirations" and "overcomers.” As America's only female stand up comedian who stutters, Nina has been challenging attitudes about Disability since she took the stage for the first time in 2010. Nina challenges perceptions about Disability in her new show, Going Beyond Inspirational, to premiere in her hometown of Alameda on April 1 and 3, 2015 at the Pacific Pinball Museum. Going Beyond Inspirational deals with the pain, joys, and revelations growing up with Speech and Learning Disabilities and finding your voice. Other services offered include: SPEAKING: * Motivational Speaking and storytelling/question and answer/meet and greet (1.5 hours) * Lead Disability Awareness activities and discussion (varies 1-3 hours) * Teacher training for elementary, high school, or college (varies 1-8 hours+) * Classroom/Small group discussions on specific topics: - Overcoming obstacles to success - Self-esteem and Disability - Study Skills - Advocacy - General information about stuttering and/or learning disabilities COMEDY: *Solo stand up comedy * Stand up comedy with the Comedians with Disabilities Act * Stand up comedy shows focused on women's issues with the comedy troupe Feminist Tendencies (focused on empowering women) *Nina has organized many fundraisers in the San Francisco Bay Area and can assist you with your's. She can consult with you on outreach and promotion of your fundraiser. About Nina G Nina G is America's only female stuttering stand up comedian (or at least until she finds another). She is also a storyteller and educator and has presented to countless audiences. As part of the Comedians with Disabilities Act Nina brings her humor to help people confront and understand social justice issues such as disability, diversity, and equity. Nina was diagnosed with a Learning Disability and began to stutter while in elementary school. She struggled to deal with teachers who underestimated her abilities, teasing from peers and family members, and issues of self-esteem. Nina was raised in the Oakland area and attended UC Berkeley where the roots of the Disability Movement took place, solidifying her identity as a person with a disability, one she sees with cultural and political empowerment. This coupled with supportive parents has helped Nina not to overcome her disability but to overcome the attitudes about what women and girls with disabilities can achieve. Nina received her doctorate in 2000 and for over a decade has focused her energy on creating a more accessible world for people with disabilities. Keith Bowers of the SF Weekly sums Nina up best, “Nina G. grew up with a stutter. A couple of times each minute, a certain syllable will hang her up. She'll stall, repeat the same sound a few times – like the word is literally trapped – but then she'll get it out and move on. All her life people have given condescending advice on how she can cure the condition if she just tries hard enough. Others haven't been so kind. To this day grown people mock her and laugh at her expense. But Nina G. doesn't hide. In fact she'll tell you stories about publicly embarrassing people who've laughed at her. She'll tell you these stories from the stage. See, Nina G. is a comedian, and she deals in comebacks. So if you meet her in a cafe or on a BART platform and want to put her down, think hard on that. (Really. We've seen her. She's fierce.)”