Sammie Walker Herrera
Public Speaking Coach, Speaker, and Certified ADHD Coach at Speak Y'all
Empowering neurodivergent leaders through ADHD-informed coaching and public speaking training.
Intro
I'm Sammie Walker Herrera, a Public Speaking Coach and Certified ADHD Coach. Through my practice, Speak Y'all, I help leaders—especially those who are neurodivergent—find their voice and communicate with genuine clarity and confidence. My career has been a journey through higher education, career consultancy, and diversity initiatives, including a long tenure at Carnegie Mellon where I coached over 1,000 students. I’m deeply passionate about building systems that value neurodivergent perspectives and helping people treat their voice like the instrument it is. Whether I'm working with executives from Google and AWS or performing improv comedy for disability advocacy, my goal is to provide the expert feedback and accountability needed for true professional empowerment. I’m always looking to connect with neurodivergent leaders and the Pittsburgh professional community to explore how we can make leadership more inclusive and authentic.
Networking
What I can offer
- ›1:1 public speaking coaching
- ›Career clarity programs
- ›ADHD-informed leadership training
- ›Spanish-language translation and coaching
What I'm looking for
- ›expanding my professional network
- ›exploring mutual opportunities in neurodiversity support and executive coaching
Best fit for
Focus
Current interests
Core competencies
Background
Career
Began in student affairs and diversity initiatives at Carnegie Mellon and Slippery Rock University, transitioned into career consultancy and accountability coaching, and eventually founded Speak Y'all to focus on public speaking and ADHD coaching.
Education
Professional ADHD Coaching (ADDCA), M.A. in Student Affairs in Higher Education (Slippery Rock University), B.A. in Psychology & B.A. in Hispanic Studies (Carnegie Mellon University)
Achievements
- ›Coached 1,000+ students at Carnegie Mellon
- ›Helped leaders from AWS, Microsoft, and Google with executive presence
- ›2026 Disability Lead Fellow (Southwestern Pennsylvania)
- ›Published an anti-firesetting manual in 2017
- ›Translated 9 chapters of a clinical psychology manual into Spanish
Opinions
- Talent is lost when systems are not built with neurodivergent perspectives in mind.
- Leaders should communicate with authenticity rather than rigid corporate norms.
- The voice is a physical instrument that requires protection and warm-ups.
- Expert feedback, accountability, and practice are the three pillars of career success.
Personality
Communication style
Encouraging and community-oriented with a supportive yet challenging coach-like approach.
Formality — 6/10
Vocabulary