Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Our Founder
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is widely recognized for his stellar basketball career as a University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball Champion and as the second overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets). Over his eight-year NBA career, he played for the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets and the Dallas Mavericks. His numerous high school, collegiate, and professional accolades solidify his legacy in basketball.
Beyond his athletic achievements, Michael is a leading advocate for the stuttering community. In 2021, he founded Change & Impact, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare access and expanding resources for individuals who stutter. As Founder and CEO, Michael travels the county on the Change & Impact Stuttering Awareness Tour, engaging universities, corporations, and children’s hospitals nationwide. Through this initiative, Change & Impact partners with agencies to provide free speech therapy services for children and teens who stutter, conducts complimentary continuing education programs for speech-language pathologists and hosts special events for the stuttering community.


Michael’s personal advocacy extends to the legislative arena, where he collaborates with federal and state lawmakers to drive systemic change. His efforts culminated in the 2023 launch of the Bipartisan Unified Voices Caucus on Capitol Hill, advancing stuttering awareness at a national level. In 2024, Michael secured bipartisan support for groundbreaking state laws in Kentucky and then Pennsylvania, expanding healthcare coverage for stuttering therapy.
In recognition of his transformative leadership and impact in the stuttering community, Michael was honored with the 2024 Annie Glenn Award by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).