Haben Girma

The First Deafblind Graduate of Harvard Law School & Bestselling Author

Haben Girma

The First Deafblind Graduate of Harvard Law School & Bestselling Author

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Biography

The first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, Haben Girma is an award-winning advocate, author, and keynote speaker. She earned the Helen Keller Achievement Award, reached Forbes 30 under 30, and President Obama named her a White House Champion of Change. She believes disability challenges are opportunities for innovation, sparking new technologies that move society forward. Haben travels the globe teaching organizations how to build stronger, resilient, and more connected communities.

Her bestselling book Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law takes readers on adventures around the world, including training with a guide dog in New Jersey, climbing an iceberg in Alaska, fighting for blind readers at a courthouse in Vermont, and talking with President Biden and President Obama at The White House. Warm, funny, thoughtful, and uplifting, this captivating book shows how we can resist isolation and find the keys to connection. The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, TODAY Show, and Stephen Curry have all praised the book.

A spellbinding speaker, her keynotes have touched the stages of Apple, Bottega Veneta, Disney, Gartner, Google, Microsoft, Oxford University, and many more. Her engaging presentations ignite audiences to make positive changes in their communities. TIME included her as a speaker in TIME100 Talks.

In 2023 she became one of the first leaders appointed to serve as a Commissioner for the World Health Organization’s new Commission on Social Connection.

Haben was born and raised in California, where she currently lives. She travels with her Seeing Eye dog Mylo. He often falls asleep during her keynotes.

Speaker Videos

Why I work to remove access barriers for students with disabilities

Speech Topics

Transforming Challenges into Opportunities

As a Deafblind child in a sighted-hearing world, Haben faced the choice of accepting barriers or advocating for justice. Her self-advocacy soon grew to advocating for others, leading her to sharpen her skills at Harvard Law and beyond. She champions the belief that challenges are opportunities to develop new, better solutions. Through powerful stories infused with humor, Haben’s presentations help audiences increase creative problem-solving.

Gaining the Innovation Advantage

What do iPhones, jacuzzis, and audiobooks have in common? The brilliance of disabled people sparked the creation of countless products, and the above are just three of them. As a Deafblind woman living in a mostly inaccessible world, Haben has developed stellar innovative skills that allows her to dance past barriers. Many disabled people similarly have strong problem-solving skills that launch cutting edge inventions. Reports by Accenture have shown that companies leading in accessible hiring, marketing, and design outperform their competitors. The global accessibility market, disabled people and their communities purchasing accessible products and services, is worth over $13 trillion annually. Organizations that prioritize accessibility benefit by tapping into a larger market, improving the experience for both disabled and nondisabled people, boosting brand loyalty, and increasing innovation. Haben’s keynotes share entertaining stories from her personal journey, sprinkled with delightful humor, and wisdom that helps build stronger, more innovative communities.

Accessibility: A Conversation with Haben Girma

New questions about accessibility emerge as society and technology evolve. How do engineers harness the power of AI without excluding disabled people? How do marketing teams craft compelling videos that reach disabled customers? How do HR teams remove barriers so talented employees with disabilities can help the organization drive innovation? During this fireside chat style presentation, Haben will address questions tailored to your organization. She will combine personal anecdotes, extensive knowledge from the field, and her warm wit to deliver an unforgettable presentation.

Testimonials

"Haben was great! We're still sifting through post-event feedback, but she has been mentioned several times as people's favorite keynote session. There are several similar comments like "Haben was entertaining”, “awe-inspiring”, and “motivational.""

- Acquia

"It was great! Haben is such a pro! She stayed and met with everyone who wanted to meet her. The students from the School for the Blind were thrilled to hear her. Overall, so good."

- IUPUI

"It went very well! Haben was excellent and our audience really enjoyed hearing her speech. Haben gave time for questions which was really valuable to our families."

- Federation for Children with Special Needs

"Thank you so much, Haben, for that amazing introduction, and for working to make sure that students with disabilities get a world-class education, just like you have. So please give Haben a big round of applause."

- President Barack Obama

"She got out of Harvard, and you know what she’s doing? She is an advocate for opportunities for people with disabilities. Because in fact they have enormous ability, and all over the world that ability is going untapped, diminishing their lives and the rest of ours as well. So let’s give her a big round!"

- President Bill Clinton