The Importance of Neurodiversity in Smart Communities, with Ashleigh Wilson

Hi #smartcommunityfriends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Ashleigh Wilson, a Community Manager at Coder Academy and a Neurodiversity Advocate. We recorded this in late 2020 so you may hear us refer to 2021 a lot. In this episode we talk about Ashleigh's background and how an interest in tech led to her studying IT and then becoming passionate about diversity and community in the tech world. Ashleigh tells us about her experience disclosing her Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis to her work and community and how this has led to her public speaking and neurodiversity advocacy work. Ashleigh explains the importance of neurodiversity in Smart Communities, and why she advocates for hybrid approaches to work and business rather than traditional silos. We talk about Ashleigh's role at Coder Academy and how her willingness to follow curiosity and give new things a go has led to her career progression there. Ashleigh and I then discuss the importance of community and checking in with each other in this digital world we live in now, especially in the wake of the pandemic. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of online education, Coworking 3.0 and career pivots. As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Ashleigh on LinkedIn and Twitter @ashlebug Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.