Samantha Taylor
Samantha Taylor is a speech-language pathologist, business owner, and nationally recognized advocate for deaf and hard-of-hearing children but her most important title is mom. As the founder of Olive Speech Therapy and the Empowered Parent Network, she has spent over a decade building systems of support for families navigating special education with clarity, confidence, and connection.
A 2025 NXT Level Trailblazer Award recipient and 40 Under 40 nominee, Samantha is known for turning overwhelm into action, both in boardrooms and living rooms. She serves in multiple leadership roles across the deaf education community and has been featured in media outlets for her work in advocacy and access.
But her expertise isn’t just professional. As the mother of a deaf teenager, she understands firsthand the complexity, emotion, and growth that come with raising a child who experiences the world differently. Through her 30K+ online community and now through this podcast, she brings honesty, depth, and a little edge to conversations about parenting, marriage, neurodivergence, ambition, and building a life that doesn’t follow a script.
Her mission is simple: replace fear with confidence and isolation with community and say the things most people are thinking but aren’t saying out loud.
Dillon Taylor
Dillon is a civil engineer, mentor, and problem-solver by trade and a husband and father of two by life’s design. Known for his analytical mind, dry humor, and steady presence, Dillon brings both structure and sarcasm to everything he does.
Becoming a dad at 21 shaped his path early, and going back to college at 30 reshaped it again, proving that growth doesn’t follow a straight line. Today, he holds leadership roles within his engineering firm, mentors younger professionals, and leads internal committees, all while navigating life as a father to two boys, including a deaf teenager, and managing ADHD in a house where neurodivergence is part of the daily rhythm.
On the podcast, Dillon offers the grounded male perspective: honest about marriage, thoughtful about fatherhood, curious about growth, and unafraid to talk about the uncomfortable or unfiltered parts of life. He brings logic to emotional conversations, humor to heavy moments, and a willingness to question assumptions, including his own.
We love meaningful, unfiltered conversations about parenting, marriage, neurodivergence, ambition, advocacy, and building a life that doesn’t follow a script. Whether you’re interested in joining us on our podcast or inviting one (or both) of us onto yours, we’re always open to thoughtful dialogue that challenges assumptions and creates connection.
Samantha has been featured in regional and national media and speaks regularly on advocacy and education. Dillon brings leadership experience and mentorship from the engineering field, along with lived experience as a father navigating complexity.
Topics Samantha Speaks On:
Raising and advocating for a deaf or hard-of-hearing child
Deaf education and language access
Women, ambition, and building a mission-driven business
Parenting through complexity and identity shifts
Topics Dillon Speaks On:
Fatherhood from a grounded, male perspective
Marriage dynamics and long-term partnership
ADHD and neurodivergence in family life
Going back to school and career reinvention
Together We Speak On:
Parenting as a team
Marriage under pressure
Young parenthood and evolving identities
Navigating medical journeys (yes, even vasectomies)
The conversations most couples avoid
Interested in collaborating?
Reach out at samantha@olivespeechtherapy.org or send us a message on Instagram at @Parenthood.Unscripted.
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