Meeting Agenda:
10:00 -10:30: Open networking
10:30: Call to Order Chapter business and announcements
11:00 - 12:00 Professional Development Program "Expert Panel Discussion - Organizing Strategies for ADHD"
Join your NAPO Chicago colleagues for networking, breakfast, and professional development program - Organizing Strategies for ADHD. This program will be led by an expert panel featuring NAPO Chicago members:
- Estela Garcia, Fresh Light Start Professional Organizing
- Leslie Hatch Gail, PhD, Declare Order
- Phaedra Studt, Kelly Brask Organizing
Attendees can expect to learn:
- How can professional organizers create functional systems while honoring a neurodivergent client's processing style?
- What are some common misconceptions about ADHD and the ability to get organized?
- When working with ADHD clients, what strategies help bridge the gap between intention and follow-through?
This will be an exciting and informative discussion with the opportunity for Q&A from attendees so bring your questions!
Complementary Coffee & Danishes Sponsored by Doyle Auctions
Meet our featured Discussion Panelists:
Estela Garcia is the founder and owner of Fresh Light Start Professional Organizing, where she helps clients with ADHD and executive function challenges create systems that not only reduce overwhelm but also support lasting habits. Her approach, which is a blend of compassion and practicality from her medical and real estate backgrounds, is designed to bring about lasting change. Estela also serves as Board Director of Business Partners for the NAPO Chicago Chapter and contributes to the Institute for Challenging Disorganization Publications Committee.
Leslie Hatch Gail is a professional organizer, consultant, and adjunct psychology instructor with a PhD in Community Psychology. Her dissertation research explored community responses to hoarding, and she continues to bridge academic insights with practical organizing solutions. Leslie specializes in ADHD, autism, and other brain-based conditions. As co-leader of NAPO’s Hoarding SIG and the Chicagoland Hoarding Task Force, she advocates for nonjudgmental approaches to clutter and disorganization. She seeks to collaborate, not dictate, and looks forward to exchanging ideas with you!
Phaedra Studt turned her passion for creative problem-solving into a career in organizing in 2019. Having participated in communities that attracted many neurodivergent individuals, and as someone with ADHD herself, she was inspired to help others create systems that help them thrive. A member of NAPO and NAPO Chicago—where she served on the board for four years—she also holds Level 1 Foundation and Level 1 ADHD certificates from the Institute for Challenging Disorganization. Alongside her in-person work with Kelly Brask Organizing, Phaedra is developing an online course through her brand Practical Possibilities to make organizing help more accessible to neurodivergent people and to share techniques for managing spaces in ways that work with their unique brains.
