Tara Nott Cunningham

Tara-Nott Cunningham, Leading American Neurodiversity and Disability Inclusion Employment Specialist, has made significant contributions both in her athletic and advocacy careers. Cunningham was awarded the gold medal after Izabela Dragneva of Bulgaria tested positive for a prohibited substance and was ruled ineligible. She also competed in the 2004 Olympic Games and is a two-time Pan American Games gold medalist (1999, 2003). A former gymnast and All-American soccer player, Cunningham earned weightlifting gold medals at seven national championships, finished among the top 10 at five world championships, and owns four U.S. records (48 kg snatch, clean and jerk, total; 53 kg snatch).

Beyond her athletic achievements, Cunningham is an award-winning disability advocate and social entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Beyond-Impact, an inaugural member of the Valuable Business Disability Experts Directory, and has developed neurodiversity and disability employment programs with major corporations such as Bloomberg, Salesforce, and Boeing. Additionally, she co-founded the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU School of Law and serves as the Executive Director of the Grunin Foundation.

Cunningham's contributions extend to the academic field as a contributing author to the book "Generation A" and her master's dissertation on "Successes and Failures in Social Movements: Lessons from Irish LGBTQ and Disability Communities". Her leadership and advocacy have earned her recognition as one of the "Top 100 Irish Americans" and "Social Entrepreneur of the Year". Appointed by the Prime Minister of Ireland to the National Disability Authority, Cunningham has represented Ireland in the European Commission for Healthcare Innovation and at the White House for disability inclusion. She has spoken at notable venues, including the United Nations on World Autism Awareness Day.