Keynote Speaking • Educational Consulting • Training
Dr. Susan Solman Keynote Speaking • Educational Consulting • Training
An engaging keynote speaker, educator, consultant, and healthcare advocate who combines clinical expertise with lived experience to inspire meaningful change in healthcare.
A pharmacist, podiatric physician, researcher, former Associate Professor of Pharmacology, and wheelchair user for more than 20 years, Susan brings a perspective few speakers can offer. Her presentations combine compelling storytelling, evidence-based insights, and practical strategies that inspire audiences to rethink communication, accessibility, patient safety, and compassionate care.
Annette Ross Keynote Speaker • Patient Safety Educator • Author
Annette is an internationally recognized patient safety advocate whose life changed forever after a catastrophic epidural error during childbirth left her permanently paralyzed. Today, she is a passionate voice for safer, more compassionate healthcare, helping clinicians understand the human impact of medical error, communication failures, and the importance of listening to patients and families. An accomplished author, media contributor, and former resident at The Hastings Center, a leading bioethics research institute, Annette combines powerful storytelling with practical lessons that inspire healthcare professionals to strengthen patient safety and human connection. Her keynote presentations remind audiences that while artificial intelligence and medical innovation can enhance healthcare, they can never replace empathy, critical thinking, or the trust built between patients, families, and clinicians.
Preparing the Next Generation of Healthcare Professionals
Solman developed nationally recognized disability education programs that bring people with paralysis into medical training, helping future healthcare professionals build the knowledge and skills to provide appropriate patient specific care. Supported by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, these programs have expanded to medical schools and healthcare organizations nationwide.
Safe Transfer Training
Solman developed one of the nation's first safe patient transfer training programs for medical schools, physician assistant programs, allied health programs and hospital systems. This program equips healthcare professionals how to safely assist patients onto exam tables and diagnostic equipment. The training is based on the accessibility requirements outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, ensuring that people with disabilities receive the same quality of healthcare as every other patient.
Leading Change
An internationally recognized speaker, Solman is the recipient of the 2023 FIU President's Access and Equity Teaching Award and the 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award for E-Learning. Through consulting, education, and strategic partnerships, she partners with healthcare systems, hospitals, universities, and professional organizations to strengthen disability competence and reduce healthcare barriers for people living with disabilities.
Community Educators
Solman has developed an innovative educational model that integrates trained community educators with disabilities into medical schools and other health professions programs. Through structured learning experiences aligned with curricular objectives, these educators use their experiences to challenge assumptions, foster empathy, and help future healthcare professionals develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to provide compassionate, patient-centered care for people with disabilities.
Grant Strategy & Development
Solman provides grant consulting to universities, healthcare organizations, and nonprofit institutions seeking to develop innovative disability education, and research initiatives. Drawing on experience securing competitive grant funding and serving as a consultant on externally funded projects, she helps organizations strengthen program design, align with funding priorities, and translate ideas into impactful, fundable proposals.
Solman Disability Consultants
