Mark Francis Long: Rebranding Dyslexia - I Am LEX 

In his talk, Mark Long explores some of the challenges with dyslexia and the narrative surrounding it, and how we can evolve views around disabilities and other human conditions as we learn more and become more aware of issues and prejudices that exist in areas where we may have thought they no longer did. At the age of 6, Mark Francis was diagnosed with dyslexia. Through hard work and a lot of spell check, he graduated with a BA in Mass Media from UNYP in 2011 and has been working as a Brand Strategist & Creative Director in global advertising agencies ever since, in Prague, NYC, and San Francisco. Unfortunately, he has kept his dyslexia hidden from his friends and colleagues through this time, afraid he would be judged or even fired. But now, in his mid-thirties, with two children, he started to feel the need to understand his dyslexia better. Mark also wants to contribute his skills and experience to push for better dyslexia awareness amongst the masses and his community. Dyslexia is riddled with old paradigms, misunderstandings, and false narratives. It is about time to showcase the extraordinary creatives and exceptional problem solvers with something that connects them all - their neurodiversity. How do we start? By rebranding their identity to reflect the modern age.