In this session that I delivered at the 2014 Louisiana SHRM Conference on Human Resources on April 7th I merged my own personal story of a person living with a severe hearing disability and speech impediment and workplace diversity & inclusion strategy. Diversity & inclusion is no longer just a legislative requirement, it also significantly contributes to employee engagement and top and bottom line business results. Further, the definition of diversity has broadened during the past 10-15 years, and is not limited to sex, race, nationality and persons with disabilities. I talked about my own personal story --- the good, the bad and the ugly, the business case for workplace diversity and inclusion, how diversity and inclusion plays into the employee experience, and how organizations can create a real diversity and inclusion strategy that truly works.