Alex Valdez

Alex Valdez brings twenty-five years of speaking and entertaining experience to his audiences. Alex is a pioneer, having been the first comedian with a disability to gain national recognition. Winner of the first Norman Lear Comedy Competition, presenter of over 2,500 comedy shows and keynote speaker to over 250 organizations, he has won the hearts and admiration of his audiences of all ages.

Alex's programs: "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Diversity" and "Disabilities are from Within," allow him to entertain as well as educate. His goal is "not only to help audiences accept his own and others' disAbilities, but to recognize that while we may all appear very different on the outside, on the inside we are all very much the same". His messages combine his life experiences and years of diversity and disability training. Corporations, associations, government agencies and college campuses have all invited Alex to be part of their diversity, disabilities awareness, and human resource programs.

Alex's message reaches out to all audiences. Several recent presentations include keynote addresses to the annual conference of the International Association of Professionals in Workforce Development, NASA, University of Houston, Association of Professional in Rural Independent Living, PepsiCo, Frito Lay, Wells Fargo Bank, FBI, Bank of America among over 100 other corporations, colleges and universities, government agencies and advocacy organizations.

In 1985 Alex joined Jim O'Brien to become one of the few successful comedy teams to have featured both a disabled and able-bodied comedian. As Alex reflects on his outstanding past, he fondly identifies several highlights that include appearances on: The Phil Donahue Show, Marilu, The Leeza Show, CBS's 48 Hours, as well as being one of the features of the PBS special, "Look Who's Laughing".
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"Your topic offered the humor we all need so much in order to deal with the trials of life and your sensitivity and personal feedback offered insight to a perspective that we should consider more seriously in attaining the highest ideals in life." -- Mark Van Ness, CEO and co-founder of Sperry Van Ness

"As our Keynote Speaker, you hit the mark and set the stage for an unforgettable day. Your stories and witticisms were enjoyable and realistic. The evaluations were glowing." -- Terry Boccassini, UCP/NJ

"Alex was nothing less than great. He gave more to the students than we ever expected." -- Dean Brusnighan, Purdue University