David Flink
Adversity: Learning disabilities – ADHD and dyslexia
Advocacy: Started a national mentoring program for youth with learning disabilities
“Mentoring has become a platform that allows people with learning differences to have our stories be seen and heard and valued.”
When David Flink was accepted into Brown University, he assumed it was because someone in the Admission office was sleeping on the job. David had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia in elementary school and says he spent his childhood feeling as though he was stupid and broken.
“Teachers around me were thinking about how to fix me. There was a right way to learn and I wasn’t learning the right way.” It wasn’t until he connected with other smart, learning-disabled peers at Brown that he realized his intellectual strength and potential.
“The one thing that would have made living with a learning difference easier as a child would have been having a mentor,” says David. It was with that in mind he and five friends from Brown started Eye to Eye, a national mentoring program that empowers young people with learning disabilities by pairing them with college students who share the same experience. In addition to his work as Executive Director and Chief Empowerment Officer of Eye to Eye, David speaks on campuses across the country and internationally about being an advocate for people with learning disabilities. He has presented keynote addresses at conferences including the International Dyslexia Association’s Annual Conference, the Education Revolution Conference, and the Arts and Special Education Conference.
David has received numerous honors and awards and is proud of them all. One of the most unique came in 2015 when he found himself celebrated in GQ alongside fellow dyslexic Mark Ruffalo as GQ Man of the Year, honoring those who go above and beyond to raise awareness for social issues. Most recently, David was named a 2021 CNN Hero for his work to support students with learning disabilities.
His first book, Thinking Differently: An Inspiring Guide for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities, was published in 2014 by HarperCollins. David lives with his wife and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area.