I'm Sarah kernion.
My path into communication began at Penn State, where a simple college assignment on nonverbal cues cracked something open in me. What I thought was casual people-watching turned out to be a deeper calling: understanding how people express, connect, and make meaning—especially when words fail.
That early fascination led me into a successful career in pharmaceutical sales, where I learned how to tell stories that stick, move, and persuade. But it wasn’t until I became a mother to two nonspeaking autistic children that communication took on its deepest meaning.
Today, my work is rooted in both experience and empathy. I speak, teach, and advocate from the intersection of professional insight and lived reality—bringing vulnerability, strategy, and story together to spark understanding around neurodiversity.
Whether I’m on stage, in a workshop, or behind the mic, I bring the same mission: to make the unseen seen, and to show that every form of communication—especially the nonverbal—is a language worth honoring.
My reason for speaking is not about my journey. It's about how I found out who I was innately as a human and mother and to share with you how, through the inchstone mentality, YOU can find out what makes YOU the best human and parent so that your journey feels authentic to yours and your childs needs.
“SARAH DID NOT
DISAPPOINT.”
“I recently had the pleasure of hiring Sarah for a keynote speaking event at LoveShackFancy, and I must say that it was an incredibly insightful and thought-provoking experience. I was eager to learn alongside my employees about Sarah’s journey as a mom to two children with non-speaking autism and how to create more inclusive environments. Sarah did not disappoint – her presentation was full of beautiful tips on how all individuals can adopt the ‘inchstone mentality’ and how best to support the special needs community from the 1:1 connectivity level. Overall, I’d highly recommend Sarah to anyone looking to learn more about autism, includsion, and what she has learned through her lived experience as Milly & Mack’s mom. Her expertise, passion, and decidation to this important topic shone through in every aspect of her talk and Q&A.”
STACY LILIEN, PRESIDENT LOVESHACKFANCY
• Pittsburgh born and raised
• New York City heart
• New Jersey home
