My name is Ghalib Sumar, and I am honoured to join the Board of the Canadian Stuttering Association as Marketing and Communications Coordinator.
I have stuttered since high school, and for much of my life, my stutter was something I managed quietly. In fact, many people who know me don't even know that I stutter, because I became so skilled at hiding it — swapping words at the last second, avoiding certain sounds, or by staying silent when I had something to say. In the stuttering community, we call this masking. Like many people who stutter, I learned early on how much energy it takes to plan every sentence before speaking it — and how heavy silence can feel when you have something worth saying.
The toll stuttering takes
Stuttering is hard in a way that is difficult to explain to those who have never lived it. You know exactly what you want to say. The words are right there. But your mouth will not cooperate. While everyone around you communicates freely and effortlessly, you are stuck — negotiating with every syllable.
Over time, that takes a real toll. It is not just the moments of blocked speech. It is the anticipation before every phone call. The dread of introducing yourself and networking. The exhaustion of masking all day. The opportunities you quietly pass up — the questions not asked, the hand not raised, the story not told. Stuttering can chip away at your confidence and self-worth, your relationships, and your sense of what is possible for your life. Many of us carry that weight for years, believing we carry it alone.
Here is what I have come to understand throughout the years: stuttering did not make me less of a communicator. It made me a more intentional one.
When every word costs something, you learn to choose words carefully. You learn to listen deeply. You learn that communication is not about fluency — it is about connection. Those lessons did not just shape my personal life. They shaped my career.
A career built on communication
For sixteen years, I have worked as a marketing and communications strategist in business, and the health and nonprofit sectors. I have contributed to communications and marketing efforts for organizations including The Sinneave Family Foundation, AMI RockChain, the University of Central Asia, and the Aga Khan Council for Canada. I hold degrees from McMaster University and York University, both centred on health, aging, and society.
There is a certain irony in a person who stutters building a career on communication. But I have never seen it that way. I chose this work because of my stutter, not in spite of it. I know what it feels like to have a story worth telling and to struggle to tell it. Helping organizations and communities find their voice has been my way of honouring that struggle.
My faith and my community have been constants throughout. As a Shia Ismaili Muslim, I was raised with the values of lifelong service and voluntary giving. I have volunteered in my community my entire life. Serving on the CSA Board is a continuation of that path — service, directed toward a community that understands a part of me few others can.
Finding the CSA
Connecting with the Canadian Stuttering Association changed something for me. I found the CSA online and immediately knew I wanted to volunteer here and bring about meaningful change. For the first time, I was in a room where I did not have to explain, mask, or be someone I wasn’t. Everyone already knew and I felt welcome and at home.
You are not alone
If you take one thing from my story, let it be this: whatever toll stuttering has taken on you, you do not have to carry it alone. Help and community are closer than you think.
The CSA offers support groups across Canada — in person and online — where people who stutter come together to share challenges, build confidence, and empower one another. For many, a support group meeting is the first time they ever meet another person who stutters. There is an online support group just for youth, giving kids and pre-teens a safe space to find their voices among peers who understand. The CSA also connects people to resources, information about stuttering and treatment options, community events, and a national network of people who simply get it.
I spent years managing my stutter quietly, on my own. You do not have to. Visit stutter.ca, find a support group, come to an event. Take the first step. Our community is waiting for you.
Serving on the CSA Board
As Marketing and Communications Coordinator, my focus is on telling our story — clearly, boldly, and widely. I want to amplify the voices of people who stutter across Canada. I want to challenge the stigma and the stereotypes. I want a young person who stutters to search online and find not just information, but a community built on belonging and thriving.
My hope is simple. I hope people who stutter see themselves represented sooner. I hope they find their community sooner. I hope they find their authentic voice sooner — and discover it was never missing at all. Thank you for the warm welcome. I cannot wait to get to work and to bring meaningful and lasting change to the thousands of Canadians who stutter.
Ghalib Sumar, born and raised in Toronto, is an ambitious, detail-oriented, and accomplished professional with more than 16 years of experience in Marketing & Communications (MarComms). He is a dedicated volunteer champion whose extensive experience has had a measurable impact and created meaningful results within the community.
As a person who stutters, Ghalib is passionate about increasing awareness, promoting understanding, and helping create spaces where people who stutter feel supported and represented.
Outside of his professional and volunteer commitments, Ghalib enjoys spending time in the mountains and is an avid basketball fan. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University, a Bachelor of Health Studies from York University, and a Digital Marketing & Social Media with UI/UX Design Certificate from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).