David Neeleman
CEO, jetBlue Airways;
Honorary Chairman, Smart Kids With LD;
Winner, first Smart Kid's Community Service Award

David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of JetBlue Airways, is widely known as a relentless innovator — introducing electronic ticketing in the airline industry, establishing a computer reservation system, and launching airlines in both the U.S. and Canada before founding jetBlue Airways. It was not until he was an adult that he became aware of his learning disabilities and ADHD.

He now credits his learning difficulties as the source of his energy and creativity, and the ability to think differently. “When I was growing up in the ‘60s, not a lot was known about learning disabilities and ADHD,” Neeleman said. “But thanks to the support of my parents and teachers, I’m proof that being learning disabled doesn’t have to hold you back. Sometimes I even think it’s an advantage.”

More concerned with supporting children with LD and ADHD than “fixing them,” he sees a distinct advantage, based on his own experience, in his ability to empathize with children with learning and attention difficulties — problems he believes should be viewed not as disabilities, but as opportunities to discover some special talent and to harness and use it.

Neeleman became Honorary Chairman of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities in 2002, and accepted the organization’s first Community Service Award in 2003. He understands the importance of conveying to parents the message that these kids are both smart and talented and, if they get the help they need, can not only succeed but often excel.

“Learning disabilities and ADHD are issues that had a profound effect on my experience in school and, now, are very important to me as a parent,” he says. “I’m proud and pleased to be Honorary Chairman of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities. It is important to remind people that children with learning disabilities are among our brightest and most gifted.”