Ali Atwell is the founder and host of The Autoimmune Mom Podcast, where she shares honest conversations about motherhood, chronic illness, identity and resilience.
A former college basketball player and marathon runner, Ali earned a full basketball scholarship to Bryant University, served as team captain and finished her career with 1,398 points as the fifth all-time leading scorer. She later ran the Boston Marathon two consecutive years.
Rheumatoid arthritis changed her relationship with her body and the identity she had built through sports. After two hand surgeries and a total knee replacement at 45, Ali found herself navigating a different kind of challenge: rebuilding a sense of identity and purpose while raising two daughters and living with chronic illness.
Today, she uses personal storytelling and podcast conversations to explore what it means to adapt when life changes, redefine strength and find connection in difficult seasons.
Ali is developing her speaking work around resilience, identity, motherhood and chronic illness. Her perspective is grounded in lived experience, honest reflection and the belief that a diagnosis or unexpected setback does not have to define the entirety of a person's story.
Based in the Charleston, South Carolina, area, Ali also works in real estate.
Speaking Topics
When Your Identity Changes
Who are you when the things that once defined you no longer come easily? A personal exploration of identity, unexpected change and finding a new sense of purpose.
Redefining Strength
Why resilience doesn't always mean pushing harder. What happens when we learn to adapt, ask for help and recognize strength in a different season of life.
Motherhood in the Middle of It All
The complicated reality of raising a family while managing chronic illness, navigating uncertainty and learning to make room for your own needs.
About The Autoimmune Mom Podcast
The Autoimmune Mom Podcast creates space for honest conversations with mothers navigating autoimmune disease and family life. Through interviews and personal stories, the podcast explores self-advocacy, treatment decisions, relationships, identity and the realities of living with chronic illness.
Media & Interview Inquiries
Ali welcomes inquiries from event organizers, journalists, podcast hosts and organizations interested in conversations about chronic illness, motherhood, resilience and identity.
For speaking, interviews, collaborations or media inquiries, please use the contact form on this website.