The Landscape

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a leading hospital for marine life; a passionate educator; and has been extremely impactful to the disability community. Kelsy Long, the Director of Media Relations, speaks about the history of the aquarium, the dedicated staff and volunteers, and how their most famous resident, Winter, had a movie made about her. (Dolphin's Tale). 

After this episode was recorded, Winter passed away at t...

For National Disability Employment Awareness Month, there is no better organization to have on than APSE. This episode covers what Supported Employment is, the meaning and progress of Employment 1st, how APSE supports states, details about their national conference and more.

National APSE Representatives:

Erica Belois-Pacer - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Kari Tietjen - CERTIFICATION DIRECTOR

APS...

The Paralympics aren't just "games", or even only a movement. It's people, it's business, it's health, it's raising expectations, it's education and more. This episode features some of my favorite moments from five episodes I've conducted over the past year and a half. Each segment gives a different perspective of the Paralympics and hopefully you'll walk away entertained, educated ...

Yasmina McGlone is a motivation speaker, blogger and disability advocate who has lived her entire life with a body that works a little bit differently than her peers. In early life, she never thought about it, or even realized it, but by the time she hit high school, Myoclonus Dystonia was impacting her self-esteem and mental health. Listen to this wonderfully self-aware individual talk about her life and how she went from shame to...

It was a great honor to close the Project SEARCH international Conference by interviewing these two thriving and charming graduates of the program.  The interview was recorded at West Tennessee Healthcare, which is a hospital in Jackson, TN. As you'll hear in the interview, David currently works at Starbucks at the hospital, and David is a surgical sterilization technician. There were a handful of people watching us record liv...

World champion at the age of 14. First athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympic games in the debut of Taekwondo. Disability Advocate. Diversity and Inclusion Champion. Amy Truesdale is one of the biggest names and pioneer of Para Taekwondo, and though her name has already been etched in history, she is far from done. In this episode, Amy speaks about why she got into the sport, her success, why she donated most of her trophies (...

Very few people are aware of the history and cultural background of conservatorships, also known as guardianships. In this episode we discuss that history, as well as alternatives to the legal practice, which are seldom known or talked about.

Guests:
Jonathan Martinis, Esq., J.D. is the Director for Law and Policy with the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, and was part of a ground breaking case around guar...

Actor and fellow podcaster, Maddi Albregts speaks about IIH, internal ableism, and living with an invisible disability. Please check out her wonderful podcast BrainFart and add it to your playlist!

Links for Maddi

Episode where Maddi is interviewed by her friend who took her to the hospital her sophomore year. One of my favorite episodes: Here
Link to BrainFart homepage: Here
Link to BrainFart IG Page: He...

Doug Crandell is a national subject matter expert in Supported Employment, with expertise working with individuals with severe mental illness; and developmental disabilities. Doug is also and award winning author with both fiction and non-fiction books published. In this episode he speaks about his work helping states shape and improve their supports of individuals with disabilities, his writing and more. Doug is passionate, creati...

June 6th is National Cancer Survivors Day, and there is no better way to celebrate than to feature St. Jude Hospital, which leads the world in improving the survival rate from childhood cancer. This episode dives into the rich history of St. Jude, their mission and some keys to their success. Like any organization, it is the people that make it go; that carry out the mission and goals. Justin Baker, MD gives an interview that shows...

Lisa A Mills, Ph.D. is a national subject matter expert on supported employment who has helped over 20 states create or improve Medicaid and Department of Vocational Rehabilitation services. Lisa is also the parent of a son who has a disability and utilized supported employment to obtain competitive, integrated employment. I've had the pleasure of working with Lisa, and she has such an amazing and unique skillset, that both pu...

Tyler Samuel is a gifted and passionate opera singer who happens to be a woman of color; happens to be from a predominantly black high school; happens to be blind; and happens to be hard of hearing. She comes from a family that has never accepted being limited, going back to even before the civil rights movement. This episode is a celebration of art, and diversity and the bonds that can pull us together. It was one of the most enjo...

Andre Carter is an intern from Vanderbilt University's Next Steps Program. Andre conducted the interview, as well as did all sound mastering and editing in this episode.

Guest:
Big 12 Women's Soccer Coach of the Year, Eric Bell of TCU. Coach Bell led the TCU Horned Frogs to their first ever Big 12 championship, and they made further history by being named the overall #4 seed in the upcoming NCAA Championship...

April is Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month. Nichole Moehring and her family have weathered the storm of child sexual abuse three times. Her son who is diagnosed with autism and Fragile X Syndrome had a very different level of support and resources than when her neurotypical daughter as they sought justice against the perpetrator. In this episode, Nicole shares their story, and tells us about the agency they created...

Jermaine Greaves is the organizing founder of Black Disabled Lives Matter. He is a force to be reckon with, as he has a dance video that went viral to the tune of 20M downloads, has started a brand "Not Like The Other Kids" and is an amazing activist. Listen to Jermaine's story from immigrating to the United States, to clubbing, to being a college student, to organizing BDLM events. Oh, and he's been in a few co...

She's one of my favorite contestants, on one of my favorite shows. I got to be a bit of a fanboy while interviewing Briony, who was a semi-finalist on The Great British Bake Off, and is now a presenter on Britain's Channel 4 show - Food Unwrapped. Briony speaks about how she got into baking; what it was like auditioning for the show; how and why she became a disability advocate; her close-knit family; and more. At the end...

Hannah Setzer (known on social media as @feedingtube.fitness) speaks about working full-time; helping to run a family business with her husband; tending to their small farm; being an exercise influencer, fostering four boys, writing a memoir and more. She also speaks about Cystic Hygroma, using a feeding tube and trach, and gives tips such as why she started blending her own food instead of using a formula. Hannah's "why&...

Gabriel Mayr of Brazil, has worked with the Paralympics, United Nations, and was a co-founder of Brazil's Urece Sports and Culture for the Blind, which has been recognized by the likes of FIFA.  Gabriel has studied and worked all over the world, with civil rights being at the root of what he does. He has impacted Brazil and the world through his work, yet is one of most humble people I've met. His story is one that shows ...

Roughly 70% of individuals with a disability are unemployed. One of the main barriers is the fear of employment causing them to lose their disability benefits. Todays guest, Raymond Cebula, has spend his professional career educating people that going to work is possible, and almost the only means to get out of poverty.  Raymond Cebula, who is a program director at Cornell University's Yang tan Institute for unemployment and d...