Advertise on podcast: Adventures in Accessibility

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe093 This week's guest is Kendall Peake. Kendall is the founder and president of Belong Co Idaho, a local nonprofit that provides social and employment opportunities for adults with disabilities. Connect with Kendall: Belong Co. Belong Co. (@belongcoidaho) • Instagram photos and videos Belong Co. Idaho | Boise ID | Facebook mailto:[email protected] Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe092 This week's guests are Avery Roberts and Kelly Berger. Kelly and Avery are dynamic, empowered, rare disease warriors and disability champions who share their stories, spark conversations, and build a world that listens and activates real change. Their spirited advocacy is bold, personal, and impossible to ignore. They both live with the ultra-rare form of congenital muscular dystrophy, CMD, Collagen VI. They've turned their lived experiences into powerful platforms for global change. The fierce change makers are driving visibility, authentic representation, and access, championing the next generation for a brighter, more inclusive future. Their podcast, Wheel Talk with Kelly and Avery, gives a front row seat to bold conversations about the thriving disability community. And the show amplifies voices, breaks down barriers, and celebrates the power of disability identity. It's where wit, wisdom, and wheels are all part of the party Connect with Avery and Kelly: Wheel Talk with Kelly and Avery Podcast - Podcast - Apple Podcasts Kelly Berger (@thekellyberger) • Instagram photos and videos Wheel Talk with Kelly & Avery (@thewheeltalkpodcast) • Instagram photos and videos Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe091 This week's guest is Lawrence Carter-Long. Lawrence is Director of Engagement for ReelAbilities International, where he works at the intersection of disability, media, culture, and access. A longtime advocate, curator, commentator, and creator. He has worked with the National Council on Disability, Turner Classic Movies, Sundance, PBS, NPR, the BBC, and other organizations to expand how disability is represented, understood, and experienced. He also originated the Disabled #SayTheWord campaign, which helped reclaim disability as a term of identity, power, and pride. Connect with Lawrence: ReelAbilities International Lawrence Carter-Long (@lcarterlong) • Instagram photos and videos Lawrence Carter-Long - ReelAbilities Film Festival | LinkedIn Email: [email protected]. Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe090 This week's guest is Sam Schmidt. Sam is a former IndyCar driver, championship team owner, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. A Pepperdine University graduate, he built successful businesses before launching a professional racing career, earning his first IndyCar victory in 1999 after competing in three Indianapolis 500s. In the year 2000, a testing crash left him a quadriplegic. Determined to keep racing, he founded Sam Schmidt Motorsports, as well as his foundation driven, formerly Conquer Paralysis Now, which funds research and operates rehabilitation centers that provide physical and emotional support. Sam and his wife, Sheila, live in Las Vegas. They have two children, Savannah and Spencer, and two grandchildren. Connect with Sam: Sam Schmidt — Racer. Entrepreneur. Champion of the Possible. Sam Schmidt – Driven Neurorecovery Center Sam Schmidt (@sam.schmidt_) • Instagram photos and videos No Finish Line by Sam Schmidt – Porchlight Book Company No Finish Line: A Racer's Journey of Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose: Schmidt, Sam, Yaeger, Don: 9798895151617: Amazon.com: Books Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe089 Today's guest is Dr. Kassy Lopez. Dr. Lopez is the program director of ASPIRE Scholars at Pikes Peak State College, an inclusive higher education program designed to expand access for students with intellectual disabilities. She leads innovative efforts to create meaningful college experiences through academic access, peer mentorship, and career exploration, while also building partnerships with school districts to support concurrent enrollment opportunities. With over 20 years of experience across early childhood education, mental health, and higher education, Kassy brings a systems level perspective to inclusion, focusing on removing barriers, rethinking traditional pathways, and creating spaces where all students belong. Her work is grounded in the belief that inclusive higher education is not a separate pathway, but a necessary evolution of college systems. Connect with Dr. Lopez: ASPIRE | Pikes Peak State College Email: [email protected]  Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe088 This week's guest is Bella Mohn. Bella is a 22-year-old disability advocate and content creator from Seattle, Washington. At just 18 years old, Bella's life changed overnight after emergency surgery for a heart condition led to paralysis from the waist down. Soon after, she began sharing her recovery journey and spreading awareness about disability on social media. Her hope has always been to share her raw, and hopefully inspirational experience of navigating wheelchair life, while never giving up on her dream of walking again. Today, Bella is a full-time college student studying marketing and communications while living fully independently despite ongoing health challenges. She's also an athlete who plays on the Seattle Kraken Sled Hockey team, and loves to work out, swim, travel, and spend time outdoors, especially with her little rescue dog, Sugar, who is also partially disabled. Bella's journey is one of recovery, resilience, and redefining independence. Through her platforms, she shares the realities of her day-to-day life with paralysis in an effort to educate, uplift, and challenge perceptions around disability, while at the same time encouraging others that no matter the circumstances, it's still possible to find the light and keep moving forward. Connect with the Bella: Bellawillwalkagain - YouTube Bella (@bellawillwalkagain) • Instagram photos and videos bella (@bellawillwalkagain) | TikTok Bellawillwalkagain | Facebook Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe087 This week's guests are Alma and Mike Loveland. Alma and Mike are the co-founders of Your Very Favorite, a creative educational publishing company based in Utah. Together, they design and produce engaging coloring and activity books that help kids and families learn about important topics from community services and public health, to science and environmental stewardship. Their work combines humor, clever puzzles, and thoughtful storytelling to turn complex subjects into experiences that are fun, memorable, and genuinely educational. Mike, who grew up in Orem, Utah, has had a lifelong passion for children's books and illustration. Known for his love of fascinating trivia and random facts, he brings a playful curiosity to every project. Becoming a children's book illustrator has always been his dream, but just as that dream was becoming a reality, Mike lost function in his dominant hand. His determination to continue creating has become an important part of his story and his work. Alma grew up in Northern Ontario, Canada, and has spent her life working across writing, design, and teaching. She brings energy, human, and big picture creative vision to their projects. Together, Alma and Mike draw constant inspiration from their three kids, now tweens and teenagers, whose personalities and interests helped shape the unique format of their books. In fact, since their own kids never liked traditional coloring books, they set out to create activity books that would still capture the attention of curious kids who want something more engaging. When they're not working, Alma and Mike enjoy creative hobbies like sewing, gardening, collecting, tinkering, and making art, along with keeping up with their busy family life in what they jokingly call the taxi stage of parenting. Connect with the Lovelands: Your Very Favorite | Discover Custom Activity Books! Your Very Favorite (@yourveryfavorite) | TikTok Your Very Favorite (Books!) (@your.very.favorite) • Instagram photos and videos Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe086 This week's guest is Gail Nehls. Gail is a nonprofit executive and social entrepreneur with over a decade of leadership advancing accessibility and inclusive service delivery. As CEO of Envida, she has led significant organizational growth while expanding transportation, healthcare access, and community-based services for older adults and people with disabilities across Colorado. Gail brings deep experience in public administration, policy advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration, and is a frequent national speaker and board member focused on equitable access and community impact. Connect with Gail: Mobile: 719-660-2806 Transportation Line: 719-633-4677 Envida Cares – Colorado Springs - envida Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe085 This week's podcast guest is Sheridan Powell. Sheridan works as the communications manager at Visit Colorado Springs. She leads the organization's accessibility efforts, including an accessibility task force, a partnership with accessible travel company Wheel the World, and more. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and strategic communications in 2020, and shortly thereafter relocated to Colorado Springs where she's lived ever since. Connect with Sheridan:  Colorado Springs Official Vacation Guide - Visit Colorado Springs Visit Colorado Springs (@visitcos) • Instagram photos and videos Visit Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs CO | Facebook Visit Colorado Springs - YouTube TikTok - Make Your Day [email protected] Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe084 This week's podcast guest is Kaeia Perez. Kaeia writes dark witchy, young adult horror about eerie towns, haunting rituals, and girls who refuse to burn quietly. Author of Emberwomb, she blends lyrical prose with unsettling truths and just a touch of magic. She resides in New York state with her husband and two little support cats. Connect with Kaeia:  Magickalgirloccult • Instagram KJ Tarot | FacebookMagickalGirl (@kjtarot) | TikTok Amazon.com: Emberwomb: 9798292775638: Perez, Kaeia: Books Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe083 This week's podcast guest is Kat Macfarlane. Professor Macfarlane serves as professor of law and director of the Disability Law and Policy Program at Syracuse University College of Law. She teaches and writes about disability law, civil rights litigation, and constitutional law. Her scholarship has been published in the Georgetown Law Journal, Fordham Law Review, Washington Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, Alabama Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal Forum, among others. Professor Macfarlane recently served as special counsel to the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining academia, Kat practiced law in Los Angeles and New York-based law firms and clerked for the District of Arizona and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She received her BA, magna cum laude, from Northwestern University and her JD cum laude from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Connect with Kat:  Kat Macfarlane (@katmacfarlane.bsky.social) — Bluesky SSRN Home Page Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe082 This week's podcast guest is Annie Heathcote. Annie is a multi-business owner, social media influencer, author, Christian and lifelong disability advocate whose life and work embody the belief that disability does not mean inability. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at just 13 months old, Annie has spent her life breaking barriers, championing accessibility, and inspiring others with her message of resilience and faith. She was crowned Miss Wheelchair Wisconsin in 2023. Using her platform, Caring is Caregiving to reach more than 100,000 people through schools, conferences, organizations, and media appearances across the state. Her advocacy took her to the Miss Wheelchair America national competition where she placed in the top five, earning second runner up and the best speech award. She has since been recognized as a woman of the year for Dane County for her leadership and community impact beyond advocacy. Annie is the founder of Annie Designs and Annie Speaks LLC, where she works as a freelance web and graphic designer and transformational speaker. She also brings creativity and joy into her everyday life through travel, art, music, and her past achievements as an elite athlete in the adaptive sport of power soccer. Annie's mission is simple but powerful. Love, serve God and others, work hard and never give up.  Connect with Annie:  Annie Speaks | Disability. Dignity. Destiny. Annie's Portfolio – Intentional. Impactful. Invigorating. Annie Speaks | Facebook Annie Heathcote I Disability Advocate & Speaker (@annieheathcote) • Instagram photos and videos Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe081 This week's podcast guest is Jordan Burk. Jordan is the author of the Kelly And Kelso Children's book series and the creator of Kelly and Friends, an animated series currently in development that's set to be the first US cartoon with a lead character who has Down syndrome. Inspired by his late Uncle Kelly, Jordan writes stories that celebrate kindness, friendship, and the value of every child. Known to students as, That Koala Guy, thanks to Professor Kelso, his six-foot plush sidekick, Jordan brings laughter and life lessons to schools, libraries, and stages across the country. He's been recognized nationally for his work, but at the heart of it all, his mission is simple to remind us that being different is something to celebrate Connect with Jordan:  Discover Kelly & Kelso Series - Inspiring Stories of Special Needs Advocacy by Jordan Burk Kelly and Kelso | Facebook Kelly & Kelso ™ (@kellyandkelso) • Instagram photos and videos Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe080 This episode's podcast guest is Cindy Bentley. For the last 25 years, Cindy has been Wisconsin's foremost voice for inclusion and civil rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 1999, Cindy helped found People First Wisconsin, a statewide disability advocacy organization with a mission to provide opportunities for people with disabilities in Wisconsin to speak up and be heard about healthcare, voting, employment, housing, and transportation issues. Cindy began her work at People First Wisconsin as an advocacy specialist, but was promoted to executive director and is the only person with an intellectual disability leading an advocacy organization in Wisconsin. Cindy recently received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in recognition of her many years of advocacy. Cindy serves on several boards, including the Governor's Committee for People with Disabilities, Life Navigators Board, and the Milwaukee County Combined Community Services Board. The Wisconsin Historical Society published a biography, which Cindy co-authored called Cindy Bentley: Spirit of a Champion. Choose the Pond, a short film about Cindy's life was recently shown at the 2025 Wisconsin Film Festival. Cindy is a highly decorated Special Olympics athlete and global messenger. She's currently training for the Special Olympic National Games in 2026 where she will play volleyball for Team Wisconsin. Connect with People First Wisconsin:  People First Wisconsin People First Wisconsin | Facebook Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe079 This episode's podcast guest is Murray Siple. Murray is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, and adapted surfer from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, he began his career capturing the raw energy of Canadian snowboard and skateboard culture. He directed the acclaimed documentary Carts of Darkness. After his spinal cord injury left him quadriplegic, Siple turned to painting, sculpture, and murals, exploring resilience, adaptation, and the poetry in broken things. Recently, adaptive surfing has become central to his life and work, offering a new form of movement, freedom, and expression. His upcoming feature documentary follows this journey, capturing the intersection of art, sport, and human determination. Siple's work is unflinching, electric, and demands that viewers look again and keep looking until they see what's truly there. Connect with Murray:  Murray Siple / WALLETMOTH STUDIOS Murray Siple (@murraysiple) • Instagram photos and videos Walletmoth (@walletmothstudios) • Instagram photos and videos Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at RockyMountainADA.org or find us on social media. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts!