In the Room

LIS Collective; Spatial Matters

5.0 (1)
Society & Culture

In the Room is an immersive podcast where disabled people share their stories, identities, and expertise. Each episode offers intimate conversations that challenge stereotypes, expand perspectives, and show disability as a natural part of the human experience.

Jul 14

Episode 7: Tricia Downing

Tricia Downing is a disability advocate, author, and the first female paraplegic racer to complete an Ironman-distance triathlon. After a cycling crash in 2000 left her paralyzed from the chest down, she returned to high-performance sport, competing for Team USA in adaptive rowing and later representing the U.S. in Paralympic air pistol at the Rio 2016 Games. She is the founder of Camp Discovery, an outdoor program for women who use wheelchairs, and the author of the memoir Cycle of Hope.
Jul 14

Episode 6: Pat Groninger

Pat Groninger is the founder of Accessibly Yours, a consultancy focused on advancing accessibility and inclusion across the hospitality industry. After years working in restaurants and bars and a car accident that changed his ability to stand for long shifts, Pat turned lived experience into a mission to rethink access. He partners with restaurants, hotels, event venues, and bars to assess physical access, navigate funding, and make accessibility a standard practice rather than an afterthought. Resources: Website: https://www.accessibly-yours.com Instagram: @accessibly.yours Email: allaccessfam@gmail.com LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/accessibly-yours-llc/
Jul 14

Episode 5: Brent Belisle

Brent Belisle is a Denver-based disability advocate and community leader with deep roots in mobility and transit access. Living with cerebral palsy, he has worked as a travel trainer and transit advocate and currently supports individuals and families through his role at The Arc Jefferson, Clear Creek & Gilpin Counties. Brent’s work centers independence, dignity, and practical access, grounded in lived experience and community connection. Video Resources: Part 3: 2024 SDM Summit | "Good Life" Brent Belisle 2024 Supported Decision Making Conference 2015 Advocating for Transportation at Union Station
Jul 13

Episode 4: Ruth Jackson

Accessibility Note: Ruth participated in this conversation in American Sign Language (ASL). To make the conversation accessible to hearing listeners, the spoken English heard throughout the episode is voiced by ASL interpreter Rey Martinez, who interpreted between ASL and spoken English in real time. Ruth Jackson is the creator of Bake It With Sass, a platform where she combines her love of baking with her passion for Deaf culture and American Sign Language. Growing up Deaf in a hearing household, Ruth spent many years trying to blend into hearing spaces before discovering the Deaf community and embracing ASL during college, including a transformative experience studying at Gallaudet University. In 2020, Ruth left her job due to the pandemic. While at home she became very bored and wanted to try something new. She tried finding baking videos with captions or ASL but had a difficult time. After talking with friends, Ruth began creating and sharing baking videos in ASL online, creating accessible content that includes captions and introduces viewers to Deaf culture. What started as a simple experiment quickly became a mission. Through Bake It With Sass, Ruth aims to celebrate Deaf identity, teach ASL through food, and eventually fund a community center for Deaf and hard of hearing children so future generations grow up with the support and belonging she found later in life. http://bakeitwithsass.com/
Jul 13

Episode 3: Pheonix

Phoenix, They/She/We, has been blind since birth as a result of complications of being born severely premature, around 24 weeks of gestation. They graduated from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work in 2021 and received their certificate in Human-Animal-Environment Interactions and currently work as an outpatient therapist serving survivors of complex, developmental traumas and extreme abuse with their trusty canine co-therapist by their side. They believe in the transformative power of safe, healthy connections, creativity, play, humor, and the human-animal bond. Their journey in social work is deeply rooted in their personal experiences and identity as a queer, South Asian individual born to immigrant parents who is a survivor of complex trauma and who lives with plurality themselves. They embrace their own experiences with blindness and Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, EDS, as sources of strength in their practice. When they are not working, you can find them hanging from a cliff on an adaptive climbing trip with Paradox Sports, acting on stage with Phamaly **pronounced family** Theatre Company, and/or buried under a large pile of Squishmallows reciting the latest string of really bad dad-jokes to anyone who dares to be within earshot!
Jul 8

Episode 2: Molly Kirkham

Molly Kirkham is a Denver-based disability rights advocate and self-advocate with a strong record in legislative policy. She serves as a Legislative Policy Advocate for The Arc of Colorado and is President of Speaking For Ourselves – Colorado, the state’s self-advocacy organization. Molly regularly testifies at the Colorado legislature, including in support of HB25-1017, which affirms the right of people with disabilities to live and receive care in the community.
Jul 7

Episode 1: Bill Casson

Bill Casson, he/him was born partially blind and lost his remaining vision around age 19. He works for the University of Denver as a digital accessibility specialist. In his free time, he loves rock and ice climbing and playing games.
Season 1 Trailer

Intro to In the Room

In the Room is an immersive video podcast that centers disabled voices, stories, and expertise. Originally designed for Apple Vision Pro, the show invites audiences into authentic conversations that feel like you are sitting across the table with the guest—listening, learning, and expanding your perspective. Through short yet powerful episodes, In the Room challenges outdated stereotypes and shifts the narrative around disability. Guests include disabled advocates, designers, creatives, researchers, and everyday people who share their lives in unmasked and unapologetic ways. Each conversation reveals how disability intersects with identity, culture, and community, while highlighting the brilliance, resilience, and leadership within the disability community. By creating an environment where disabled people can tell their own stories, In the Room offers audiences a chance to build empathy, challenge their own assumptions, and rethink what inclusion really looks like. understanding disability as a natural part of the human experience and a vital part of what makes humanity rich and diverse.

Trailer

Intro to In the Room

In the Room is an immersive video podcast that centers disabled voices, stories, and expertise. Originally designed for Apple Vision Pro, the show invites audiences into authentic conversations that feel like you are sitting across the table with the guest—listening, learning, and expanding your perspective. Through short yet powerful episodes, In the Room challenges outdated stereotypes and shifts the narrative around disability. Guests include disabled advocates, designers, creatives, researchers, and everyday people who share their lives in unmasked and unapologetic ways. Each conversation reveals how disability intersects with identity, culture, and community, while highlighting the brilliance, resilience, and leadership within the disability community. By creating an environment where disabled people can tell their own stories, In the Room offers audiences a chance to build empathy, challenge their own assumptions, and rethink what inclusion really looks like. understanding disability as a natural part of the human experience and a vital part of what makes humanity rich and diverse.

In the Room is an immersive podcast where disabled people share their stories, identities, and expertise. Each episode offers intimate conversations that challenge stereotypes, expand perspectives, and show disability as a natural part of the human experience.

Creator

LIS Collective; Spatial Matters
Years Active

2026
Episodes

8
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© LIS Collective; Spatial Matters
Show Website

In the Room