Adventures in Accessibility

Rocky Mountain ADA Center
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Adventures in Accessibility

Americans living with disabilities are often faced with obstacles when it comes to accessibility. These obstacles can lead to adventures and misadventures alike. Twice per month, an esteemed guest will share their story with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center. Whether you want to learn about how to make life more accessible for you or a loved one, this podcast is for you. New episodes come out Wednesdays at 10:30 AM MST. Transcripts are always available in the show notes. 

  1. Ep. 68 - Emmett Lockwood

    2 DAYS AGO

    Ep. 68 - Emmett Lockwood

    Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe068 Emmett is a disability justice practitioner and student activist passionate about creating disabled, decolonial, and anti-oppressive communities. He's a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, majoring in political science and gender and women's studies, conducting research on how definitions of political personhood intersect with electoral access for disabled voters. They have previously served as an intern for the American Association of People with Disabilities; the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and for the Department of Health Services for the state of Wisconsin. Lockwood helped organize the Disability Cultural Center Coalition at UW-Madison, which successfully established the UW-Madison Disability Cultural Center in 2023, the 13th such center in the United States. Connect with Emmett: Emmett Lockwood (@emmettlockwood.bsky.social) — Bluesky Email: ewlockwood@wisc.edu  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!

    32 min
  2. Ep. 67 - Delila Vasquez

    JAN 29

    Ep. 67 - Delila Vasquez

    Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe067 Delila is a high school senior from Dallas, Texas who was born with a rare genetic disorder called CHARGE syndrome, which can affect a person's eyes, hearing, heart, growth, and more. As a deafblind individual, Delila has limited vision in one eye and relies on a bone anchored hearing auditory implant to hear. She communicates with confidence signing her words to ensure the deaf community feels included. Delila authored a book titled In CHARGE of My Life, a book about her childhood growing up and discovering life through a deafblind lens. In her book, she talks about overcoming many trials and struggles such as shyness, feeling different, not fitting in and low self-esteem. She realizes that she can get help and she's not alone, and that it's okay to have those types of feelings through life's ups and downs. Delila proves herself time and time again with her determination and willpower. Her life experience has helped her mature and become a remarkable person with a huge, caring heart. Delila sees a bright future for herself and wants to encourage other students that are feeling lost or frustrated to be confident and shine Connect with Delila: Delila Vasquez (@delila.incharge) • Instagram photos and videos In CHARGE of My Life: Vasquez, Delila, Sapir, Crystal: 9781630665623: 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!

    23 min
  3. Ep. 66 - Nicole Cyrille

    JAN 8

    Ep. 66 - Nicole Cyrille

    Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe066 Nicole Cyrille is an actor, voice-over artist, and disability advocate focused on fostering inclusion and authentic representation in entertainment. With a diverse background on stage and screen, Nicole brings powerful performances to life across genres. As a voice-over artist, she lends her voice to characters and narrations with versatility and emotional depth. She also performs Audio Description for shows like Grey’s Anatomy and provides live Audio Description for high-profile events such as the Grammys and Tonys, making content more accessible to everyone. Beyond her craft, Nicole is a committed advocate for breaking down barriers for performers with disabilities. She champions authentic casting, accessible production spaces, and fair treatment for disabled artists. Recognized for her leadership, Nicole collaborates with industry professionals to promote inclusion and expand opportunities for disabled talent. Through her art and advocacy, Nicole is reshaping narratives around disability and proving that diverse representation enhances storytelling for all. Connect with Nicole: Nicole Cyrille (@nicole.cyrille) • Instagram photos and videos Nicole Cyrille (@nicole.cyrille) • Threads, Say more Nicole Cyrille (@nicolecyrille.bsky.social) — Bluesky 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!

    41 min
  4. Ep. 65 - Rebecca Rosenberg

    12/11/2024

    Ep. 65 - Rebecca Rosenberg

    Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe065 Rebecca Rosenberg is an engineer, entrepreneur, speaker, and a person with albinism. Growing up she struggled to find assistive technologies that supported her needs as a person with moderate vision impairment. In 2019, Rebecca founded ReBokeh to develop assistive technologies specifically for the albinism and moderate low vision communities. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Bucknell University, Rebecca began coursework at the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID) where she received her Master’s degree of the same title. Following her masters, she was awarded an Abell Foundation Fellowship to assist in developing and teaching the Biodesign curriculum to first year masters students. She also served as the project lead for VectorCam, a global health initiative aimed at using artificial intelligence to combat malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Rebecca now devotes her full time to ReBokeh: having deployed the technology to a growing base of users in over 70 countries worldwide and speaking to various groups on the unique challenges of the moderate low vision community. Connect with Rebecca: Website: Home | ReBokeh ReBokeh Vision Technologies, Inc. | LinkedIn ReBokeh • Vision Assist Technology 📱 (@rebokehvision) • 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!

    28 min
  5. Ep. 64 - Katherine Beattie

    10/23/2024

    Ep. 64 - Katherine Beattie

    Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe064 Katherine Beattie is a Los Angeles born television writer/producer and action sports enthusiast. While she has spent most of her professional career writing police procedurals, she considers herself a comedian at heart. But regardless of what she’s writing, Katherine is a champion for authentic and nuanced portrayals of Disabled People and other historically excluded communities on screen, and for their inclusion behind the scenes. As one of the pioneers of wheelchair motocross (WCMX), Katherine was the first woman in the world to land a backflip on a wheelchair. She competes on the Adaptive Surfing Professionals World Tour, and is a member of USA Surfing’s parasurfing national team. She will represent Team USA at her 4th ISA World Parasurfing Championships this November in Huntington Beach. Connect with Katherine: Katherine Beattie (@ktbeattie) • 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!

    31 min
  6. Ep. 63 - Kelly Twichel

    10/09/2024

    Ep. 63 - Kelly Twichel

    Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe063 Kelly Twichel is an occupational therapist and CEO of the award-winning accessibility startup Access Trax. At 12 years old, Kelly made the commitment to pursue a career in healthcare; her mom had suffered a massive stroke and she wanted to help others like those who helped her mom. Her journey to entrepreneurship began in 2016 at grad school. As an occupational therapy student at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, Kelly was inspired by local SoCal adaptive surfers to co-invent portable mats that empower people with physical disabilities to easily traverse outdoor terrain like sand at the beach. In 2018, Kelly launched Access Trax which has since served families, nonprofits and governments across 18 countries. Kelly enjoys volunteering at adaptive sport events and encouraging the next generation of social impact entrepreneurs. Connect with Kelly: Access Trax - Access for Life (accesstraxsd.com) Access Trax (@accesstrax) • Instagram photos and videos Access Trax | LinkedIn Email: kelly@accesstraxsd.com 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!

    24 min
  7. Ep. 62 - Foster Andersen

    09/25/2024

    Ep. 62 - Foster Andersen

    Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe062 Foster's journey took a dramatic turn at 17 during the summer between his junior and senior years of high school. An active and athletic young man, he was riding his motorcycle through the woods of upstate New York when a severe accident left him in a two-week coma. He recalls a near-death out-of-body experience when his heart stopped for six seconds. Despite his quadriplegia, Foster's determination to live fully never wavered. Seven months after the accident, he left the hospital with a clear goal, "I wanted to get outdoors again. I wanted to get unstuck." Though unable to walk, he went on to bungee jump out of a hot air balloon, scuba dive, surf, chair ski, sail, and follow the Grateful Dead, invent a frisbee for quadriplegics, attend engineering school and drive across the country in his adaptive van. As an inventor and innovator, Foster's adventures were just beginning in ways he never imagined. His mission became sharing this spirit with others in the disability community. In 1985, he co-founded Shared Adventures with a sit ski program in Rochester, New York. For over 30 years, Foster has been running the program in Santa Cruz, inspiring countless others to embrace life after challenge. Connect with Foster: Shared Adventures Access Santa Cruz County (scaccessguide.com) Shared Adventures | Santa Cruz CA | Facebook Shared Adventures - YouTube Shared Adventures (@sharedadventuressc) • Instagram photos and videos Phone: (831)-459-7201 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!

    32 min
  8. Ep. 61 - Kerry Magro

    09/12/2024

    Ep. 61 - Kerry Magro

    Transcript: bit.ly/AIAe061 Dr. Kerry Magro , Ed.D. was nonspeaking till 2.5, diagnosed with autism at 4 and didn’t speak in complete sentences until 7 years old. Today as an adult he is an award-winning autistic professional speaker, best-selling author and autism consultant to the HBO series Mrs. Fletcher and the latest season of Netflix’s Emmy-Award Winning Series ‘Love on the Spectrum U.S.’ He started professional speaking 13 years ago via the National Speakers Association after he fell in love with theater as a child to help with his social and communication skills. Today he has spoken at over 1300 events during that time include 2 TEDxTalks and a 'Talks at Google' presentation. In addition, Kerry is CEO & President of KFM Making A Difference, a nonprofit organization that hosts inclusion events and has provided 150 scholarships for autistic students for college and counting since 2011. He’s provided 27 small business grants for small businesses that hire people with disabilities and has played Santa Claus for autistic and special needs children for the past decade to give them an opportunity to meet Santa in a sensory-friendly environment.  In his spare time, he hosts a Facebook Page called Kerry's Autism Journey that now has 278,000 Facebook followers where he does on-camera interviews highlighting people impacted by a diagnosis to help break down barriers in our community. His videos he’s produced have been watched over 35 million times. Kerry’s best-selling books Defining Autism From The Heart, and Autism and Falling in Love, I Will Light It Up Blue and his latest, Autistics on Autism have reached Amazon Best-Seller Lists for Special Needs Parenting. His latest book ‘Supporting Your Autism Journey’ was released on April 2,...

    24 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Americans living with disabilities are often faced with obstacles when it comes to accessibility. These obstacles can lead to adventures and misadventures alike. Twice per month, an esteemed guest will share their story with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center. Whether you want to learn about how to make life more accessible for you or a loved one, this podcast is for you. New episodes come out Wednesdays at 10:30 AM MST. Transcripts are always available in the show notes. 

Information

  • Creator
    Rocky Mountain ADA Center
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Rocky Mountain ADA Center
  • Show Website
    Adventures in Accessibility

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