Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode I sat down with Hannah Bonam-Young. Hannah is a writer of romance novels including Next of Kin, Next to You, and Out On A Limb that feature a cast of diverse, disabled, marginalized, and LGBTQIA+ folks in romantic storylines that blend with the beautiful, messy, and challenging realities of life. We discuss how she got into writing, why she wanted to write romance, the need...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Emma Vogelmann. Emma, also known as The Wheelchair Activist, is a disability activist based in the UK. She is the Policy, Public Affairs and Research Manager at Transport for All and host of The Wheelchair Activist Podcast. We discuss the differences in the US vs the UK in regards to disability representation, some of the impossible beauty standards that exis...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Matthew August Jeffers. Matthew is an actor of stage and screen, having appeared on shows such as New Amsterdam, FBI, and The Blacklist and can currently be seen portraying Nat on the AMC show The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live and is about to be making his Broadway debut in the play An Enemy Of The People. We discuss the dance between recognizing limitation...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Dom Kelly. Dom is the Co-Founder, President & CEO of New Disabled South, a non-profit working to achieve liberation and justice for disabled people in the South. and New Disabled South Rising, its advocacy arm. Prior to that he served as both the Georgia Fundraising Director and the Senior Advisor for Disability for Stacey Abrams’ campaign for governor of Geo...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Shelby Holloway. Shelby, in addition to being one of my best friends, is a content creator on TikTok and an advocate for dwarfism awareness. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner we have a heart-to-heart about the realities of dating as a little person, dating as a disabled person, the importance of looking for a safe space to find those relationships,...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Rebecca Cokley. Rebecca is the program officer for the Ford Foundation’s first-ever U.S. Disability Rights program, which is focused on strengthening the field, building a pipeline of diverse leadership, promoting disability pride, and mobilizing resources toward disability rights work. Prior to joining the foundation Rebecca was the co-founder of the Disabil...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Amy Roloff. Amy is a reality TV star, appearing on the show Little People Big World, an a cookbook author and a motivational speaker. We discuss having to contextualize what it means to be a little person, the power of sport in the little person community, life through a camera lens and much, much more. Follow Amy: Instagram: @amyjroloff Website: https://amyr...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Bradley Rose. Bradley is a Peloton Instructor, and teaches cycling classes from Peloton Studios London, bringing his unique British charm and eternally optimistic attitude to every ride.  Prior to joining Peloton, Bradley spent the last ten years in the USA, working as an actor, appearing in both films and TV shows. After sharing his story we discuss how...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Professor Javier Robles. Professor Robles is a professor at Rutgers University in the Kinesiology and Health Department, is the Director of the Center for Disability Sports, Health and Wellness at Rutgers, and is the Chair of the New Jersey Disabilities Covid-19 Action Committee. We discuss the differences between equality vs. equity, the importance of disabi...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Caitlin Conner. Caitlin, in addition to being the founder and CEO of Be More Adaptive, a global disability database, is a mom, a model, an advocate, and an athlete. After sharing her beautifully impactful story we discuss what it means to be a T-Rex and a chameleon, the differences between adaptive and universal design, the ability to be strong with a disabil...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Violet aka hi its vi. Violet is a disability advocate, filmmaker, and content creator with almost 70 thousand followers on TikTok. Violet’s advocacy focuses on the representation of people with dwarfism in the media. In light of some recent at the time of recording comments made by actor Hugh Grant regarding the film Wonka we discuss how modern remakes of cla...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Kylie Miller. Kylie is an audio journalist and social media curator. She is dedicated to advocating for disability rights and amplifying disability pride through podcasting and social media. She is the former producer of Judy Heumann’s podcast The Heumann Perspective and currently manages social media for Judy Heumann Legacy and Lachi Music. To celebrate Judy...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Chris Ruden. Chris is an amputee, Type 1 diabetic record-holding powerlifter, motivational keynote speaker, author, and disabled model who was featured on The Rock’s hit TV show “Titan Games”. Through his platforms, his message of “creating your world without limits” has made a global impact. We discuss what it means to be respectfully curious, the feelings o...

To start I would like to issue a trigger warning. In this conversation we do discuss disordered eating and eating disorders. If these are triggers for you please feel free to skip this episode. I sat down with Jackie Silver. Jackie is a Registered Dietitian with a Masters of Health Science (MHSc) in Nutrition Communications. In her practice she works with kids, teens, and adults with autism, ADHD,...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Katharine Quinn. Katherine is a multi-hypenated theatre creative and content creator. She served as the writing associate on Shucked and is currently working on The Great Gatsby at the Papermill Playhouse and How To Dance in Ohio, which is now in previews and opens on Broadway December 10th. We discuss how Broadway has both changed and remained the same since...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Wildine Aumoithe. Wildine is a content creator in the fashion and beauty space and holds the Guinness World Record for World’s Shortest Non-Mobile Woman. We discuss the importance of dwarfism representation in the fashion and beauty spaces, blocking out the negativity, how the unique type of dwarfism shapes the dwarfism experience and much, much more. Follow...

To start I would like to issue a trigger warning. In this conversation we do discuss sexual assault and violent crime. If these are triggers for you please feel free to skip this episode. I sat down with Katherine Yoder and Leigha Shoup, the executive and deputy director of the Adult Advocacy Centers.  The Adult Advocacy Centers (AACs) work within the disability, victim services, and criminal...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Emily Voorde. Emily is the Founder and CEO of INTO Strategies, a disability-led inclusion consultancy committed to bringing people with disabilities into campaigns, moments, and movements. Prior to starting INTO Strategies Emily was an Associate Director with NEWCO Strategies, a majority-women, majority-LGBTQ progressive consulting firm, served in the White H...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Bekah Bailey. Bekah, along with being one of my best friends, is a queer and disabled activist and organizer from Minneapolis. As Dwarfism Awareness Month draws to a close we discuss what it means having to accommodate our identity, the accessibility to advocacy within our own community, the differences in advocating for dwarfism vs. disability awareness, who...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Brandon Farbstein. Brandon is a 24-year-old renowned speaker, Gen Z activist and author. He inspires millions of people across the globe with his universal message of living life on your own terms and building the framework for self-acceptance. With Dwarfism Awareness Day this week, October 25, we discuss the realities of being a little person in an average-h...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sofiya Cheyenne. Sofiya is an actor, teaching artist, community organizer and disability advocate. The theme of this episode is understanding what it means to be a little person along with this fear of understanding what it means to be a little person that exists in Hollywood, the pharmaceutical industries, within our own little person community and much, muc...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sam Graham. Sam is a clinical psychologist working on her doctorate currently, she has a masters in clinical mental health. She has started a series discussing the sociology of dwarfism and the mental health impacts. M.A. LMHC MHP. She is also someone I have been friends with for 15 years. With tomorrow, October 10, being World Mental Health Day we have a raw...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Eileen Norman. Eileen is the current President of Little People of America. We discuss what LPA exists for, the evolution of LPA’s disability identity, the change that can happen when different disability organizations come together, what Dwarfism Awareness Month really means and much more. Follow Eileen: @eileenannsf Facebook: Eileen Norman Email: eileen.nor...

In this week’s episode of Always Looking Up I sat down with Danielle Frank. Danielle is an academic advisor and student disability services coordinator at Peirce College and is currently serving as Little People of America’s Programs Director. We unpack some of the internatlized ableism that comes with being a person with dwarfism, discuss how the experience with being a dwarf, with being disabled...

In this week’s episode of Always Looking Up I welcomed back Lillie Heigl. Lillie is an education policy analyst working for New America – Education Policy Program, focusing on disability, at New America. She is also one of my best friends with whom I share the love of reading. We discuss examples of disability representation, specifically in works written by Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult, compare...