Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode I sat down with Nic Novicki. Nic is a comedian, actor, and founder of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. This conversation was sparked by and recorded shortly after it was announced that James Franco would be playing Fidel Castro in an upcoming biopic and actor John Leguizamo’s reaction. We discuss the ongoing struggle for authentic representation in Hollywood, the p...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Haben Girma. Haben is a disability rights advocate and the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School. She is the author of the memoir Haben, The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law . President Barack Obama named her a White House Champion of Change and she has been honored by President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chancellor Ange...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Julian Gavino. Known as The Disabled Hippie, Julian is a model and activist in the disability and transgender communities. We discuss the intersectionality of these two marginalized communities, what it takes to create a brand for ourselves, the importance of working with companies that will protect our brand and identities. Read the transcription HERE Follow...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Steve Serio. Steve is a Team USA wheelchair basketball player, 3 time Paralympian, and 2x gold medal winner. We discuss the role sports has played in our lives, what it means to him to be an inspirational athlete, and the importance of seeing disability representation both on and off the court. Read the transcription HERE Follow Steve: Instagram: @steveserio1...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Carly Ruhnke. Carly is a little person with Morquio A syndrome and founder of the Little Carly Foundation. We discuss the moment when we realized we were a little person in an average-sized world, what it is like to attend an LPA national convention, and what it means to us to be with our community whether it is for a weekend or a week. Follow Carly: Instagra...

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Lisa Cox. Lisa is a multi-awarded writer, presenter and consultant based in Australia. She has written for numerous media outlets including HuffPost, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Sky News Australia. We discuss the guilt we sometimes feel with being disabled, the fact that there is more than one right way to be a disability rights advocate, and what disabil...

To start I would like to issue a warning. This episode does use offensive language in context of recent events that took place prior to recording. Myself and my guest do not condone the language used nor do we use it in our every day life. In today's episode I sat down with Samantha Rayburn-Trubyk. Samantha is the newly elected advocacy director of LPA, Little People of America. This episode was r...

In this week’s episode, in honor of disability pride month, it is just me and the microphone. I discuss what it was like being the only little person in my family, at school, in my town, feeling like I’m balancing between three different worlds - the nondisabled, little person, and disabled, and where I think my place is within the disabled community. Read the transcript HERE Follow Me: Instagram:...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Zane Landin. Zane is a mental health and disability advocate, queer rights activist, entrepreneur, and positive change maker who identifies as Hispanic, Queer, and Disbaled. He is the founder of Positive Vibes Magazine, which is a digital magazine dedicated to telling authentic stories about mental health, wellness, and inspiration. We discuss the intersectio...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Emily Ladau. Emily is a disability rights activist and author of the book Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally. We discuss finding our disabled identities, ableism in the media across both sides of the aisle, and what it means to say we are proud to be disabled in 2022. Read the transcript of this episode HERE Follow Emily...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Nicole Newnham. Nicole, along with Jim LeBrecht, is the co-director and co-producer of the Oscar nominated documentary Crip Camp. We discuss how the idea for the film came to be, what it was like for her, a non-disabled person, to see the footage, the importance of telling the story of the disability rights movement, and how that movement is a blueprint for a...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Jim LeBrecht. Jim, along with Nicole Newnham, is the co-director and co-producer of the Oscar nominated documentary Crip Camp. We discuss his time at Camp Jened, what it was like seeing the footage and putting the documentary together, the impact of the film, and why it is so important to know our past in order to change our future. Follow Jim: Instagram: @ji...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Jenna Bainbridge. Jenna is an actor, singer, disability rights advocate, and ambulatory wheelchair user. She most recently appeared as Harry T. Burn and others in the Off-Broadway production of Suffs at The Public Theatre. We discuss the concept of accidental accessibility, why conversations around authentic representation can no longer exclude disability, th...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Dr. William Mackenzie. Dr. Mackenzie is a world-renowned pediatric orthopedics expert. He currently serves as chairman, Medical Advisory Board of Little People of America. In addition, he is someone who has known me my whole life and has helped my parents and I navigate being a little person in an average-sized world. We discuss the medical definition of bein...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sarah Galli. Sarah is host of the Bravo podcast Andy’s Girls where she focuses on the psychology behind the Real Housewives franchise. We discuss Bravo’s current efforts to be more inclusive and diverse, the lack of disability representation on the network, and what it could mean to have a disabled housewife in the Bravo universe.  Listen to Andy's Girls...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Cara Reedy. Cara is currently serving as the Director of the Disabled Journalists Association. Prior to that she was the program manager at the Disability Media Alliance Project and a contributing writer at CNN. We discuss being disabled in a newsroom, the fact that disabled stories need to be told by disabled voices, and why it is about time that disability...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sid Marcos. Sid is a disabled writer, producer, and business developer who I met last summer while she was working on her documentary film about this generation of disability rights activists. We discuss the disability hierarchy, cultural differences and barriers between those who were born disabled and those who acquired their disability later in life, and h...

This week marks a year of Always Looking Up, and what a year it has been. Over the past 365 days I have been able to talk to the most amazing people who empower me on a daily basis and for that I am forever grateful to those who came on to share their story. To celebrate this milestone I invited back someone I have always looked up to, one of my first ever guests, Rebecca Cokley. Rebecca is curren...

To start I would like to issue a trigger warning. In this episode myself and my guests talk about sexual harassment and sexual assault. If these are triggers for you, please feel free to skip this episode.  This episode was recorded less than 24 hours after Justice Alito’s draft opinion indicating the Court was going to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked by Politico. I sat down with Rebecca Cokl...

In this week’s episode I sat down with my cousin Sara Curwin. Sara is a teacher, teaching students with learning differences. We discuss her path to becoming a teacher, her approach to teaching, and the impact her students have made on her. We also talk about what it’s like being a part of the Curwin Cousin’s club. Follow Sara: Instagram: @saracurwin Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslook...

In this week’s episode, as we celebrate the 45th anniversary of the 504 Sit Ins, I was honored to speak to Judy Heumann. Judy is a lifelong disability rights activist and is recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community. We discuss the current state of accessibility, how to incorporate the history of the disability civil rights movement into education and advocacy, and what it...

In this week’s episode I sat down with Paula Carozzo. Paula is an inclusion advocate and disabled content creator based in Miami. We discuss: her journey from PR to content creator, how Miami is much more accessible than New York, and why disability does not necessarily have to be cured. Follow Paula: Instagram: @pauuzzo   TikTok: @pauuzzoo   Read Paula's Refinery29 article: Paula Carozz...

Trigger warning: This conversation does include offensive language. Shelby and I do not condone the language that we use but felt it was necessary to say in order to provide context and to make a larger point.   In this week’s episode I welcomed back Shelby Holloway. Shelby is a content creator on TikTok and one of my best friends. I invited her back because a TikTok video,that has since been...

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Imani Barbarin. Imani is a content creator, disability blogger and activist. We discuss how she got her start in advocacy, #MyDisabledLifeIsWorthy, and why it is so important to listen to disabled people. Follow Imani: Twitter: @Imani_Barbarin Instagram: @crutches_and_spice TikTok: @crutches_and_spice Website: www.crutchesandspice.com   Follow Me: Insta...

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Kaylee Perron. The Asheburn to my Mullins, she has been my best friend since we were three years old. We discuss when we realized she and I were different, how our views on the world have evolved in regards to disability and accessibility, and share some embarrassing stories along the way. Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website:...