ABLE TODAY SHOW

In this two part episode, Mark and Sara get in depth with Sandy Swift Parrino, founder of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ♿. As a parent with a disabled child, Sandy was already very familiar with the frustrations and senseless roadblocks thrown up by the government when President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the National Council on the Handicapped (now the NCD). It was 1981 and the ADA wasn’t even a dream yet, and Sandy and her fellow council members were given only a small room in a federal building’s name.

In episode 18, Mark and Sara chat with Lindsey Zurbrugg and Becca Murray – two outstanding players on the US 🇺🇸 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team who will be competing in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris this year. 

In episode 17, mark and Sara have a great conversation with Mary McDirmid. Growing up with a dad, who had Parkinson’s, Mary was already familiar with caretaking, but when her daughter Ruth was born, she decided to become a Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC®) to have a better understanding of her family’s needs and also help other families. And she started a firm, All Needs Planning to work with these families, so, as she puts it, “Give our kids an amazing life and if they’re on benefits, keep those benefits and keep them benefits eligible.”

Investment Advisory Services offered through Sound Income Strategies, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisory Firm. All Needs Planning and Sound Income Strategies, LLC are not associated entities.

In episode 16, we chat with Nebraska’s Assistant State Treasurer Stacy Pfeifer. When she became assistant treasurer, she also became the state’s Director of the Enable Savings Plan.  Stacy is an ABLE expert, making connections across her state and the nation and meeting with many individuals and families committed to disability rights.

In episode 15, Mark and Sara chat with the Editor in Chief of Exceptional Parent Magazine, Faye Simon. Faye has been working in disability journalism for many years and the magazine, which is available online or in print, has proven to be a strong resource for people living with disabilities, parents, caregivers and supporting organizations. 

In episode 14, Mark & Sara have their longest conversation yet with Theo Braddy, who is Executive Director of the  National Council on Independent Living. 

Mark and Theo both became quadriplegics at a young age, and both men have selflessly dedicated their lives to getting more resources and independence for people living with disabilities. 

In episode 13, Mark and Sara chat with Hannah Cvancara -  a dedicated nurse, superior athlete, and unstoppable Disability Advocate. Hannah has lived with a prosthetic leg almost her entire life and it hasn’t limited her at all.

In episode 12, Sara and Mark are honored to speak with New Mexico’s State Treasurer Laura M. Montoya. Laura has broken her share of glass ceilings: she’s the first female state treasurer in New Mexico and the nation’s first Latina state treasurer! 

In episode 11 we feature an incredible partnership between Washington State’s ABLE Program and the the Sound Transit. Sara and Mark have a great conversation with Kari Sample, from Washington’s Disabilities Workgroup Program,  and Lorena Jones, senior benefits program manager for the Sound Transit, the public transit agency serving the Seattle metro area. 

Joining Mark and Sara in episode 10 is  Linda Fernandez, the Director of the Texas Comptroller’s Educational Opportunities and Investments Division and Ashley Melero, who works with The Arc of Texas, serving to provide financial security to all people with disabilities. Ashley is also an ABLE participant.