Adventures in Accessibility

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe083

This week's podcast guest is Kat Macfarlane. Professor Macfarlane serves as professor of law and director of the Disability Law and Policy Program at Syracuse University College of Law. She teaches and writes about disability law, civil rights litigation, and constitutional law. Her scholarship has been published in the Georgetown Law Journal, Fordham Law Review, Washington Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, Alabama Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal Forum, among others.

Professor Macfarlane recently served as special counsel to the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining academia, Kat practiced law in Los Angeles and New York-based law firms and clerked for the District of Arizona and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She received her BA, magna cum laude, from Northwestern University and her JD cum laude from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.

Connect with Kat: 

Kat Macfarlane (@katmacfarlane.bsky.social) — Bluesky
SSRN Home Page

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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe082

This week's podcast guest is Annie Heathcote. Annie is a multi-business owner, social media influencer, author, Christian and lifelong disability advocate whose life and work embody the belief that disability does not mean inability. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at just 13 months old, Annie has spent her life breaking barriers, championing accessibility, and inspiring others with her message of resilience and faith. She was crowned Miss Wheelchair Wisconsin in 2023. Using her platform, Caring is Caregiving to reach more than 100,000 people through schools, conferences, organizations, and media appearances across the state.

Her advocacy took her to the Miss Wheelchair America national competition where she placed in the top five, earning second runner up and the best speech award. She has since been recognized as a woman of the year for Dane County for her leadership and community impact beyond advocacy. Annie is the founder of Annie Designs and Annie Speaks LLC, where she works as a freelance web and graphic designer and transformational speaker. She also brings creativity and joy into her everyday life through travel, art, music, and her past achievements as an elite athlete in the adaptive sport of power soccer. Annie's mission is simple but powerful. Love, serve God and others, work hard and never give up. 

Connect with Annie: 

Annie Speaks | Disability. Dignity. Destiny.
Annie's Portfolio – Intentional. Impactful. Invigorating.
Annie Speaks | Facebook
Annie Heathcote I Disability Advocate & Speaker (@annieheathcote) • 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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe081

This week's podcast guest is Jordan Burk. Jordan is the author of the Kelly And Kelso Children's book series and the creator of Kelly and Friends, an animated series currently in development that's set to be the first US cartoon with a lead character who has Down syndrome. Inspired by his late Uncle Kelly, Jordan writes stories that celebrate kindness, friendship, and the value of every child. Known to students as, That Koala Guy, thanks to Professor Kelso, his six-foot plush sidekick, Jordan brings laughter and life lessons to schools, libraries, and stages across the country. He's been recognized nationally for his work, but at the heart of it all, his mission is simple to remind us that being different is something to celebrate

Connect with Jordan: 

Discover Kelly & Kelso Series - Inspiring Stories of Special Needs Advocacy by Jordan Burk
Kelly and Kelso | Facebook
Kelly & Kelso ™ (@kellyandkelso) • 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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe080

This episode's podcast guest is Cindy Bentley. For the last 25 years, Cindy has been Wisconsin's foremost voice for inclusion and civil rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 1999, Cindy helped found People First Wisconsin, a statewide disability advocacy organization with a mission to provide opportunities for people with disabilities in Wisconsin to speak up and be heard about healthcare, voting, employment, housing, and transportation issues. Cindy began her work at People First Wisconsin as an advocacy specialist, but was promoted to executive director and is the only person with an intellectual disability leading an advocacy organization in Wisconsin. Cindy recently received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in recognition of her many years of advocacy.

Cindy serves on several boards, including the Governor's Committee for People with Disabilities, Life Navigators Board, and the Milwaukee County Combined Community Services Board. The Wisconsin Historical Society published a biography, which Cindy co-authored called Cindy Bentley: Spirit of a Champion. Choose the Pond, a short film about Cindy's life was recently shown at the 2025 Wisconsin Film Festival. Cindy is a highly decorated Special Olympics athlete and global messenger. She's currently training for the Special Olympic National Games in 2026 where she will play volleyball for Team Wisconsin.


Connect with People First Wisconsin: 

People First Wisconsin
People First Wisconsin | Facebook

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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe079

This episode's podcast guest is Murray Siple. Murray is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, and adapted surfer from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, he began his career capturing the raw energy of Canadian snowboard and skateboard culture. He directed the acclaimed documentary Carts of Darkness. After his spinal cord injury left him quadriplegic, Siple turned to painting, sculpture, and murals, exploring resilience, adaptation, and the poetry in broken things.

Recently, adaptive surfing has become central to his life and work, offering a new form of movement, freedom, and expression. His upcoming feature documentary follows this journey, capturing the intersection of art, sport, and human determination. Siple's work is unflinching, electric, and demands that viewers look again and keep looking until they see what's truly there.

Connect with Murray: 

Murray Siple / WALLETMOTH STUDIOS
Murray Siple (@murraysiple) • Instagram photos and videos
Walletmoth (@walletmothstudios) • 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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe078

This episode's podcast guests are Kim and Penn Holderness. They are award-winning content creators known for their original music song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over 3 billion views and over 9 million followers since they first went viral in 2013. Kim and Penn are authors of the New York Times bestselling book, ADHD is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD and their new children's book, All You Can Be with ADHD, is coming out this October.

Penn and Kim also host an award-winning weekly podcast called Laugh Lines every Tuesday, and they were winners of The Amazing Race Season 33 on CBS. Kim and Penn Live in Raleigh, North Carolina with their two kids and their dog, Sunny

Connect with the Holderness Family: 

ADHD is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD: Holderness, Penn, Holderness, Kim, Edward Hallowell: 9781400338610: Amazon.com: Books
All You Can Be With ADHD - The Holderness Family
Home - The Holderness Family
The Holderness Family (@theholdernessfamily) • 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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe077

This episode's podcast guests are Gina Kavali and Lyric Gillenwaters. Gina is a syndicated radio personality, YouTuber, podcaster, autism advocate, and sometimes actor and producer. With 30 years of experience behind the microphone, Gina hosts a show on YouTube called Life With The Spectrum. It's a show for families who live with and love someone with autism spectrum disorder, and is also available as a podcast. She's also the co-founder of the country's first premier speed dating event for young adults on the spectrum called Table Talk, which was featured on the hit Netflix show, Love on the Spectrum. Recently, her son, Lyric, who is neurodivergent, began hosting a speed-friending version of Table Talk for youth called Table Talk Jr.

Connect with Gina and Lyric:

Life With the Spectrum - Podcast - Apple Podcasts
Life With the Spectrum (@lifewiththespectrumllc) • Instagram photos and videos
Gina Kavali (@ginamariefm) • Instagram photos and videos
Life With The Spectrum

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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe076

Shane and Hannah Burcaw are relationship bloggers on a mission to change the way society understands disability. On their YouTube channel, Squirmy and Grubs, which has gained almost 2 million subscribers, the couple shares an entertaining and authentic examination of what it's like to be in an inter-abled relationship.

In addition to their work on YouTube, the couple co-authored a non-fiction collection of love stories that involve people with disabilities. Shane and Hannah speak across the country from universities to elementary schools to Fortune 500 companies, and they live in Minneapolis, Minnesota with their fluffy Labradoodle, Chloe.

Connect with Shane and Hannah:

Squirmy and Grubs - YouTube
Squirmy and Grubs (@squirmyandgrubs) | TikTok
Hannah Burcaw (@hannahayl) • Instagram photos and videos
Shane Burcaw (@shaneburcaw) • 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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe075


Kathy D. Champion Woods is a woman of faith and a devoted wife who has been married to Dana for 27 years this August, and the proud mother of Dana Michael Woods Jr. who is autistic. Kathy is a former caregiver with a passion for looking after the elderly. She's the first African-American to create a fashion line for little people and is also the CEO of Grace 4 Champions, a nonprofit organization that assists schools and families with students who have autism and other disabilities, as well as individuals who may need a hand up when funding is available.

Kathy believes giving is living. Kathy's dream is to tell untold stories along with her husband, Dana, through their production company. Kathy has the presence of someone who stands six feet tall, which is often misinterpreted. To know her is to love her.

Dana Michael Woods is a man of faith, married to Kathy and father to Dana Michael Woods Jr. And he has been working professionally for over 25 years as an actor and stunt double. During that time, Dana has worked on many projects, including film, television, and stage, portraying a variety of characters. He's had the pleasure of working with such megastars as David Schwimmer, Denzel Washington, and Glenn Close. He believes being an artist of unique size, that it's worth the challenge that entertainment industry presents and wants to change Hollywood's perception of performers that just happen to be little people due to a lack of roles that are not written for actors of short stature.

Dana and Kathy established Woods Family 3 Productions, developing projects of substance that bring stories to life through their experiences and highlight performers with different physicalities. Having said that, Dana and Kathy have recently completed a pilot for a one-hour drama series with Dana in mind as the lead and are seeking funding with the hope of partnering with a major production company or studio. Dana's dream is to work with the one and only Tyler Perry.

Connect with Kathy and Dana Woods:

Dana Michael Woods (@danamichaelwoods) • Instagram photos and videos
Kathy D. Woods (@kathydwoods) • Instagram photos and videos
HOME | Grace 4 Champions


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!

Transcript: rmad.ac/AIAe074

Arman Nobari is an entrepreneur, cancer survivor, and the co-founder and CEO of accessible games company, Good Trouble. Over his fifteen-year career, Arman has helped accessible products come to life at Google, Udemy, Modern Animal and more. Now with his startup, Good Trouble, Arman is working to revolutionize accessibility in the games industry through a free site called Able to Play.

Connect with Arman: 

AbleToPlay | Your Home for Accessible Gaming

Good Trouble

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!