Adventures in Accessibility

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: [email protected]

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/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

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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, 2024 for World Autism Awareness Day!

Connect with Kerry:

KM – Landing page - Kerry Magro
KM – Speaking Engagements - Kerry Magro
KFM Making A Difference

Kerry Magro (@kerrymagro) | TikTok
Kerry's Autism Journey | Facebook
Kerry Magro - Public Speaker & Autism Advocate (@Kerrymagro) / X
Kerry Magro (@autisticprofessionalspeaker) • Instagram photos and videos
Kerry's Autism Journey - YouTube
Kerry Magro - National Speaker Association | LinkedIn

Autistics on Autism: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams: Magro, Kerry: 9798780803713: 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!

Transcript: bit.ly/AIAe060

Haley is an attorney, author, artist, and advocate who was diagnosed with autism at age three. She's passionate about disability inclusion and neurodiversity, using her unique blend of personal and professional experiences to promote accessibility for people with disabilities. Haley is a keynote speaker and educator, finding fulfillment and sharing her story to make a difference in other people's lives. She also served as an adjunct professor at Taylor University in the psychology department.

As an author, Haley has written four books on various life stages and neurodiversity for professionals. Her work is featured in numerous media outlets and legal journals covering topics from personal experiences to media representation and politics. Haley believes in the importance of being heard and included, resonating with the disability community's motto, nothing about us with without us. She advocates for a future that is neurodiverse, accessible and inclusive of all people with disabilities.

Connect with Haley:

Haley Moss | ATTORNEY | ADVOCATE | THOUGHT LEADER | AUTHOR | SPEAKER
Haley Moss | Facebook
Haley Moss - YouTube
Haley Moss (@haley.moss) • Instagram photos and videos
Haley Moss, Esq. - Haley Moss | LinkedIn

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: bit.ly/AIAe059

Andrew Leland is the author of The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, named a best book of the year by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and others. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s Quarterly, and The San Francisco Chronicle, among other outlets. From 2013 to 2019, he hosted and produced The Organist, an arts and culture podcast, for KCRW; he has also produced pieces for Radiolab and 99 Percent Invisible. Leland has been an editor at The Believer since 2003.

Connect with Andrew:

Andrew Leland
The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland: 9781984881427 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
The Optacon Story - Part 1 of 2 (circa 1972) (youtube.com)

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Transcript: bit.ly/AIAe058

Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most celebrated and accomplished athletes in the world. In 2001, he became the only blind person in history to climb Mount Everest. When he stood on top of Carstensz pyramid in 2008, he completed his quest to climb all of the seven summits, the tallest peak on each of the seven continents. 

Erik is the author of the bestselling memoir, Touch the top of the world, which was made into a feature film as well as the Adversity Advantage, which shows readers how to turn everyday struggles into everyday greatness. His latest book, No Barriers, A Blind Man's Journey to kayak The Grand Canyon is more than an adventure story. It illuminates how we move forward in our lives towards growth and purpose, despite the barriers that get in our way. He is an internationally recognized speaker and brings his message of living a no-barriers life to audiences around the world.

In September, 2014, Erik and blinded Navy veteran Lonnie Bedwell kayaked the entire 277 miles of the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River, considered one of the most formidable whitewater adventures in the world. Erik continually seeks out new adventures, focusing his efforts on empowering people traditionally swept to the sidelines of life. He founded an organization called No Barriers, which helps people with challenges tap into the human spirit, break through barriers, and contribute to the world.

Connect with Erik:

Erik Weihenmayer – Adventurer | Speaker | Author | Teacher
No Barriers | No Barriers - Resilience, Hope & Optimism For Youth And Adults (nobarriersusa.org)
Erik Weihenmayer (@erikweihenmayer) • Instagram photos and videos

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Transcript: bit.ly/AIAe057

Sommer is a 29 year old mental health advocate in the Denver area and the owner of Discreet Journal. She was diagnosed with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and speaks out about her challenges and opportunities with mental health.

Connect with Sommer:

Discreet Journal - Therapy Workbook, Mindfulness Journal
Discreet Journal | Facebook
Discreet Journal (@discreetjournal) • Instagram photos and videos
Discreet Journal (DiscreetJournal) - Profile | Pinterest

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Transcript: bit.ly/AIAe056

After being diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of two, Cory Lee’s thirst for adventure never ceased. He has traveled across all seven continents in his powered wheelchair while managing to run his travel blog CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com, where he shares his accessible — and sometimes not so accessible — travel adventures with others. Cory also does annual group trips, where his followers can join him in international destinations, and in 2022, he launched The Curb Free Foundation. This nonprofit provides wheelchair users with travel grants to go on their dream trip. As always, Cory’s goal is to inspire other wheelchair users to roll out of their comfort zones and see all of the beauty our world has to offer.

Connect with Cory:

Curb Free with Cory Lee: A Wheelchair Travel Blog
Cory Lee | Wheelchair Travel Expert (@curbfreecorylee) • Instagram photos and videos
The Curb Free Foundation

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Transcript: bit.ly/AIAe055

Tom Wheaton grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis. He decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy for many reasons, the most notable being that his grandfathers and dad served during World War II and the Vietnam War, respectively.

Wheaton began serving in the U.S. Navy in 1986 and is a plank owner (original crew member) of the USS Fort McHenry. In 1988, while on active duty in Perth, Australia, he sustained a spinal cord injury. After his initial treatment at the Royal Perth Rehabilitation Hospital, he was transferred to the Milwaukee VA Spinal Cord Injury Center.

In 1989, Wheaton became a member of the North Central Chapter of PVA in Sioux Falls, SD. In 1993, he became a member of the new Minnesota Chapter of PVA, where Wheaton was the chapter’s first director of sports and recreation, and also served as chapter treasurer. After moving to Golden, CO, Wheaton served on a regional basis as sports director, treasurer, hospital liaison, and executive director of the Mountain States Chapter of PVA. He also served as first vice president of the United Veterans Committee of Colorado.

For the last 24 years, Wheaton has served on PVA’s Executive Committee in various capacities, including as the organization’s senior vice president and parliamentarian. Serving alongside many dedicated leaders on the Executive Committee has had a profound effect on his life. Wheaton says, “Journeying together to determine how we can best assist in enhancing the lives of our nation’s heroes has been extremely rewarding.”

Wheaton was re-elected national treasurer of PVA in May 2022 during the organization’s 76th Annual Convention, to begin a new, one-year term on July 1, 2022. He wants people to know that “this is a significant time for us to continue to push forward and prove just how unstoppable we are.”

In addition to his responsibilities at PVA, Wheaton has served on various national veterans and disability advisory committees, including the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. Whenever he has spare time, Wheaton enjoys doing puzzles because they are a metaphor for facing life’s challenges and overcoming them. Within his community, he is an elder of Hillside Community Church and co-leads its children’s ministries with his wife, Angela. The Wheatons have been married for 21 years and are proud parents of two school-age children.

Connect with Tom:

Paralyzed Veterans of America
[email protected]

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Transcript: bit.ly/AIAe054-1

VOLORES’ debut album, AGES, explores universal themes of life, love, and death through dark indie rock, stylish post-punk motifs, and disarmingly frank lyricism. The Colorado-based couple – Flogging Molly bassist Nathen Maxwell and his singer-songwriter wife Shelby – lightheartedly dub their singular sound “mountain goth.”

Organic, haunting, and relentlessly authentic, VOLORES’ broad appeal lies in its raw channeling of the mortal condition, including mental health struggles, that they’ve not only experienced, but experienced together. Simple, yet effortlessly beautiful, AGES celebrates the shared musical passions that brought the Maxwells together – from Leonard Cohen and Elliot Smith to The Cure and Interpol – through unfiltered expressions that cast deeply personal shadows in plain sight, coated only in intuitive melody and elegant songcraft.

VOLORES (voloresband.com)
𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗦 (@voloresband) • Instagram photos and videos
‎VOLORES - Apple Music
VOLORES - YouTube
Nathen Maxwell (@nathenmaxwell) • Instagram photos and videos
Flogging Molly

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!