Adventures in Accessibility

Transcript: https://bit.ly/AIAe033

Today’s guest is Scott Ready. Scott has served the education industry for 20+ years and has worked for 35+ years in accessibility. Ready’s first language is American Sign Language, and he has been part of the deaf community through his parents, who were former teachers at the Missouri School for the Deaf.

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe032

Today’s guest is Tiffany Yu. Tiffany is the CEO & Founder of Diversability, an award-winning social enterprise to elevate disability pride. She’s also the Founder of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, a monthly micro-grant that has awarded over $59,000 to 60 disability projects in 10 countries.

Tiffany is an influential content creator with over 160,000 followers across platforms. She serves on the San Francisco Mayor’s Disability Council and was a 2020 Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit.

At the age of 9, Tiffany became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took the life of her father.

She started her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and has also worked at Bloomberg and Sean Diddy Combs' REVOLT Media & TV. She is a 3x TEDx speaker and spoke on 5 sessions at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. She has been featured in Marie Claire, the Guardian, and Forbes.

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe031

Today’s guests are Rick Allen and Lauren Monroe.

Rick Allen is the legendary drummer for the world-famous rock band, Def Leppard. Rick joined Def Leppard at the age of 15, right before the band signed their record contract. He lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984, but that didn’t stop him from being an incredible drummer with the help of a (semi-)electronic drum kit.

Raven Drum Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Rick, and his wife, Lauren Monroe, who is a musician, and healing arts educator.

Raven Drum's mission is to serve, educate, and empower Veterans dealing with PTSD and TBI, people in crisis, and other at-risk populations.

The Foundation engages drumming as a tool for healing, allowing participants to use rhythm, mindfulness, and energy-medicine techniques as an avenue for connection and healing.

Connect with Rick:
https://rickallen.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZRXBRaJ58TFT9YsqTlE1AA/feed
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theofficialrickallen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickallenlive
Instagram: @rickallenlive
https://www.instagram.com/rickallenlive/

Connect with Lauren:
https://laurenmonroe.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe6wZQN_bHOrn4n2g790eYg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenMonroeMusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Iamlaurenmonroe
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4AMLhBHvIyC1wwMvKpirXR
Instagram: @laurenmonroelive
https://www.instagram.com/laurenmonroelive/

Learn about Raven Drum Foundation:
https://ravendrumfoundation.org/

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe030

Today’s guest is Christy Gardner. Christy is a 39 year old retired Army veteran from Oxford, Maine. She was injured overseas in 2006 and spent nearly 5 rehabbing before she was finally able to live on her own again and started participating in adaptive sports, thanks to her Service Dog Moxie. She’s now an assistant captain of the US Women’s Para Ice Hockey Team and was an alternate for Tokyo 2020 in shot put and discus. She also represented the USA at the Para Surfing World Championships in 2020. Gardner has been training service dogs and therapy dogs for the past nine years but wanted to grow that dream to help more Mainers in need. Mission Working Dogs was founded in July 2020 as a local non-profit to do just that. The organization serves to train service dogs and therapy dogs for the local community and has started construction on a new training center in Maine.

Connect with Christy:
Website:

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe029

Today’s guest is Jessica Cox. Jessica is recognized internationally as an inspirational keynote speaker. Born without arms, Jessica now flies airplanes, drives cars, and otherwise lives a normal life using her feet as others use their hands. She holds the title of the first person without arms to earn a black belt in ATA Martial Arts and the Guinness World Record for being the first armless person in aviation history to earn a pilot’s certificate. Convinced that the way we think has a greater impact on our lives than our physical constraints, Jessica chose to pursue a degree in psychology at the University of Arizona. Since then she has traveled to 26 countries on six continents sharing her inspirational message.

Connect with Jessica:
Website: https://jessicacox.com/

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe028

Today’s guest is Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt. She is a disability activist, a two-time Paralympian and the Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) in the Administration for Community Living. As a researcher, her primary area of work relates to disability identity development.

As a wheelchair-user for over 35 years, Dr. Forber-Pratt is nationally and internationally recognized as a disability leader and mentor. She was a White House Champion of Change in 2013 and the American Psychological Association awarded her the 2020 Citizen Psychologist Award for Advancing Disability as a Human Rights and Social Justice Issue Award.

Connect with Dr. Forber-Pratt:
Website: http://www.anjfp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anjalifp
Email: [email protected]

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe027

Today’s guest is Michael Kutcher. From the moment of birth, Michael has overcome challenges and conquered obstacles that most people never even catch a glimpse of. Born as an unexpected twin, Michael met the first of many challenges at delivery. He was notably smaller than his twin at less than five pounds, was hardly responsive and struggled to take his first breath.

By age three, Michael was battling significant developmental delays and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy before he entered Kindergarten.

Michael is a keynote speaker, speaking internationally about diversity and inclusion and helping audiences to change their perspective of the disability community. He’s also a disability advocate and advisor. He is the creator of the Diffability brand and has recently finished his memoir to be released in the upcoming year.

Connect with Michael:
https://www.michaelkutcher.com/about

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe026

Today’s guest is award-winning diver and diving coach, Cliff Devries. As a young man, Cliff was a diving prodigy and was on track to make the Olympics. While he was in college, it was discovered that Cliff had a tumor on his spinal cord, and he underwent surgery to have it removed. Complications from the surgery left him paralyzed from the neck down.

Cliff worked hard to regain as much mobility as possible, and then began his journey as a diving coach. Today, Cliff is a distinguished and beloved diving coach.

Among his many achievements: He’s won the Upper New York State Athletic Conference Diving Coach of the year six times. In 2018, the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America made him the first diving coach to win the Richard E. Steadman Award.

Connect with Cliff:
https://ritathletics.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/roster/coaches/cliff-devries/1858

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe025

Today’s guest is Jim Speer, founder of Mobility Roadside Assistance, which is the first provider of roadside assistance covering both the United States and Canada that focuses specifically on the needs of drivers with mobility disabilities, not just the disabled vehicle.

Mobility Roadside Assistance provides peace of mind through full-service roadside assistance, including accessible transportation pick-up for people with mobility disabilities, their families, vehicles, and equipment.

Jim is a Navy veteran with over 40 years of experience in the automotive, trucking and insurance industry. He has been in sales all his life and lives with multiple disabilities himself. He is a proud father to four children and has been married to his wife for 48 years.

Connect with Jim:
https://www.mobilityroadsideassistance.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-speer-27a6201/

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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: https://bit.ly/AIAe024

Today’s guest is Colorado State Representative, David Ortiz. He is Colorado’s first lawmaker who uses a wheelchair, and the sponsor of a first-of-its-kind, state website accessibility Bill.

In 2012, Ortiz survived a helicopter crash while serving as a pilot in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

David’s drive to serve others did not end with crash that left him injured, he has continued to advocate for his community, veterans, and more at the state Capitol and now, the Colorado House of Representatives.

Connect with Representative Ortiz:
https://www.davidortizcolorado.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-d-ortiz-hellonwheels/
https://www.facebook.com/daviddortizCO/
https://twitter.com/DavidDOrtizCO
https://www.instagram.com/daviddortizco/

Connect with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at https://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!