Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode I sat down with Wildine Aumoithe. Wildine is a content creator in the fashion and beauty space and holds the Guinness World Record for World’s Shortest Non-Mobile Woman. We discuss the importance of dwarfism representation in the fashion and beauty spaces, blocking out the negativity, how the unique type of dwarfism shapes the dwarfism experience and much, much more.

Follow Wildine: Instagram: @wavy.wildine TikTok: @wildinetok YouTube: Life Of Wildine 

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

To start I would like to issue a trigger warning. In this conversation we do discuss sexual assault and violent crime. If these are triggers for you please feel free to skip this episode.

I sat down with Katherine Yoder and Leigha Shoup, the executive and deputy director of the Adult Advocacy Centers.  The Adult Advocacy Centers (AACs) work within the disability, victim services, and criminal justice systems to improve access and equity for adult crime victims with disabilities and to educate and train professionals within these systems on the unique needs of survivors with disabilities. We discuss the work of the Adult Advocacy Centers, the ways in which the criminal justice system is inaccessible for adult disabled victims of crime, the importance of having individualized victim services and much more.

Follow The Adult Advocacy Centers: Website: https://www.adultadvocacycenters.org Facebook: Adult Advocacy Centers Twitter/X: @AdultAdvocacyOH Instagram: @adultadvocacycenters 

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Emily Voorde. Emily is the Founder and CEO of INTO Strategies, a disability-led inclusion consultancy committed to bringing people with disabilities into campaigns, moments, and movements. Prior to starting INTO Strategies Emily was an Associate Director with NEWCO Strategies, a majority-women, majority-LGBTQ progressive consulting firm, served in the White House as the Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement under President Biden, and worked on Mayor Pete’s 2020 Presidential campaign. We discuss our shared experiences with the Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) Foundation and Little People of America respectively, who these organizations are actually for and serve, the role advocacy does and should play within these types of organizations and much, much more.

Follow Emily: Instagram: @shortyvoorde LinkedIn: Emily Voorde

Follow INTO Strategies: @intostrategies LinkedIn: INTO Strategies Website: https://www.intostrategies.com Email: [email protected]

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Bekah Bailey. Bekah, along with being one of my best friends, is a queer and disabled activist and organizer from Minneapolis. As Dwarfism Awareness Month draws to a close we discuss what it means having to accommodate our identity, the accessibility to advocacy within our own community, the differences in advocating for dwarfism vs. disability awareness, who and what Dwarfism Awareness Month is actually for and much, much more.

Follow Bekah: Instagram: @_poopatraitor_ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/bekahb 

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Brandon Farbstein. Brandon is a 24-year-old renowned speaker, Gen Z activist and author. He inspires millions of people across the globe with his universal message of living life on your own terms and building the framework for self-acceptance. With Dwarfism Awareness Day this week, October 25, we discuss the realities of being a little person in an average-height world when it comes to school, dating, work, etc., the cost, the power, and the influence in sharing our stories, in building a platform, what it means to allow ourselves to be all of who we are, and much, much more.

TRIGGER WARNING: In this conversation we do talk about bullying and some of the darker aspects of mental health. If these are triggers for you please feel free to skip this episode.

Follow Brandon: Instagram: @farbstein FaceBook: Brandon Farbstein LinkedIn: Brandon Farbstein Website: https://brandonfarbstein.com

Watch Brandon's TED Talk 

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sofiya Cheyenne. Sofiya is an actor, teaching artist, community organizer and disability advocate. The theme of this episode is understanding what it means to be a little person along with this fear of understanding what it means to be a little person that exists in Hollywood, the pharmaceutical industries, within our own little person community and much, much more.

Follow Sofiya: Instagram: @sofiyacheyenne Youtube: @Sofiya Cheyenne Facebook: Sofiya Cheyenne Website: https://www.sofiyacheyenne.com

Listen to Dwarfism History:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Instagram: @dwarfismhistory

Website: https://www.dwarfismhistory.com/about

Follow Aubrey Smalls: Instagram: @aubreysmalls TikTok: @aubreysmalls 

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sam Graham. Sam is a clinical psychologist working on her doctorate currently, she has a masters in clinical mental health. She has started a series discussing the sociology of dwarfism and the mental health impacts. M.A. LMHC MHP. She is also someone I have been friends with for 15 years. With tomorrow, October 10, being World Mental Health Day we have a raw, honest, and open conversation about what it is really like to be a little person in an average-height world focusing on the impact it has on our mental health.

TRIGGER WARNING: In this episode we discuss depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, body image and disordered eating. If these are triggers for you please feel free to skip this episode.

Listen To Cerebro Therapy: Small Talk:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Follow Sam: Instagram: @sa5m_instagraham

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Eileen Norman. Eileen is the current President of Little People of America. We discuss what LPA exists for, the evolution of LPA’s disability identity, the change that can happen when different disability organizations come together, what Dwarfism Awareness Month really means and much more.

Follow Eileen: @eileenannsf Facebook: Eileen Norman Email: [email protected]

Follow Little People of America: Facebook: Little People of America Instagram: @littlepeopleofamerica Website: https://www.lpaonline.org Email: [email protected]   

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode of Always Looking Up I sat down with Danielle Frank. Danielle is an academic advisor and student disability services coordinator at Peirce College and is currently serving as Little People of America’s Programs Director. We unpack some of the internatlized ableism that comes with being a person with dwarfism, discuss how the experience with being a dwarf, with being disabled, is unique to the individual, the importance in making sure that Little People of America is accessible and what that really means, where we see LPA at present and in the future and much, much more.

Follow Danielle: Instagram: @daniellestar LinkedIn: Danielle Frank Email: [email protected]  

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode of Always Looking Up I welcomed back Lillie Heigl. Lillie is an education policy analyst working for New America – Education Policy Program, focusing on disability, at New America. She is also one of my best friends with whom I share the love of reading. We discuss examples of disability representation, specifically in works written by Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult, compare and contrast the portrayal of disability in contemporary fiction vs. fantasy, the impact disability representation in literature has in the real world and much, much more. This is the first of many spoiler alerts ahead.

Follow Lillie: Instagram: @lheigl LinkedIn: Lillie Heigl

Follow New America: Twitter: @NewAmerica LinkedIn: New America Website: https://www.newamerica.org  

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.