Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode, in honor of September being Hydrocephalus Awareness Month, I welcomed back Michaela Healy. Michaela is one of my best friends, practically my little sister, and has been living with hydrocephalus, water on the brain, since being diagnosed when she was one year old. We discuss what hydrocephalus awareness month means to her, why she does or does not see herself as an inspiration, and how she is always the first to make fun of herself with a smile on her face and middle finger in the air.

Read the transcription HERE

Learn More About Hydrocephalus And Donate:

NINDS - Hydrocephalus Fact Sheet

Hydrocephalus Association

Hydrocephalus Association - Hydrocephalus Awareness Month 2022

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 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 Nic Novicki. Nic is a comedian, actor, and founder of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. This conversation was sparked by and recorded shortly after it was announced that James Franco would be playing Fidel Castro in an upcoming biopic and actor John Leguizamo’s reaction. We discuss the ongoing struggle for authentic representation in Hollywood, the portrayal of little people, both real-life and fictitious, on stage and screen, and the importance of the Disability Film Challenge.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Nic: Instagram: @nicnovicki Twitter: @nicnovicki Website: https://www.nicnovicki.com 

Follow Easterseals Disability Film Challenge: Instagram: @disabilityfilmchallenge Twitter: @DisabilityChall Facebook: @disabilityfilmchallenge Website: https://disabilityfilmchallenge.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 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 Haben Girma. Haben is a disability rights advocate and the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School. She is the author of the memoir Haben, The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law. President Barack Obama named her a White House Champion of Change and she has been honored by President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chancellor Angela Merkel. We discuss turning our self-advocacy into advocacy for others, how humor can be a powerful asset, and the power of writing our own story.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Haben: Instagram: @habengirma Twitter: @HabenGirma Facebook: Haben Girma LinkedIn: Haben Girma

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 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 Julian Gavino. Known as The Disabled Hippie, Julian is a model and activist in the disability and transgender communities. We discuss the intersectionality of these two marginalized communities, what it takes to create a brand for ourselves, the importance of working with companies that will protect our brand and identities.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Julian: Instagram: @thedisabledhippie

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 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 Steve Serio. Steve is a Team USA wheelchair basketball player, 3 time Paralympian, and 2x gold medal winner. We discuss the role sports has played in our lives, what it means to him to be an inspirational athlete, and the importance of seeing disability representation both on and off the court.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Steve: Instagram: @steveserio11 Facebook: Steve Serio

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 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 Carly Ruhnke. Carly is a little person with Morquio A syndrome and founder of the Little Carly Foundation. We discuss the moment when we realized we were a little person in an average-sized world, what it is like to attend an LPA national convention, and what it means to us to be with our community whether it is for a weekend or a week.

Follow Carly: Instagram: @carlyjruhnke

Follow Little Carly Foundation: @littlecarlyfoundationinc Facebook: @LittleCarlyFoundation

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 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 Lisa Cox. Lisa is a multi-awarded writer, presenter and consultant based in Australia. She has written for numerous media outlets including HuffPost, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Sky News Australia. We discuss the guilt we sometimes feel with being disabled, the fact that there is more than one right way to be a disability rights advocate, and what disability pride means in the U.S. and Australia.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Lisa: Instagram: @lisacox.co Twitter: @LISACOX_CO Website: https://www.lisacox.co

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 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 warning. This episode does use offensive language in context of recent events that took place prior to recording. Myself and my guest do not condone the language used nor do we use it in our every day life.

In today's episode I sat down with Samantha Rayburn-Trubyk. Samantha is the newly elected advocacy director of LPA, Little People of America. This episode was recorded approximately 24 hours after Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, in a press conference used the “m”-word. We go over exactly what he said along with LPA’s response, explain why the “m”-word is a derogatory slur and question why it is so ingrained in society’s vocabulary, talk about the backlash little people have received when trying to educate about the “m”-word, and discuss how this one instance reflects how little people are often dehumanized by society and the changes we would like to see.

Read the transcript here

Read the story as reported by TMZ here

Read LPA's statement to ablolish the "m" word here

LPA website: https://www.lpaonline.org 

Contact Samantha: [email protected] 

Follow Samantha: Instagram: @sam.trubyk Twitter: @RayburnTrubyk

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: Email: [email protected] 

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode, in honor of disability pride month, it is just me and the microphone. I discuss what it was like being the only little person in my family, at school, in my town, feeling like I’m balancing between three different worlds - the nondisabled, little person, and disabled, and where I think my place is within the disabled community.

Read the transcript HERE

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected] 

In this week’s episode I sat down with Zane Landin. Zane is a mental health and disability advocate, queer rights activist, entrepreneur, and positive change maker who identifies as Hispanic, Queer, and Disbaled. He is the founder of Positive Vibes Magazine, which is a digital magazine dedicated to telling authentic stories about mental health, wellness, and inspiration. We discuss the intersectionality of disability, coming to terms with our disabled identities, and the importance of being both an ally and an advocate in the disabled community.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Zane: Instagram: @zanelandin LinkedIn: Zane Landin

PositiveVibes Magazine: Website: https://positivevibesmag.com Instagram: @positivevibesmag Facebook: @positivevibesmag

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.