Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode I am talking to Michaela Healy. Ever since being diagnosed with hydrocephalus, water on the brain, at the age of one, she has been giving Wonder Woman a run for her money. Simply put, she is the strongest person I know and, through a series of very fortunate events we became best friends. She has survived over 300 surgeries, the halls of Washington Township High School, and crazy adventures with me, all with the biggest smile on her face and the occasional middle finger in the air. Though she is not a little person, I knew when starting this podcast that I wanted to have her on and tell her story. We discuss her medical and personal journeys, her constant positive outlook on life, and how she never stops defying everyone’s expectations.

Follow me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast 

Website: https://www.jillianilana.com This episode was edited by Benjamin Curwin 

This week I am sitting down with Rebecca Cokley, someone I have always looked up to in the little person and disabled communities. Rebecca is currently serving as a program officer in the President’s Office of the Ford Foundation, a global grant-making philanthropy that challenges inequality, where she is developing the U.S. disability rights program strategy. Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, Rebecca was the co-founder of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress, the executive director of the National Council on Disability, and a presidential appointee under President Obama where she worked in the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. We discuss her career, what it means to be a disabled advocate in 2021, and the changes she wants to see and make in the world. 

Follow Rebecca: Twitter: @RebeccaCokley 

Ford Foundation: https://www.fordfoundation.org

Follow me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com This episode was edited by Benjamin Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with Shelby Holloway. We met at the LPA national convention in Brooklyn twelve years ago and she instantly became a best friend and big sister. Though she lives 3,000 miles away, she has always been there for me through times of laughter, tears, and everything in between. Today we are discussing Little People Of America- what it is, what it means to us, and what happens when the little person community comes together for a week or weekend. 

Follow Shelby: Instagram: @shelbyhollowayy  TikTok: @shelby_holloway 

Follow me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast  Website: www.jillianilana.com This episode was edited by Benjamin Curwin

In this week's episode I am sitting down with Becky Kekula, a mentor of mine in Little People Of America and an advocate for disability inclusion. Becky currently serves as the Disability Equality Index Director at Disability:IN, a non-profit organization that advocates and provides resources for business disability inclusion on a global scale. In addition, she currently serves as the LPA Employment Chair and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the National Center For Disability Journalism (NCDJ) at Arizona State University. I sat down with Becky to discuss her advocacy work, the issues people with disabilities face when seeking employment, and what is being done to make employment more accessible.

Follow Becky: Website: www.beckymotivates.com

DisabilityIN: https://disabilityin.org 

Follow me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com This episode was edited by Benjamin Curwin

In this week's episode I am sitting down with Lauren Humphries. Lauren is someone I have always looked up to in the little person community. For the past few years she has helped organize the annual LPA fashion show and is a brand ambassador for the German fashion label AUF AUGENHOEHE, one of the first fashion labels that design for little people. In this week’s episode we discuss the current state of the fashion industry as it applies to little people, her work in the fashion industry, and how the industry needs to become more accessible.

Follow AUF AUGENHOEHE: https://www.aufaugenhoehe.design/en  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aufaugenhoehe.design Instagram: @aufaugenhoehe.design 

Follow me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com This episode was edited by Benjamin Curwin

In this week's episode I am sitting down with Mackenzie Trush. Mackenzie is one a million, living with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, an incredibly rare form of dwarfism. We discuss her diagnosis, how she makes her world accessible, and how she harnessed the power of social media to have her voice heard.

Watch BORN DIFFERENT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u41ApfQbpT8

Follow Mackenzie Trush: Instagram: @mackenzie.trush  TikTok: mackenzie.trush  Follow me: Instagram: @jill_ilana  Website: jillianilana.com  This episode was edited by Benjamin Curwin 

In the premiere episode I sit down with Lydia Barber. Lydia and I became fast friends, practically sisters, in 2005 at an LPA convention in Orlando. We discuss what it means to be a little person in 2021 and how that definition has changed over time. We talk about our struggles and successes with making our world more accessible. We end our conversation by exploring the topics of weight, body image, and what a healthy little person looks like. Follow Lydia Barber: Instagram @lydstagramma Twitter: @trippinonlsb  Follow me: Instagram @jill_ilana Website: jillianilana.com  This episode was edited by Benjamin Curwin