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It's the last podcast episode of 2024 and I'm ending it on a "high" note. My guests are Erika Bogan and Allison Norlian who was on last month sharing about her short film, Thirteen. This time, it's about Meandering Scars, a documentary that documents Erika’s journey to climb the tallest free standing mountain in the world to spread awareness about suicide and mental health struggles in the disability community. 

Meandering Scars was co-directed and co-produced by Allison and Kody Leibowitz, cofounders of BirdMine. 

Erika Bogan is a Spartan athlete, Motivator, Certified Master Mindset/ Mental Health Coach, recognized National Disability Advocate & lover of life, who is dedicated to motivating others to find their purpose through sharing her remarkable story of redefining her life after becoming paralyzed following a traumatic injury.

Our conversation highlights the filmmaking process and also the ups and downs of living with a physical disability. 

This episoide is the perfect represenation of all of themes that were talked about this year and I couldn't be prouder of how this one turned out.

Follow @birdminestories for all the updates on when the documentary will be released.

See you in 2025!

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I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! This is right up there with my favorite interviews of the year. I learned so much from Emma Withrow, investigative journalist for The National News Desk on today's episode. We discussed her background covering disability related stories, Autism, Love on the Spectrum, and what it's like working for a national news channel. It's worth your time as you drive around returning Christmas gifts!

Emma Withrow is a National Investigative Journalist for The National News Desk and lives in Washington D.C. In this role, Emma covers a wide variety of topics and stories, including politics, the economy, foreign affairs,. Previously, Emma was the Chief Political Correspondent at FOX Charlotte, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Emma grew up in California and went to college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Follow her @emmawithrow

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I recently received my 2024 podcast stats. I'm immensely grateful I had over 1k downloads and listened in 21 countries. You guys rock. More great stuff is on the way in 2025.

In addition, I highlighted the top 5 episodes of the year in the pod. If you're relatively new, please go back and listen to them. I'll list them at the bottom.

Today, I have Kathryn Goetzke on the podcast. I was on her Hope Matrix Podcast last month and she graciously accepted the invitation to be on mine!

Kathryn Goetzke, MBA, is CEO & Chief Hope Officer of The Shine Hope Company, the Author of ‘The Biggest Little Book About Hope‘, podcast host of The Hope Matrix, Creator of award winning Hopeful Minds, Hopeful Cities, and Hopeful Mindsets, Social Entrepreneur, Chief Mood Officer, and Business Strategist. In 2004, launched Mood-lites™, a brand that achieved over 35 million dollars in retail sales and ran the first cause marketing campaign for mental health. She was recently appointed to represent the World Federation for Mental Health at the United Nations, representing the almost 1 billion people around the world with mental health disorders, and is working to get a resolution passed at the United Nations for an International Day of Hope, to ensure all around the world know you can measure and teach hope. The list goes on and on..Kathryn is simply an amazing human being.

Our conversation about how we can learn to hope, the relationship it plays with a disability, and her struggles with mental health was eye-opening, to say the least. You will get a lot out of this one.

Enjoy!

Resilience, Connections, and Breaking Boundaries with Rayne Clarkson

Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month with UCP CEO and President Armando Contreras

Disney's Out of My Mind with Director Amber Sealey

The Mighty with CEO and Founder Mike Porath

Real Talk on CP: Insights from Future Physical Therapists

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It’s here! In this episode, I break down my favorite parts of Out of My Mind and explore how Melody’s story resonates with my own journey. This powerful film is more than just a movie to me—it’s a celebration of resilience, inclusion, and the beauty of finding your voice. Enjoy!

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Disney's Out of My Mind will be released on Disney+ tomorrow, and I had the opportunity to interview the director, Amber Sealey, on today's podcast. The film is about a sixth grader, Melody Brooks, who has cerebral palsy, is nonverbal, and uses a wheelchair. As Melody navigates the ups and downs of being in the classroom, she eventually shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.

Amber Sealey is an award-winning filmmaker whose most recent film, Out of My Mind (Disney/ Participant/Big Beach), premiered at Sundance 2024 to multiple standing ovations. Based on the best-selling YA novel of the same name, it stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby, and Judith Light, with Jennifer Aniston voicing the lead's inner life.

Projects she has in development include two of her original scripts — the comedy feature COMING OF AGE and the romantic comedy BODICE RIPPER. Her feature NO MAN OF GOD (SpectreVision/Company X/XYZ Films/RLJ Entertainment), starring Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby, was theatrically released in 2021 to rave reviews.

She has been supported by Sundance, Film Independent, and Women in Film. She is a fellow of the AFI Directing Workshop for Women and has written scripts for Duplass Brothers/Donut Productions. She was selected for Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative, the NBCUniversal Directors Initiative, the WeForShe DirectHer program, Film Independent’s Directing Lab, and their Fast Track program.

Her short film, HOW DOES IT START, world premiered at Sundance and (among other awards) won Best Narrative Short at Sarasota FF, and is being turned into a feature film. Her feature NO LIGHT & NO LAND ANYWHERE was theatrically released by Factory 25 and won a Special Jury Award at the LA Film Festival. Her second feature, HOW TO CHEAT, won Best Performance at LAFF, and won both Best Narrative and Best Acting at BendFilm. Her first film, A PLUS D, was released by IndiePix.

Sealey has a BA in Theatre Arts and Modern Dance from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MA from The Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She studied Shakespeare at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

She was born in England and lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Be sure to check out the movie Friday!

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I can't get enough of Austin! Last month I went back and visited, but this time, it was for the Austin Film Festival. My guest today is Allison Norlian, who I met at the festival. Allison Norlian is a three-time Emmy-nominated journalist, filmmaker, and co-founder of BirdMine, a production company dedicated to amplifying the voices and stories of people with disabilities and other underrepresented communities. Through BirdMine, Allison writes, directs, and produces short- and long-form documentaries and narrative films that aim to shift perceptions and inspire social change.

Currently, Allison is in post-production for Meandering Scars, a documentary she co-filmed, wrote, and produced. She also wrote and co-directed Thirteen, a short film that has screened internationally and was an official selection at festivals including the Austin Film Festival, Austin Jewish Film Festival, California Women's Film Festival, and Independent Shorts Awards.

Allison's career as a journalist and filmmaker has always been fueled by a desire to champion the voices of those too often unheard, including her profoundly disabled sister. Her work has consistently highlighted critical issues affecting people with disabilities and other vulnerable communities. Recognized for her impact, Allison received a Catalyst for Change award from the ARC of Virginia and earned an Emmy nomination for an investigation that exposed abuse in an assisted living facility.

With each project, Allison’s goal remains the same: to shift the way the world views disability, bringing dignity, depth, and humanity to these stories.

You can check Allison's work out at https://www.birdmine.com/

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In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, my guest is Myles Wallace, Disability Inclusion Partner for Peak Performers, a disability staffing agnecy in Austin, TX.

Are you disabled and looking for employment? Peak Performers can help.

They help anyone with a disability regardless of location. From Administraion roles, to C-Suite, their aim is to place people with disabilities in high level positons.

To learn more, go to https://www.peakperformers.org/ or e-mail Myles at [email protected]

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I recently came back from an eight day solo travel trip to Austin, Texas. Anyone who uses a wheelchair knows that traveling is hard. It was a learning experience and I decided to share the top five disability experiences I had on my journey. Big shout out to all the people I met and who made the experience so memorable.

This episode is about growth, connection, and learning from your past.

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Something I enjoy regularly is giving talks to physical therapy students about cerebral palsy. In today's episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing three physical therapy students in a class I spoke in last year. 

This episode is unique because all four of us, Aly West, Cameron Samrai, and Dillon Werner, were together in one room. We had an hour-long conversation that included their reflections on that class, questions about cerebral palsy, and my honest views on how physical therapy impacts me.

I also wanted to let you know that this month, I've been involved in a fundraising campaign for United Cerebral Palsy, a national non-profit that provides services and programs to individuals with disabilities. The campaign ends at the end of next month, and if you would like to donate, please check out the link below.

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You can now send me fan mail! Right above 👆 is the link to send me a text message. You won't be spammed or put on a list. Let me know how I'm doing! I would love your feedback.

It's another international episode of OTC! One of the things that I love about doing my podcast is interviewing people from all over the world. There are amazing people outside the US who are making their mark in the disability world. One man in particular is Martyn Sibley. 

Martyn works at the intersection of business, technology and leadership to drive change for a fully inclusive world. Starting one of the first lived experience blogs in 2009, he's created high quality content, built online communities and started multiple businesses.

Growing up with a physical disability, he's faced many personal challenges, and successfully chased down many dreams! From working in London, to driving a car with his hands, scuba diving, and being married to his soul mate. His mantra is 'Everything is possible'!

After gaining a degree in economics and a master's in marketing, Martyn started his career at a charity for disability rights. Following his love of blogging and social media, he quickly became a disabled influencer (voted regularly in the UK's disability power 100 list), plus working in media and tourism for social change.

He's a published author (Everything is Possible - travel memoir), an international speaker, media spokesperson, appeared in the LinkedIn TV advert in 2021, and has published many blogs, vlogs and podcasts. In particular he livestreamed 'The Daily Sib' for 4 straight months in the first months of the pandemic, interviewing a wide range of disabled people and disability ally's.

Disability Horizons was the first disability magazine to utilise online content and social media. Created alongside his friend Srin Madipalli, its given a voice to disabled people like never before. For 12 amazing years it published educational and entertaining information by disabled people, for disabled people.

Accomable, also co founded with Srin, disrupted the accessible accommodation industry and was acquired by Airbnb in 2017.

Most recently in partnership with the Goat agency (global leaders in influencer marketing) Martyn started the already award winning Purple Goat agency. In just three years they're working with multinational companies and the best disabled content creators. Giving representation to disabled people in advertising like never before.

You can find Martyn at @martynsibley, https://www.purplegoatagency.com/

Follow me at @offthecrutch or email [email protected]

Follow me on social media at @offthecrutch, or e-mail me at [email protected]