Self Advocacy is not only about achieving our dreams but also celebrating those who assist us in doing so. Jeff Perdziak is a local artist and illustrator whose work spans many genres. One of Jeff's new accomplishments is working with our own Engelic Everett to illustrate her newly released "Olivia the Bully" children's book. We sat down with Jeff to find out out a little about the process, what inspires him, what he has going on and the importance of perseverance when pursuing your dreams.  Find Jeff on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jeffreyscottperdziak/ Find Engelic's newly released book, "Olivia the Bully" for sale online at https://store.museumofdisability.org/   Access this Episode HERE.

Clockwise from Top Left: Engelic Everett, Noel Schmitt Avery Gill and Lee Hartlieb Greetings to our listeners and welcome to our first Self Advocacy in Action Audio Podcast of the new year 2017 I'm Jim Jowsey, the guy behind the board and we've got a great show for you. One of the definitions of the word "Wellness" is the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal. That means not just reacting to things that happen to you, it means going out there and purposely doing things that are GOOD for you. One of these things is managing stress, and meditation is a great way to accomplish this. Whether you go the full nine yards with incense on a mountain top or just take a few minutes each day to center yourself and relax your brain, the positive affects are real. Noel Schmitt is a friend of ours that we've know for many years. She's a self described "Lifer" in Human Services and has had a hand in creating many positive outcomes for the people that she serves. For the past few years Noel has been developing and teaching meditation classes to the people we serve to help people learn to relax, center themselves and increase their wellness. Engelic and Avery recently spent some time with Noel in the studio to talk about this great initiative and some of Noel's history in general. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS EPISODE

Engelic, Lee and Jim took a few minutes to put together a holiday greeting and to thank you all for making this past year so promising. Take a listen here.... Listen to Audio File And have a great holiday season, see you after the new year!!!

L-R: Beth Geyer, Engelic Everett, Avery Gill, Vienna Laurendi Haak We' happy to be back in the saddle with our first reboot episode. This episode hosts Avery Gill and Engelic Everett interview Beth Geyer and Vienna Laurendi Haak, co-owners of The Unique Theater Company. The Unique Theater Company is exactly that, a fully inclusive production theater company that uses original works from both disabled and non-disabled authors and produces them on stage stage both disabled and non-disabled actors and crew. We're very fortunate to present to very inspirational story, Take a Listen!!!! Click to Listen

In this episode we talk about RACIN', A petition to Governor Cuomo, Self Advocacy Award Nominations, Self Advocacy Groups, and Spread the Word to End the Word. Listen to or Download Episode 2 HERE. Episode 2 Links: BuffaloRacin.org Change.org Satellite Office Petition  Email your self advocacy group info to [email protected] Download the 2016 Western Region Conference Award Nomination Form The Erie County Office for the Disabled Developmental Disabilities Awareness Conference (DD Day) Spread the Word to End the Word National Site Born This Way Television Show Website

Welcome to the First Episode of the Self Advocacy in Action Audio Podcast. Every month your hosts Jessica Levesque and Avery Gill fill you in on what's going in the world of self advocacy here in WNY and beyond. Click HERE to Listen to or Download Episode #1 Episode #1 Links DD Day is Accepting Performance Applications: www.ddday.org Spread the Word to End the Word Event: www.r-word.org for national site Full Access Travel: www.fullaccesstravel.com Respect: A Play by Engelic Everett