Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with Nancy Volpe Beringer. Nancy is a fashion designer who competed on season 18 of Project Runway, making it all the way to the finale. Since then, she has launched The Vault by Volpe Beringer, an online luxury resale store that caters to both the able-bodied and disabled. She believes in sustainability and adaptability- that fashion can and should include everyone. We discuss her time on Project Runway, The Vault, and why adaptive design is the now of fashion, not the future.

Follow Nancy: Instagram: @nancyvolpeberinger Website: https://www.nancyvolpeberinger.com

Follow The Vault By Volpe Beringer: Instagram: @thevaultbyvolpeberinger Website: https://www.thevaultbyvolpeberinger.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.comEmail: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with Lucy Jones. Lucy is a fashion designer who focuses on solution-based design. In 2017 she founded FFORA, an adaptive fashion accessories label of which she is the CEO. She also happens to be one of my best friends here in New York City. We discuss FFORA, disability in fashion, and what it really means to be an ally to the disability community.

Follow Lucy: Instagram: @lucyjonesdesign . Website: https://www.lucyjonesdesign.com

Follow FFORA: Instagram: @fforaofficial . Website: https://liveffora.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In that week's episode I am in the hot seat. My brother Ben, who is also the show's editor and producer, sat in the host's seat and asked me questions about what being a little person means to me. I had no knowledge of the questions being asked and nothing was off-limits. We discussed growing up in a world where I was often the only little person in the room, how I almost became an athletic trainer, and how the representation of little people in the media affects the real world.

Follow me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: www.jillianilana.com

Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am talking to Kelsey Lindell. Kelsey is a disability advocate and fitness influencer. In August she was named Well+Good’s first ever disabled trainer of the month. On a daily basis Kelsey uses her platforms to combat ableism, a prejudice that no one wants to talk about and affects everyone. We discuss our disabled experiences, the many forms of ableism, and the changes we want to see and create in the world.

Follow Kelsey: Instagram: @kelsey_lindell Twitter: @KelseyELindell Website: https://www.kelseylindell.com

Sign Up: Dismantling Your Internal Ableism

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: www.jillianilana.com

Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

To start, I want to issue a trigger warning. This week’s episode talks about sexual harassment and sexual assault. If these are triggers for you, please feel free to skip this episode.

I am starting by talking to Stacie Lick, a family friend and Lieutenant in the Gloucester County Special Victims’s Unit, basically a real-life Olivia Benson. We are discussing disability and sexual assault- the statistics, the laws that address these crimes, and resources that are available for victims. After our conversation I share my story.

Learn More:

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): https://www.rainn.org

NDRN (National Disability Rights Network): https://www.ndrn.org

Follow Me:

Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast

Website: www.jillianilana.com

Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with disabled model and advocate Bri Scalesse. Bri is a true queen in every sense of the word. Paralyzed at age six, Bri has refused to let her disability, or society’s perception of disability, stop her from pursuing her dreams. She has wheeled the runways at New York Bridal Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week and opened designer Nancy Volpe-Beringer’s fashion show during the Project Runway season 18 finale...and she’s just getting started. We discuss her career as a disabled model, her advocacy work, a certain airline, and what it means to be disabled in 2021.

Follow Bri: Instagram: @briscalesse

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with Colleen Ditro. Colleen is a Doctor of Nursing Practice, certified nurse practitioner, and the lead Advanced Practice Registered Nurse for the orthopedics, pain and wound care teams at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. In addition, she serves on the medical advisory board of Little People of America and is the camp nurse at Camp Seneb- a summer camp for children with skeletal dysplasia. I have known her since she joined Nemours in 2004. We discuss what it means, medically to be a dwarf, the various types, complications, and advantages of dwarfism, and her work in the little person community.

Learn More: Skeletal Dysplasia | Nemours Children's Health;LPA Medical Support: Main Page; Camp Seneb: https://harborcamps.org/camp-seneb/

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: www.jillianilana.com

Email Me: [email protected]

This episode was edited by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with Kristina Thibault. Kristina has always been someone I’ve looked up to and is practically a big sister to me. She just got married in March so we are talking about dating, wedding, and marriage. Specifically, we discuss the struggles and successes of dating as an LP, planning a wedding, and the happily ever after.

Follow Kristina: Instagram: @kristinathibault_

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: www.jillianilana.comThis episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with Sophia Herzog, a Paralympic Silver Medalist and a swimmer for the US Paralympic team. At the time of this recording, Sophia is preparing to leave for Tokyo to compete in her second Paralympic games. We discuss her journey to the games, what she's most looking forward to in Tokyo, and what it means to be a Paralympian.

Follow Sophia: Instagram: @sophiaherzog Twitter: @SophiaHerzog Follow US Paralympics Swimming: Instagram: @usparaswimming Twitter: @USParaSwimming Website: https://www.teamusa.org/USParaSwimming; Support Team USA: https://www.teamusashop.com/team-usa/us-paralympic-swimming/t-14393661+sp-783710+z-874-703572402

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: www.jillianilana.comThis episode was edited by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with Zach Shattuck, a swimmer for the US Paralympic team. At the time of this recording, Zach is preparing to leave for Tokyo to compete in the 2020 Paralympics. We discuss his journey to the games, what he’s most looking forward to in Tokyo and what it means to him to be a Paralympian.

Follow Zach: Instagram: @zshattuck96 Follow US Paralympics Swimming: Instagram: @usparaswimmingWebsite: https://www.teamusa.org/USParaSwimming; Support Team USA: https://www.teamusashop.com/team-usa/us-paralympic-swimming/t-14393661+sp-783710+z-874-703572402

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana ; @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: www.jillianilana.comThis episode was edited by Ben Curwin