MDA Quest Podcast

In this Quest Podcast episode, we chat with Brooke Eby, who was diagnosed with ALS in March 2022. Brooke Eby was recently featured on the Today Show, and with almost 70,000 followers on Instagram alone hopes to spread awareness of ALS to as many people as possible.

Transcript

Guests:

Brooke is a social media influencer who was recently featured on the Today Show. She was diagnosed with ALS in March 2022 after four years of confusing symptoms in her leg. She hopes to spread awareness of ALS to as many people as possible and laugh along the way.

Tiktok: @LimpBroozkit
Instagram: @LimpBroozkit
Twitter: @LimpBroozkit

Mindy Henderson is the Senior Director & Editor-in-Chief of Quest Media, and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, and just published her first book, The Truth About Things That Suck.

Connect with Mindy:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendersonmindy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindyhendersonspeaks/

In this Quest Podcast episode, we chat with a renowned comedian, writer, and advocate who lives with physical disabilities. Steve Way, actor of the Hulu Original “Ramy”, joins us to share his experiences, expertise, and advise when it comes to navigating life and Hollywood.

Transcript

Guests: 

Steve is a 32-year-old actor, comedian, writer, and speaker. He was born with Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy and is an advocate for disability awareness. Steve performs stand-up comedy and motivational speeches around the country and can be seen on the Hulu show Ramy.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thesteveway/
Website - https://www.thesteveway.com/
Substack - https://thesteveway.substack.com/

Mindy Henderson is the Senior Director & Editor-in-Chief of Quest Media, and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, and just published her first book, The Truth About Things That Suck.

Connect with Mindy: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendersonmindy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindyhendersonspeaks/

Summer is around the corner! In this Quest Podcast episode, we chat with two renowned travel writers who live with physical disabilities. Sylvia Longmire, creator of the Spin the Globe accessible travel blog, and Cory Lee, creator of the Curb Free with Cory Lee travel blog, join us to share their experiences, expertise, and advice when it comes to accessible travel.

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Guests: 

Sylvia Longmire is an award-winning accessible travel writer and photographer, a service-disabled Air Force veteran, and the former Ms. Wheelchair USA 2016. She travels around the world, usually solo, in her power wheelchair to document the accessibility of her destinations through articles, photography, and video. Sylvia is also a director, producer, voice actor, and a staunch advocate for accessibility and disability representation. She is the author of four accessible travel books and the creator of the Spin the Globe accessible travel blog.

After being diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of two, Cory Lee’s thirst for adventure never ceased. He has traveled across all seven continents in his powered wheelchair while managing to run his travel blog CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com, where he shares his accessible — and sometimes not so accessible — travel adventures with others. He is a four-time Webby Award winner, has won two Lowell Thomas Awards for Best Travel Blog, and he has written for publications such as Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic, and Lonely Planet. As always, his goal is to inspire other wheelchair users to roll out of their comfort zones and see all of the beauty our world has to offer.

Connect with Sylvia: 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spintheglobeonwheels
Instagram - https://instagram.com/sylvia_longmire
Blog - https://www.spintheglobe.net
[email protected]

Connect with Cory: 

Blog - https://curbfreewithcorylee.com
Instagram - https://instagram.com/curbfreecorylee
Facebook - https://facebook.com/CurbFree

Mindy Henderson is the Senior Director & Editor-in-Chief of Quest Media, and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, and just published her first book, The Truth About Things That Suck.

Connect with Mindy:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendersonmindy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindyhendersonspeaks/

Megan DeJarnett is an author, speaker, disability DEI educator, and inclusion advocate. Megan lives with SMA and is the organizational founder of No Such Thing, a company with a mission to help others redefine purpose by removing defining labels. Author of the children's books, "No Such Thing as Normal" and "Lovely as Can Be", Megan teaches children the ways in which everyone is unique and that our differences are what make us special. She joins the Quest Podcast to talk about the importance of inclusion and to share her goal of spreading her life mission of living without limits through her books, public speaking, and writing.

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Megan DeJarnett is an author, speaker, disability DEI educator, and inclusion advocate. At the age of two, she was diagnosed with SMA and has used a wheelchair ever since. Megan is determined to experience life to the fullest and choose joy over despair. She is passionate about motivating others to approach life with an ‘I can do this' attitude. Her ability to share her story and encourage others to look at life through a new lens is only one of her tremendous gifts. Megan has been placed in unique situations and has had to overcome innumerable challenges. She didn't think too much about her differences until she became the mother of a child with special needs. Megan then found herself frequently having to answer questions about her child's own differences. This spawned a passion in Megan for teaching children the ways in which everyone is unique and emphasizing the ways in which that singularity makes them special. In 2020, she self-published her first children's book, "No Such Thing as Normal". It's written to underscore the importance of inclusion and acceptance. Accompanying her book is a self-published coloring book, and her follow up, "Lovely as Can Be", which she has expanded into four volumes. Megan hopes to spread her life mission of living without limits through her books, public speaking and writing to those in the disability community and beyond!

Connect with Megan:

Instagram: @megandejarnett
Instagram: @nosuchthing.co
Website: https://megandejarnett.co/
Website: https://nosuchthing.co/

Mindy Henderson is the Editor-in-Chief of MDA's Quest family of content and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, with her first book set to hit book stores in Summer of 2022.

Connect with Mindy:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendersonmindy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindyhendersonspeaks/

As new treatments, cutting edge research, and a better understanding of genetic sequencing and mutations bring innovative change to the treatment landscape for neuromusclar disease, understanding your options and accessing care is more important than ever. We sit down with Dr. Matthew Harms, a neuromuscular neurologist and neruogenetics expert, to discuss what these changes mean to our community as he shares his advice, insights, and expertise on the changing landscape of neuromuscular care.

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Guests:

Dr. Matthew Harms is a neuromuscular neurologist and neurogenetics expert focused on ALS and related motor neuron diseases.  Dr. Harms' lab applies cutting-edge genetic sequencing technologies to discover new genes, define the frequency and range of genetic mutations in ALS, and characterize links between specific mutations and specific types or manifestations of ALS.  He is the Director of Precision Medicine Initiatives at Columbia University, Director of the Neurogenetics Program in the Department of Neurology, and Associate Director of the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center.  Dr. Harms also serves as a Medical Advisor to the MDA.

Mindy Henderson is the Editor-in-Chief of MDA's Quest family of content and the host of this podcast.  She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA.  Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, with her first book set to hit book stores in Summer of 2022.

Connect with Mindy:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendersonmindy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindyhendersonspeaks/

For our February Valentine's Day Quest Podcast, we catch up with Bill Crossland, a writer, director, producer, and actor who lives with muscular dystrophy. Bill shares his insights and experiences with our live audience as we chat about dating with a disability, love, relationships, and his feature-length-film "Catching Up".

His movie is available to stream on for free on Tubi and Amazon Prime. You can watch the official trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QrNnmlVqaI. (Note: "Catching Up" is for mature audiences and contains language and some sexual content.)

Transcript

Guests:

Bill Crossland is a writer, director, producer, and actor. A lover of movies since childhood, Bill earned his degree in Film & Media Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia. His work has screened at the Sundance, Heartland, New Orleans, and Atlanta film festivals, and he was named one of Scriptapalooza's Top 100 screenwriters of 2022. Bill's feature directorial debut Catching Up -- an ‘80s style romantic comedy about a man with muscular dystrophy who falls in love with an able-bodied woman -- was picked up by Freestyle Digital Media for worldwide distribution and is now available on DVD and streaming from Amazon Prime, iTunes, and more.

You can check out the film's website here: catchingupmovie.com

Connect with Bill: 

Mindy Henderson is the Editor-in-Chief of MDA's Quest family of content and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, with her first book set to hit book stores in Summer of 2022.

Connect with Mindy:

 We are excited to start a new year talking about new mindsets, especially when it comes to adversity. On our first episode of 2023, Mindy talks mindset with Jose Flores, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy, in front of a live audience. Jose is a professional speaker, "mindset disruptor," and #1 best-selling author of “Don't Let Your Struggle Become Your Standard." Jose speaks all over the world, sharing his experience of growing up with a physical "disability" and how you can use the power of your mind to overcome anything that life throws your way.

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Guests:

Jose Flores is a corporate speaker, Global Motivator, Mindset Disruptor, and #1 best-selling author. Jose speaks all over the world using his unique story of growing up with a physical "disability" and how you can use the power of your mind to overcome anything life throws your way. His main message is to never allow your struggle to become your standard and how to dominate your life and business.

Jose lives with spinal muscular atrophy.

Find Jose's book Don't Let Your Struggle Become Your Standard on Amazon

Connect with Jose: 

Mindy Henderson is the Editor-in-Chief of MDA's Quest family of content and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, with her first book set to hit book stores in Summer of 2022.

Connect with Mindy:

On this episode of Quest podcast, we join forces with hosts of the popular podcast "Embrace It," Estela Lugo and Lainie Ishbia. Both women live with Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) and are active with the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation, raising awareness and offering support to their community. Estela and Lainie bring their incredible chemistry and personality to our discussion on living with a disability, parenting, business, fashion, their podcast and workshops, and their over-arching goal to rebrand disability and empower others.

Check out Lainie and Estela's Podcast and Workshops: Embrace It on Instagram, LinkedIn, or the Embrace It website.

Transcript

Guests:

Lainie Ishbia is a Tedx speaker, writer, entrepreneur, and disability advocate born with a rare and progressive neuromuscular disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT). Although Lainie wears leg braces to help her walk and cannot button up a shirt to save her life, she refuses to let her disabilities stop her and has made it her life's mission to empower others with disabilities to do the same.

After receiving a master of social work degree from the University of Michigan, Lainie spent most of her 30+ year career specializing in adolescent girls and women's self-esteem and body image issues. As a self-proclaimed fashionista and disability hack expert, Lainie founded the lifestyle and fashion brand Trend-Able in 2017 where she has helped thousands of other people living with disabilities to embrace their challenges, focus on their strengths, and discover adaptive fashion and other tools for looking and feeling their best. Lainie is the co-creator of the Embrace It Podcast and the EmBrace It Workshop Series. She has partnered with numerous nonprofits, businesses, and Fortune 500 companies to train employees on disability related communication and to eradicate micro-aggressions and negative stereotypes of people with disabilities in the workplace.

Connect with Lainie:

Estela Lugo was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) at four years old, followed by her younger sister two years later.

In 2002, she graduated from FIT with a Bachelor's in Interior Design. Today, her professional background in design, marketing, trend-forecasting, and creative direction brings an unexpected approach to connecting the disability community to wellness, empowerment, and health. After volunteering for eight years, Estela joined the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation full-time in 2018 as their Program Development Manager. Later in 2018, she testified in front of the FDA on the patient experience and the importance of funding CMT studies and potential therapies. As moderator for the CMT-Connect webinar series, Estela enjoys sharing resources and expert information with the CMT community on a wide range of valuable topics. On the EmBrace It Podcast, she interviews community thought leaders and aims to empower women living with disabilities in all facets of life. Estela and co-host Lainie Isbia also provide original inclusions workshops that focus on improving advocacy & DEI through communication tools, starting with "How to Communicate with Anyone About Disability." They've worked with many top brands such as Levi Strauss, Pinterest, Lockheed Martin, The Abilities Expos, SUNY Farmingdale College, Health Union, and more.

In 2019, Estela gave her first TEDx talk titled "RePurpose Your Pain" on the art of turning adversity into life's most beautiful work. She currently co-teaches inclusive and adaptive design at the Fashion Institute of Technology for their Design for Social Impact program. She is represented by Gamut Management, an all-inclusive talent agency.

Connect with Estela: 

Connect with the Herediary Neuropathy Foundation:

Mindy Henderson is the Director of Quest Media, Editor-in-Chief of MDA's Quest magazine and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, and just published her first book, The Truth About Things That Suck.

Connect with Mindy:

Barriers in travel and the lack of accessible transportation are huge issues for many people living with nueromuscular disease and other physical disabilities. Today, we chat with Kelly Buckland, a disability policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and Michael Lewis, the director of disability policy at MDA. Both guests play active roles in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and for meaningful advances in accessible air travel and transportation policies. In this podcast, we discuss current barriers, advocacy goals, policy updates, and recent successes. Successes that include the US airline industry trade organization, Airlines for America (A4A), and seven US passenger airlines’ adoption of the DOT’s Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights and recent commitment to making meaningul improvements to passenger accessibility.

Learn more about advances in acessible air travel policy: 

https://www.airlines.org/news/u-s-airlines-strengthen-commitment-to-passenger-accessibility/ 

Learn how you can get involved with MDA’s advocacy initiatives: https://www.mda.org/get-involved/advocacy

Transcript

Guests:

Kelly Buckland is a person with a disability who has been actively involved in disability issues since 1979. Kelly graduated from Boise State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work and Drake University with a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling. He served for over twenty years as the Executive Director of the Living Independence Network Corporation and the Idaho State Independent Living Council in Boise, Idaho. Kelly has been honored with numerous state and national awards, including the University of Idaho President’s Medallion, the Hewlett-Packard Distinguished Achievement in Human Rights Award, Outstanding Alumni of Boise State University, and Outstanding Alumni of Drake University. Kelly also has a long history with the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL). He served as NCIL Vice-President from 2001 to 2005, NCIL President from 2005 to 2009, and NCIL Executive Director from 2009 to 2021. Currently, he serves as a disability policy advisor for the Office of Assistance Secretary on Policy at the US Department of Transportation (DOT).

Connect with DOT: 

Michael Lewis has spent over a decade working in disability rights for various organizations. His passion for disability policy advocacy stems from his experience as an individual with cerebral palsy. As Director of Disability Policy at MDA, Michael leads MDA’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and with federal agencies to defend and expand access to civil rights, education, economic independence and employment, and accessible recreation and travel for people with neuromuscular diseases and other disabilities. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and Regent University, Michael resides in northern Virginia with his wife and four children.

Connect with Michael: 

Mindy Henderson is the Editor-in-Chief of MDA’s Quest family of content and the host of this podcast. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA. Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, with her first book set to hit book stores in Summer of 2022. 

Connect with Mindy:

Inclusively is a technology centered inclusions solution and employment platform for job seekers with disabilities, mental health conditions, and chronic illnesses. Inclusively’s vision is to create a front door to employment that is open to all people, unlocking the world’s hidden talents in the disability community. In this episode, Sarah Bernard, the co-founder and chief operating officer at Inclusively, shares her expertise on the importance of inclusion and accessibility in the workplace – and how employers can get on board to create a more inclusive culture.

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Guests: 

Sarah Bernard is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Inclusively, the technology-centered inclusion solution and employment platform for job seekers with disabilities, mental health conditions, and chronic illnesses. 

Before launching Inclusively, Sarah started her career in enterprise marketing with Forrester Research in London working with industry leaders in technology and business strategy. During her tenure at Forrester, Sarah became a top producing sales executive selling into senior leadership at Fortune 500 companies, helping them drive growth and stay ahead of customer and market dynamics. Sarah’s business development experience carried over into Inclusively as she helped build the company’s go-to-market strategy and secure the earliest enterprise clients. Under her leadership, Inclusively is helping companies elevate workplace accommodations from a compliance-reporting function to a competitive advantage and create a more equitable, productive workplace for all. Sarah graduated from the University of Dayton and is based in St. Louis, MO with her husband and four children.

Connect with Sarah:

Mindy Henderson is the Director of Quest Media, Editor-in-Chief of MDA’s Quest magazine and the host of this podcast.  She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, type 2 when she was 15 months old and has been a life-long partner to MDA.  Mindy is also a motivational speaker and a writer, and just published her first book, The Truth About Things That Suck.

Connect with Mindy: