Finding a life partner is very much a personal choice. What's important is to understand, reflect, and be aware of what is influencing who we are attracted to and who we are not attracted to.

Diana Pastora Carson, M.Ed. has been an elementary educator for over 30 years, and co-teaches a Disability & Society course at San Diego State University. She is a consultant and educator on diversity as it relates to disability, and is the author of several articles and books including Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity Work in K-12 Schools & Communities, and children’s book, Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights, and Beyond Disability Awareness: An Educator’s Guide. Diana is known for her powerful keynote presentations and educational workshops related to disability awareness and inclusive teaching practices. Her disability awareness work in schools has earned her statewide PTA recognitions in the areas of advocacy and outreach, as well as her elementary school’s designation of Teacher of the Year. In addition to a TEDx Talk and her award-winning podcast, Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters, Diana has been featured in several articles and other podcasts. She served two terms on the Board of Directors of Disability Rights California, and currently serves as a board member of Disability Voices United. Although Diana experiences disability herself, she credits her passion for this work to her brother, Joaquin Carson, who endured years of segregated schooling and subsequent institutionalization. She takes the most pride in knowing that after many years of fighting for his release from an institution, Joaquin now lives a life of self-determination, inclusion and quality, in the community, as her next-door neighbor. Along this journey to inclusion, Diana and Joaquin have become advocates for safe community inclusion, especially for people who experience body dysregulation, and as it relates to healthcare access, and access to "durable accommodations", a term coined by Diana's family.  

What having a mobility disability has taught me:  

1. Life is short, do what’s important

a. Lower backaches

b. Shoulder pain

2. Be innovative if you want to do you want do.

a. Using the escalators when elevators go out of service

b. Using an office chair with wheels to reach kitchen counter and cook because the kitchen is not accessible.

c. Climbing the Great Wall by crawling part of the stretch

d. Checking out the camel and Arabian desert by ditching my wheelchair at a hostel

3. Don’t be shy and speak up

a. Asking for help in public places when physical spaces are inaccessible

4. Be persistent

a. Accessible pool entrance

Thank you to the following guests for coming on the podcast show …

1.    Emma Farley

2.   Izzy Camilleri

3.   Danielle Connolly

4.   Keisha Greaves

5.   Laura Andert

6.   Billy Price

7.   Lydia X. Z. Brown

8.   Mindy Scheier

I’ve been wanting to do a casual monologue episode for a while now, but nine weeks later, we’re still in the same spot. I am going to push through my resistance and release something imperfect and short, but real and honest.

Today I am going to talk about MY top fears to making recorded content … other people may (and probably will) have a different list …

1.   Not having all the “correct information”

2.  Not saying it the “correct way” that is accepted by all.

3.  Not having the privacy to record the contents

4.  Not having the right clothes for recording

5.  Needing to prepare: shower, look “presentable” and the effort it takes to be “video” ready

6.  People’s judgements once the content is released

7.  Having my contents be misconstrued or used out of context

8.  Not having the right length of contents

9.  Being judged by your family members

10.  Sounding stupid, uneducated, ill-informed, and unaware.

Emma Farley is a Disability Studies student and disability activist based in Brooklyn, New York. Emma has both visible and invisible disabilities - a rare form of muscular dystrophy, ADHD, and dyscalculia. Emma's involvement within the disability community stretches back to early childhood, when she began public speaking about her lived experience with muscular dystrophy, and she continues to do this as a Diversability Leadership Collective Member, hosting several discussions with the Diversability group about various disability-related topics. Passionate about creating connections with the disability community and taking an intersectional approach to activism, Emma is launching a new podcast called Unsilent: Disability On Our Terms in Spring 2024. 

Izzy Camilleri is one of Canada’s leading and most celebrated fashion designers, and a pioneer in adaptive clothing. Izzy first ventured into the world of accessible clothing after initially doing custom work for a wheelchair user in 2004. It opened her eyes to the huge necessity for this type of clothing in the world.

In 2022, Izzy received 2 awards for her adaptive line. She won the Innovation Award from the Women’s Empowerment Awards and the Fashion Impact Award from the CAFA Awards. In 2006, she received CAFA’s Womenswear Designer of the Year Award. Her adaptive line has been featured in the Royal Ontario Museum.

For more than 39 years, she has designed custom clothing for an international clientele, crafted gorgeous collections featured in fashion magazines from Vogue to InStyle, and dressed celebrities like Daniel Radcliffe, Mark Wahlberg, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie and David Bowie. Since 2009, Izzy has focused on inclusive fashion through her brand IZ Adaptive, with the mission to make great looking and well fitting clothes accessible to everyone. To learn more about Izzy, visit www.izzycamilleri.com.

Danielle Connolly is a rare disease and disability advocate, content creator, and business and marketing professional. Being born with a muscle disease, that still has an unknown origin after twenty-nine years, has given Danielle many unique life experiences that set the course for her various ambitions. After she took her first vacation with friends as an adult, she realized that she is more capable of traveling than she realized. Upon returning from the trip, she swiftly got her own mobility scooter and started planning more adventures. The idea of documenting these adventures and giving accessibility reviews came about, and then many other ideas for content and series (such as “Breaking the 4th Wall of Disability”) followed. Thus, Daniellevates was born! Daniellevates is a play on her name combined with “elevates” because the content is all about elevating ideas about disability, rare disease, and chronic illness through humor, storytelling, education, and adventures.  

At age 24, Keisha Greaves was diagnosed with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy - at which point, her life changed forever. Rather than be bogged down by her diagnosis, Keisha decided to channel her energy into celebrating those with Muscular Dystrophy and other chronic illnesses. Thus began Girls Chronically Rock and the founding of her other nonprofits: The GCR Adaptive Project and the Trust Your Abilities Nonprofit for People of Color.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Girls Chronically Rock supports individuals in th disability community through inspiring and adaptive tees, hoodies, accessories, and swimwear.

The mission of the GCR Adaptive Project is to make fashion accessible to everyone regardless of ability by providing adaptive fashion supplies and tools to college fashion students so they can learn to design more inclusively.

The Trust Your Abilities Nonprofit for People of Color helps people of color in the disability community access much needed resources and support for their disability (ie. grants for accessible vehicles, uninsured medical equipment, adaptive fitness equipment, and school scholarship, among other needs.)

Laura Andert, born with Cerebral Palsy, is a disability consultant and benefits coach who is training to become a work incentive practitioner in her hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. As an advocate for herself and for others, Laura’s goal is to help other individuals with disabilities navigate their resources, recognize their worth, and discover their unique abilities. And this is me quoting Laura, “When I set out to do something and I am blocked from it, I don’t just walk away. I will knock down walls to make it happen. I don’t give up until I give it my all!”

As a teenager, Seattle native Billy Price suffered a spinal cord injury and became paralyzed from the chest down, losing the ability to move his fingers. Daily tasks became difficult, but using his creative mind and unyielding spirit, he never gave up. He continued on, facing life's challenges with tenacity and determination. 

Born out of a need, BILLY Footwear was founded on the principle of inclusion. Alongside an incredible team, Billy strives to add value to the lives of others and make a measurable difference in the world, one foot at a time.

Lydia X. Z. Brown is the Director of Public Policy at the National Disability Institute. They have spoken and consulted internationally and throughout the U.S. on a range of topics at the intersections of disability, race, class, gender and sexuality, and has published in numerous scholarly and community publications. Lydia is also a lecturer in disability studies at Georgetown University and founding executive director of the Autistic People of Color Fund. Previously, they served as Policy Counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, focusing on disability rights and algorithmic bias; Director of Policy, Advocacy, & External Affairs at the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network; Justice Catalyst Fellow at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Chairperson of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council.