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  • From Green Card Lottery to Chief Diversity Officer: Dr. Hirah Mir's Inspiring Journey

    From Green Card Lottery to Chief Diversity Officer: Dr. Hirah Mir's Inspiring Journey
    2026/06/03
    What happens when someone who grew up receiving food stamps, living in Section 8 housing, and navigating government services as a new American child becomes the Chief Diversity Officer for New York State's largest agency? You get Dr. Hirah Mir — and her story will move you. In this powerful episode of Finding Common Ground: Dadability, Steve sits down with Dr. Hirah Mir, Executive Lead for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at OPWDD (the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities). Dr. Mir shares her remarkable journey from immigrant to PhD holder to leading a 13-person DEI team serving nearly 20,000 employees — driven every step of the way by her own lived experience with disability, poverty, and government services. Together, Steve and Dr. Mir explore what it truly means to serve families with developmental disabilities — including the groundbreaking family leadership academies held in partnership with Georgetown University, the fight for language access for the 60+ languages spoken across New York's DD community, and why fathers and youth voices must have a seat at the table in advocacy spaces. Dr. Mir also shares her upcoming documentary, American Nightmare, American Dream, which follows her and three other women across a decade as they navigate government services, pursue higher education, and ultimately give back through public service. This is a conversation about compassion, community, and the belief that good government — when it listens — can change lives. 🔑 IN THIS EPISODE
    • Dr. Mir's journey from Pakistan to Section 8 housing to earning her PhD
    • How lived experience in government services shaped her career at OPWDD
    • The Georgetown University leadership academies for self-advocates and families
    • Why language access matters — OPWDD now provides services in over 60 languages
    • The importance of father involvement and youth voices in disability advocacy
    • Steve's story: from welfare and potatoes three times a day to a national bus initiative for families
    • The American Nightmare, American Dream documentary
    • How New York State is leading the country in person-centered disability services
    CONNECT & FOLLOW
    • Subscribe on YouTube | Rate & Review on your favorite listening app
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    • Support the show and help us keep Finding Common Ground


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    43 分
  • Garbage Bags to Graduate School: From Invisible to Unstoppable

    Garbage Bags to Graduate School: From Invisible to Unstoppable
    2026/05/07
    If foster care is supposed to make children feel safe, why do so many still feel unseen, unheard, as they’re shuffled from home to home?

    Beth LaFontaine knows that answer, not from theory, but from lived experience. She moved through 19 foster placements, carried her belongings in garbage bags, and learned early that survival often meant staying quiet, guarded, and unseen. But her story doesn’t stay there.

    In this conversation, Beth shares what it actually feels like inside the foster care system, the grief that follows you, the moments that shape you, and the people who can change everything simply by choosing to see you.

    “I wasn’t just a behavior. I was a child who needed to be understood.”

    “We don’t need better suitcases. We need better systems.”

    “There is so much grief, and not enough space to name it.”

    You’ll hear about the quiet power of one teacher who saw beyond the chaos, the long shadow of broken trust, and why so many well-intended systems miss what matters most. But this isn’t just a story about what’s broken. It’s about what’s possible.

    From high school dropout to licensed clinical social worker, from surviving the system to working to change it, Beth is now helping bring voices together, foster youth, caregivers, and professionals, to build something better.

    There’s honesty here. There’s hard truth. And there’s hope. Because being seen can change everything.

    Please visit https://FCGadvocacy.org to learn more about the solutions we are working on! The Foster Care Collective is one of areas of focus and information will be updated on our homepage as we continue this important initiative. Also check out our stories of success and some of the ways we can help you move the needle on what matters most to you.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    45 分
  • What does it really look like from inside the foster care system?

    What does it really look like from inside the foster care system?
    2026/04/17
    In this episode of Finding Common Ground, we take a deep dive into foster care with Genevieve Rose Traversy, a Foster Care Recruiter with Lutheran Services Carolinas.
    A third-generation foster child and teen mom, Genevieve could have repeated the cycle. She didn’t.
    We often celebrate when a child is removed from a dangerous home. But our attention can’t stop there, as if the solution is complete. As Genevieve shared,
    “We talk a lot about saving kids. We don’t always talk about what happens after.”
    For Genevieve, this isn’t theory. She lived it.
    “When you grow up in the system, you see the gaps differently, and you carry them with you.”
    Now she’s working inside the system that didn’t always meet her needs, using that perspective to create better outcomes for children today. Because
    “Lived experience doesn’t just give you a voice. It gives you a responsibility.”
    📖 Read her story:
    Focus on the Family – Faces of Foster Care
    https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/faces-of-foster-care/
    🔗 Connect with Genevieve:
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@genevieverosetraversy
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genevieverosetraversy
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-traversy/
    #FindingCommonGround, #PodcastWithPurpose, #ChangingTheWayAdvocacysDone, #EmpowermentAdvocacy, #UnfilteredConversations, #FocusedOnSolutions, #InviteTheElephantToDinner, #FosterCare, #FosterCareAwareness, #FosterCareSystem, #ChildWelfare, #ChildAdvocacy, #TraumaInformed, #TraumaInformedCare, #LivedExperience, #BreakTheCycle, #CycleBreaker, #VoicesThatMatter, #YouthInCare, #FormerFosterYouth, #FosterCareJourney, #SocialImpact, #AdvocateForChildren, #SupportFosterYouth


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    39 分
  • When Intense Supports Are So Heavy, How Do You Not Sink?

    When Intense Supports Are So Heavy, How Do You Not Sink?
    2026/04/11
    What happens when exhaustion turns into something darker than burnout, when a parent begins having thoughts they never imagined they’d think?

    In this raw, unflinching conversation with Jillian Eisloeffel, the mom behind Bobby’s World, we go beyond surface-level stories of resilience and into the reality most people never say out loud. Jillian shares what it’s like to raise a child with profound needs inside a system that was supposed to help, but instead leaves families isolated, misunderstood, and fighting to stay afloat.

    This episode strips away the platitudes and faces the truth of parenting in survival mode:

    The moments you feel yourself disappearing inside your own life

    The kind of exhaustion no amount of sleep fixes

    The silence that surrounds families when the system gets it wrong

    Even when you understand that behavior is information, someone still has to decode it. And more often than not, that someone is the parent, carrying it 24/7 while the system struggles to keep up.

    Through connection, honesty, and one mother’s refusal to keep pretending, Jillian found a path back, first to herself, then to others walking the same invisible line. Today, she’s helping lead the National Council on Severe Autism in New York State, giving voice to families who have been living this reality in the dark for far too long.

    This isn’t an episode about hope that glosses over pain. It’s about finding language for what you’ve been feeling, and realizing you are not alone. If you’ve ever sat in the quiet and wondered how much more you can carry, this conversation is where you’ll finally hear someone say it out loud.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    42 分
  • The Housing Waiting List Trap: The Crisis Families are Living

    The Housing Waiting List Trap: The Crisis Families are Living
    2026/04/03
    What happens when your child needs lifelong support, but the “options” ahead are mostly waitlists, dead ends, and ideas that don’t really exist?

    In this episode of Finding Common Ground, we sit down with Wendy Ernzen, a Michigan mom, advocate, fundraiser, and fellow podcaster, for a conversation that so many families will feel in their bones.

    Wendy shares what it looked like when her family hit a breaking point, and how a system that should help too often only responds once families are already in crisis.

    One line from this episode says it all:
    “There should be real options that are presented to parents… not ideas, not options.”

    We talk about:

    - What families are actually told when school ends
    - Why housing and support often only open up after crisis
    - The invisible emotional load of planning for “after we’re gone”
    - How siblings, family homes, and creative support networks fit into the bigger picture
    - Why so many families are being forced to build the future themselves

    This episode is honest, validating, and uncomfortably real, especially for anyone quietly carrying the question:
    What will happen to my loved one if I can’t do this forever?

    There are no easy answers here, but there is truth, perspective, and the kind of conversation more families need to hear.

    If this fear has ever lived in the back of your mind, this episode is for you.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    43 分
  • Stuck and Spinning? Call the IDDO

    Stuck and Spinning? Call the IDDO
    2026/03/26
    When you know your child needs help, but every phone call leads to more confusion, where do you turn?

    In this DadAbility episode of Finding Common Ground, Steve sits down with Flor Ramirez, Supervising Attorney of New York’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Ombuds Program (IDDO), to talk about a resource many families still do not know exists, and why it matters more than ever.

    Flor pulls back the curtain on what an ombudsman actually does: helping families navigate complicated disability systems, ask the right questions, and get unstuck when nothing seems to move forward.

    “We help you navigate a system that is meant to help you… even when it doesn’t feel that way.”

    As both a leader and a mom of a child with autism, Flor brings something rare to the table, professional expertise and lived experience. She shares how her team listens first, connects the dots, and is not afraid to push when something isn’t working.

    “We’re not afraid to knock on doors and say, ‘This isn’t right… can we fix it?’”

    Steve and Flor also dig into what families are really experiencing right now, the confusion, the delays, the missed connections, and why so much of it comes down to a system that is complex, not always clear. Together, they explore how better education, stronger collaboration, and honest feedback can start to shift that experience.

    This conversation is real, practical, and quietly powerful. It is for parents who are tired of hitting walls, tired of being told “no” without explanation, and ready to understand where help may actually begin.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    41 分
  • Her Mother Refused the Institution… The Rest Is History

    Her Mother Refused the Institution… The Rest Is History
    2026/03/19
    They told Loretta Claiborne’s mother there were places for children like her.

    Her mother said no.

    Instead, she raised Loretta with grit, dignity, and sky-high expectations. Even when Loretta struggled with motor skills and had to crawl to the table and pull herself up, her mother insisted on good manners.

    No elbows on the table.

    Why? Because someday, she said, Loretta might be eating with the president.

    She ended up meeting six of them.

    In this unforgettable episode of Finding Common Ground, Loretta shares the kind of story that makes people rethink what is possible. From the moment her mother refused institutionalization to the breakthrough that changed everything, when little Loretta called out her mother’s name for the first time, this conversation is filled with the moments that prove what can happen when someone believes in you before the world does.

    Loretta takes us through the tough love that shaped her, the counselor who pushed her toward Special Olympics, and the path that eventually led her to become a globally respected athlete, advocate, and speaker.

    Today she has met six U.S. presidents, and in this episode she even tells us which one she enjoyed spending time with the most.

    But what makes Loretta remarkable is not just what she achieved. It is how she lives. Helping neighbors shovel snow, pushing cars out of icy streets, knitting for babies and women she will likely never meet. Still showing us what persistence, dignity, and community look like in action.

    As Loretta reminds us:
    “Never let nobody underestimate the power of you.”

    And one lesson her mother made sure she learned early:
    “If you quit today, you’ll always be quitting.”

    This is an episode about refusing to accept limits, setting the bar high, and the life-changing power of expecting more.


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    35 分
  • Can the System Catch Up Before Parent Shot Clocks Run Out?

    Can the System Catch Up Before Parent Shot Clocks Run Out?
    2026/03/12
    Families are often expected to hold everything together, yet too often they are treated like outsiders instead of experts. In this episode of Finding Common Ground, Steve sits down with OPWDD Commissioner Willow Baer for an honest conversation about what happens when families are carrying modern challenges inside a service system still shaped by outdated rules.

    One of the most powerful moments in the conversation comes when Willow reflects on the role families have always played in driving change:
    “Families are the largest unpaid workforce in the disability service system.”

    Steve presses on the urgency many parents feel every day, asking the question that sits in the back of so many families’ minds:
    “What happens to our kids when we’re not around anymore?”

    Together they explore the tension families face every day. Housing uncertainty, healthcare access, dual diagnoses, and the challenge of building flexible supports in a system that was never designed for today’s level of need.

    At the center of the conversation is a bigger truth. Families are already doing the work. The real question is whether systems can evolve quickly enough to meet them where they are.

    If you have ever felt like families are carrying the system while waiting for it to evolve, this episode will resonate.


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    42 分