“I always wanted to be an actor since I was probably born,” says Santina Muha in this fun and frank conversation. Santina is a comedian and actor who hosts the series “Rollin’ With My Homies,” featuring conversations with wheelchair users like herself. Santina tells Christina and Lauren that while she doesn’t always think of herself as a disability activist first, she has been advocating for herself since she was 6 years old and sees her performance work as an extension of that.

Find Santina Muha on YouTube at @santinamuha2016.

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In honor of National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (March), the MOPD All Access Podcast welcomes Dani Smith of City Colleges of Chicago to talk about a Transitions program City Colleges has for students with disabilities.

Dani Smith is the District Director of Comprehensive Transition Programs. In this job, she supports students with disabilities and oversees After 22, a program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In Illinois, special education programs in high schools end at the age of 22, but many students still need support in their transition to employment. Students in After 22 program create an individual plan to take them from school to employment. The program celebrated its first completion ceremony in the summer of 2024.

After 22 is a City Colleges of Chicago program run at Richard J. Daley College and Wilbur Wright College. Students in the program can get financial aid or work with IDHS’ Division of Rehabilitation Services to get support. Students who join must be 18 years or older, have a high school diploma and a developmental or individual disability.

The summer youth job program One Summer Chicago, which Dani mentioned, is accepting applications now at onesummerchicago.org. Join the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities on Saturday, April 26 from 12-3PM to apply for summer jobs and get information at the Inclusive Summer Jobs Expo. This event will be held at the Little Italy Branch of the Chicago Public Library at 1336 West Taylor Street. For more information, go to cityofchicago.org/disabilities.

Learn more about the Anixter program connecting students with internships here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6EYbde6zz4

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InfiniTeach is a Chicago-based nonprofit that has been a leader in technology, accessibility, and inclusion for people who are neurodiverse. On the latest episode of the #MOPDAllAccess podcast, we speak to four members of the InfiniTeach team -- co-founders Katie Hench and Lally Daley Hotchkiss and employees Aliyah Rich and Ned Williams -- about how to build a more inclusive world for people who are neurodiverse. Because people who are neurodiverse show up in every workplace and career, whether we know it or not, “everyone has a neurodiverse team.” We can all carry on InfiniTeach’s important work!

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In this episode of MOPD’s podcast, All Access, we talk with our first professional athlete guest! Kendall Gretsch is a cross-country skier, paratriathlete and biathlete. She has competed in four Paralympic Games and won seven medals, most recently in Paris in 2024 where she won a silver medal in the paratriathlon, and is a current World Paratriathlon Champion. Kendall grew up playing sports in Downer’s Grove, Illinois and was introduced to paratriathlon in college through the group Dare to Tri. Kendall shares with us what it’s like to train at the professional level, what inspires her to keep working and what it’s like to have family and friends cheer you on to Olympic greatness.

Check out podcast episodes with captions and ASL interpretation on youtube.com/@mopdchicago6334.

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On this episode of the MOPD #AllAccess Podcast, we mark National Disability Employment Awareness Month with Emily Ladau, an author, editor, podcaster and disability advocate.

Ladau, who has Larsen syndrome, began her advocacy career early when she was on several episodes of “Sesame Street” to teach fellow children about having a disability. (She even met Big Bird!) She wants people with disabilities to be able to show up as their whole selves in what they want to do, without feeling like they have to be defined by their careers. Ladau offers her advice to job seekers with disabilities on how to advocate for themselves and shares how we can all make inclusion a priority.

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Did you know that the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities has not one but four American Sign Language interpreters working on staff? These interpreters make up what we call our Communication Access Team. The Communication Access Team provides ASL interpretation for public and private city events and meetings, from the Taste of Chicago stage to the mayor’s press conference on breaking news. The Communication Access Team also interprets for people in Chicago who are Deaf or hard of hearing and use ASL.

On All Access, the official MOPD podcast, we speak to the interpreters on our Communication Access Team about their careers and their favorite assignments. MOPD Commissioner Rachel Arfa introduces the conversation speaking to the significance of inclusion for people who are Deaf and hard of hearing, as the first member of a Mayor’s cabinet in the United States who is Deaf or hard of hearing.

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The Democratic National Convention (DNC) will bring more than 50,000 people to Chicago, from delegates and their families to staff, volunteers and press. It is a great opportunity for Chicago to show visitors that we are the most accessible city in the world!

In this episode of All Access, Deputy Commissioner Christina McGleam and guest host Training Officer Clare Stanhope speak to Robin Jones, the Accessibility Advisor to the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC), on how she and her committee are making this large-scale event accessible. Robin talks about how her committee incorporates feedback from previous conventions as well as foreseeing accessibility needs related to the event, including making sure delegates with disabilities can sit with their peers rather than in a special section, ensuring that every shuttle bus to the convention is accessible and checking curb cuts around the United Center.

Well known to the disability community as the director of the Great Lakes ADA Center, Robin started working on the 2024 convention in 2023 as a member of a disability advisory group headed by Senator Tammy Duckworth. She also served on the advisory committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which was entirely virtual. Robin’s background is in occupational therapy, so Christina and Clare end the episode asking Robin about her career pathway and what advice she would give to someone who wants to work in occupational therapy.

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On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law.

But before that, advocates fought for decades for the rights of people with disabilities to live full and self-determined lives. Disability rights activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins was part of that activism, starting at age six. At age eight, she participated in the landmark Capitol Crawl protest, in which disability rights advocates abandoned their mobility aids and crawled up the steps of the U.S. Capitol as a visual demonstration of what it was like to lack physical access, urging Congress to pass the ADA.

In this episode, we talk with Jennifer about her fierce advocacy for people with disabilities and her long history of protesting. Jennifer also highlights the important power of community and using collective voices to achieve change.

Jennifer shares her insights about the ADA—that it is a civil rights law, but the people give it its power. Jennifer also underscores the impact of her mentors and how they provided an invaluable education for her as an activist and educator. Finally, Jennifer talks about the work that still needs to be done to address policy, as well as attitudinal and physical barriers.

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