Episodes

This episode of “Disability Inclusion Required” examines how contemporary attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are reshaping funding, policy, and everyday life for Black and disabled communities, while also exploring pleasure as a political and survival practice. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals With Disabilities (RAMPD) for connecting these talented disabled musicians with the Disability & Philanth...

Did you miss us? This episode of “Disability Inclusion: Required” centers on the experiences of disabled parents, featuring blind foster/adoptive parent and employment services director Melissa Lomax and autistic scholar-activist and adoptive parent Dr. Morénike Giwa Onaiwu. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals With Disabilities (RAMPD) for connecting these talented disabled musicians with the Disability & Philanthr...

In honor of the 100-year commemoration of Negro History Week, now celebrated as Black History Month, Disability Inclusion: Required is passing the mic over to Black Disabled leaders. This episode features Marq Mitchell, Heather Watkins, Natasha Nelson, and Mel Brown. Each of them share a 5-minute story about the power of your work, or a 5-minute reflection on what it means to lead liberatory projects while Black and disabled. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank ...

This episode of Disability Inclusion: Required features Grammy-nominated artist and disability culture champion Lachi in conversation with host Justice Shorter. Lachi is an award-winning music executive, host of PBS series Renegades, Recording Academy national trustee, and producer of a Grammy-nominated album. Born legally blind, she created the UN-recognized organization RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), a consultancy group that collaborates on disability-incl...

Sandy Ho, the Executive Director of the Disability and Philanthropy Forum, is interviewed about the disability community's collective victories in 2025 and her hopes for the future. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals With Disabilities (RAMPD) for connecting these talented disabled musicians with the Disability & Philanthropy Forum.

This conversation explores the principles of healing justice and its connections to disability justice, highlighting the importance of collective care and the need to challenge individualistic and curative models of care that perpetuate harm and oppression. The speakers discuss how care practices observed by communities of color have been criminalized, and they provide examples of how funders can intervene to support collective trauma transformation. They also address the challenges of adopting ...

This conversation explores the power of creative and poetic image descriptions to ensure accessibility for people with vision disabilities. Guests Leona Godin and Olivia Dreisinger discuss the concept of "Alt Text as Poetry" and "Alt Text Selfies" as ways to translate visual information into concise yet expressive language. They emphasize the importance of including details like race, disability, and other marginalized identities in descriptions, rather than aiming for an unrealistic "colorblind...

Sandy Ho, the executive director of the Disability and Philanthropy Forum, and Marcus Walton, the president and CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, discuss the importance of solidarity and collective power in the disability community and social justice movements. They share personal stories and examples that illustrate how solidarity involves vulnerability, mutual support, and a long-term commitment to racial and disability justice even in the face of fear and discouragement. They co...

This episode of Disability Inclusion Required features a conversation with Michael Greer, President and CEO of Arts Fund, and Jen White Johnson, an Afro-Latina artist, activist, designer and educator. They discuss the concept of the "artistry of philanthropy" and how it can be channeled to directly benefit people with disabilities. The guests share their perspectives on the importance of centering disabled voices and experiences in philanthropic work, and highlight several disabled artists and p...

This episode discusses the current landscape of discrimination against individuals with autism. Eric Garcia, a journalist and author, describes how anti-vaccine sentiment from high-level government officials like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is fueling misinformation and harmful policies that threaten the rights and well-being of autistic people. Garcia emphasizes the importance of including diverse autistic voices to challenge harmful narratives, and provides advice for autistic individuals and advoca...

In this episode, host Justice Shorter welcomes Jalyn Radziminski (Founder of Count US IN) and Henry Claypool. The podcast discusses the potential impacts of proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid services on people with disabilities in the United States. Medicaid cuts of $880 billion could significantly impact eligibility, services, and access to community-based living for people with disabilities. This threatens hard-won gains in deinstitutionalization and community integration. Closure of Soc...

In this episode, host Justice Shorter welcomes Aldita Amaru Gallardo (Action for Transformation Fund at Emergent Fund) and Rainier Miles (Black Trans Fund) for a powerful discussion on transgender movement-building, gender liberation, and the collective efforts of disabled and transgender organizers. Aldita and Rainier unpack the interconnectedness of anti-trans legislation and state-sanctioned violence, and break down how bodily autonomy is a unifying principle between the disability justice an...

In this episode, host Justice Shorter interviews renowned writer, artist, historian, and activist Aurora Levins Morales. Morales discusses the importance of funding and supporting disabled elders, who hold rich histories and perspectives that are often overlooked. She shares her "homemade theories" for getting through tough times, emphasizing the power of collectivizing struggles and sharing stories. Morales also talks about the critical work of preserving marginalized histories and preventing t...

Sarah Blahovec is the co-founder, co-director, and president of Disability Victory, a 501(c)(4) organization that aims to build the political power of disabled progressives. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals With Disabilities (RAMPD) for connecting these talented disabled musicians with the Disability & Philanthropy Forum.

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Justice Shorter welcomes Nikki Brown Booker and Yolanda Vargas. The conversation explores what it means to work while disabled in 2024, including the importance of understanding disabled people as both care recipients and employers, the need for collective bargaining and cross-movement organizing between disability rights and worker rights groups, and strategies for cultivating inclusive and equitable workplaces for disabled employees. Ou...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes Rebecca Williford, Esq., President & CEO of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), for a conversation in honor of Disability Pride Month and the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rebecca shines a spotlight on the important work of DRA, a national nonprofit disability rights legal center that fights systemic discrimination against people with disabilities through impact litigation. Our ...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes Gabriel Foster, Co-founder & Executive Director of the Trans Justice Funding Project. Foster shines a spotlight on the importance of centering the leadership of trans people in funding decisions, particularly in relation to intersecting oppressions such as ableism. Foster emphasizes the need for funders to move beyond symbolic gestures and provide meaningful support to LGBTQIA+ communities year-round. He specifically am...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes mental health activist Dior Vargas for a conversation about the role philanthropy can play in supporting mental health, wellness, and self-care. Vargas shares a powerful call to action for accessible and equitable mental health care, highlighting the flaws in the current system and calling for community-based support and trauma-informed care. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Re...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes Inevitable Foundation co-founders Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska for a conversation on the importance of supporting authentic disability representation in the media. Richie and Marisa call on philanthropy to provide funding for media makers both through individual grants and broader initiatives. Together, they highlight the impact of such funding efforts, including helping disabled writers secure jobs and fos...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes Dr. Bonnie Swenor, Endowed Professor of Disability Health and Justice at The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Director of the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center, about the many healthcare inequities that the disability community experiences due to ableism and inaccessibility. Dr. Swenor calls for philanthropy to engage with the disability community to support the development of better metrics for accurat...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, the Forum's Senior Program and Communications Associate, Olivia Williams, takes the mic as host. She's joined by Dr. Sami Schalk, associate professor in the Department of Gender & Women's Studies at UW-Madison and author of Black Disability Politics. Olivia and Dr. Schalk's wide-ranging, in-depth conversation covers the connections between ableism and anti-Blackness, shines a spotlight on historical and contemporary Black disabled activism, and ...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes Julie Farrar, a longtime disabled organizer and activist, along with Jen Matheson, who leads the leads the Advancing Disability Justice program at Northwest Health Foundation. Through storytelling and reflection, Julie and Jen shine a spotlight on the impact of funding direction action and organizing. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals Wi...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes the Disability & Philanthropy Forum team! Hear from all of the team members about what drew them to the Forum, what they've been working on, and what their calls-to-action are for the philanthropic sector. Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals With Disabilities (RAMPD) for connecting these talented disabled musicians with the Disability & P...

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes Kristy Trautmann, Executive Director of FISA Foundation, an early signatory of the Disability Inclusion Pledge, to shine a spotlight on their commitment to disability inclusive grantmaking and operations. Foundations and philanthropy-serving organizations that sign the Disability Inclusion Pledge commit to working on eight action items to advance systemic change across the philanthropic sector. Kristy offers a deep we...