Accessibility Episodes
189
June 1, 2026
The $18 Trillion Market VCs Keep Ignoring with Rich and Brittany Palmer
Today, Mai Ling sits down for an in-depth discussion about how to get outside investment for your disability-focused ventures with husband-and-wife entrepreneur team, Rich and Brittany Palmer. Leaning into their previous experiences with the startup world and the disability community, they founded Adaptation Ventures, a pioneering pre-seed fund and investor community dedicated to fueling tech innovation in disability, neurodivergence, and accessibility. Brittany and Rich share their individual s...
Guests: Rich Palmer , Brittany Palmer
177
May 5, 2025
FlexTogether: A Telehealth Approach to Pulmonary Rehab with Emily Mischel
Our guest in this episode is Emily Mischel, Co-Founder & CEO of FlexTogether, a telehealth practice that was “founded to radically expand access to respiratory care.” Emily chats with James about the impetus for the creation of the...
Guest: em
175
March 3, 2025
All About Inclusive Fashion Design with Shay Senior
After a fun introduction in which Mai Ling and James bring us up to speed on what’s going on in their careers, James introduces Shay Senior, a social entrepreneur and this episode’s guest. Shay is the CEO and founder of Palta, an inclusive fashion...
Guest: Shay Senior
172
Dec. 2, 2024
Combatting Ableism through the Disability Culture Lab with Meier Galblum Haigh
In our final interview for 2024, Meier Galblum Haigh joins the show today to talk about changing the conversation and perceptions around disability. Meier is the founding Executive Director of the Disability Culture Lab, a nonprofit disability media...
Guest: Meier Galblum Haigh
168
Oct. 7, 2024
Matching People with Disabilities and Employers with John Robinson
Our Ability’s President and CEO, John Robinson, joins Mai Ling on today’s episode to discuss some important issues for National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). John talks about his advocacy for people with disabilities in the...
Guest: John Robinson
167
Sept. 23, 2024
Deaf Community Engagement and Advocacy with Melissa Elmira Yingst
Mai Ling kicks off this episode with an exciting report on her recent trip before introducing today’s guest for Deaf Awareness Month. Melissa Elmira Yingst is a deaf community advocate, media personality, and host of The Melmira Show. Through her...
Guest: Melissa Elmira Yingst
166
Sept. 9, 2024
Dateability: The Dating App for People with Disabilities with Jacqueline & Alexa Child
In today’s edition of the show, James sits down with Jacqueline and Alexa Child, the sister co-founder team of Dateability, the only dating app for the chronically ill and disabled communities. Jacqueline and Alexa share their personal experiences...
Guest: Jacqueline and Alexa Child
163
July 29, 2024
ADA Compliance and Accessibility with Peter Fischer
Mai Ling has an insightful conversation with Peter Fischer, the Accessibility Compliance Guru at Arizona State University in today’s episode. As the owner of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) consulting firm for almost 20 years, Peter was the...
Guest: Peter Fischer
162
July 15, 2024
Adaptive Intimate Apparel with Nicole Cuervo
Our guest for today is Nicole Cuervo, the founder & CEO of Springrose, a startup designing adaptive intimate apparel that improves quality of life for women with limited mobility. She speaks with Mai Ling about her journey as an entrepreneur by...
Guest: Nicole Cuervo
156
April 22, 2024
Resilient Leadership and AAC Advocacy with Kim Vuong
Oanh "Kim" Vuong is our guest for today’s episode. As a person with cerebral palsy and an AAC user who is an active advocate, she offers a unique and valuable perspective on disability leadership. Mai Ling chats with Kim about the independent...
Guest: Kim Vuong
153
March 11, 2024
Accessibility in Space with Anna Voelker
In this episode, Mai Ling is joined by guest Anna Voelker, founder and Executive Director of SciAccess, Inc. SciAccess is an international nonprofit that promotes disability inclusion in STEM education, outreach, and research and Anna speaks with Mai...
Guest: Anna Voelker
152
Feb. 26, 2024
Making an Impact through Fiction with Carol Van Den Hende
Our guest today is speaker and award-winning author Carol Van Den Hende. She talks with Mai Ling about her novels which are helping both people with disabilities and their loved ones. These fictional stories draw from Carol’s Chinese American...
Guest: Carol Van Den Hende
144
Sept. 25, 2023
A Digital Accessibility Deep Dive with Tanner Gers
Today Mai Ling has a chat with the founder of AccessAbility Officer, Tanner Gers. AccessAbility Officer’s aim is to make work and the web better through the services they offer, including digital accessibility training and certification, as well as...
Guest: Tanner Gers
143
Sept. 11, 2023
Observing Without Eyesight with Dr. Mona Minkara
Dr. Mona Minkara chats with James in today’s episode about how to use other senses beyond eyesight to observe scientifically. Mona is a blind assistant professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern University and a travel vlogger who lives by the...
Guest: Mona Minkara
140
July 31, 2023
Making Sports Events More Accessible with Victor Ocando Finol
In our opening segment, Mai Ling and James talk about the importance of networking in your local area, in addition to building a national or international network. This valuable discussion is followed by Mai Ling’s interview with founder and CEO of...
Guest: Victor Ocando Finol
131
March 27, 2023
Disability Language Awareness and Inclusivity with Michael Grimmett
Our guest today is UK-based, Disability Inclusion Specialist Michael Grimmett. Michael talks with James about an inaccessibility incident at his local pizza restaurant that he was able to use to shine light on accessibility issues. As a wheelchair...
Guest: Michael Grimmett
125
Dec. 12, 2022
2022 Spotlight on Disability-Focused Businesses and Online Accessibility
For our Xceptional Leaders 2022 finale episode, Mai Ling and James share some thoughts and observations on the new National Disability Institute report, Small Business Ownership by People with Disabilities: Challenges and Opportunities. They also...
116
Aug. 1, 2022
Accessible Online Marketplace & Purple Tuesday with Mike Adams
Today Mai Ling chats with Mike Adams, the CEO of Purple, a disability organization working to bring disabled people and businesses together. Mike talks about his work building a fully accessible online marketplace, why he and his team took the...
Guest: Mike Adams
108
April 11, 2022
The Importance of Online Accessibility with Joe Devon
Our guest today is Joe Devon, the co-founder of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day and a co-founder of Diamond, an inclusive digital agency specializing in assisting clients to develop and implement accessible products. Joe talks with Mai Ling and...
Guest: Joe Devon
107
March 28, 2022
Dyslexia and Neurodivergence in the Workplace with Jeannette Roberes
We kick off this episode with Mai Ling and James both sharing about events they recently participated in and the takeaways from them. Then James has a great conversation with speech-language pathologist and author, Jeannette Roberes. She has extensive...
Guest: Jeannette Roberes
102
Sept. 20, 2021
Live Entertainment Events Made Accessible for All with Austin Whitney
Attending live events can be stressful and challenging for people with disabilities so that’s why we’re so excited about what today’s guest is doing! Today Mai Ling chats with Austin Whitney, an accessibility consultant for event producers,...
Guest: Austin Whitney
101
Sept. 6, 2021
Accessible Sports and Outdoor Adventures with Isaac Harvey
Mai Ling and Martyn kick off this episode with a chat about disability and health related awareness days and how to everage them. Mai Ling also shares an update on the next book in the Xceptional Leaders series. Then Martyn shares an interview with...
Guest: Isaac Harvey
97
July 12, 2021
Giving a Damn About Accessibility with Sheri Byrne-Haber
Martyn and Mai Ling are back with another great episode and they share some important updates at the top of the broadcast. Then Mai Ling has an insightful conversation with speaker, blogger, and business consultant Sheri Byrne-Haber. As a subject...
Guest: Sheri Byrne-Haber
84
Jan. 11, 2021
Affordable Robotics for Accessibility with Harout Markarian
Affordable Robotics for Accessibility with Harout Markarian
Guest: Harout Markarian