Well, 2021 had to end with some chaos. Sandwiched in between a couple of family ER visits (not us) and a drunk driver crashing into Mikelle's parked van, we had a great holiday. Join Liz, MaryAnn, Mikelle, and Katherine as they share what they like best about the Shining Beautiful holiday celebration. Wishing you the best!!
It is time to get honest about education and the impact of COVID on both teachers and students. Educating students with special needs presents opportunities and challenges even when everything is working well. The glue that holds special education together is The Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). This tool is critical to the successful education of students with special needs, or is it? Covid has altered so much. Has COVID changed the power of the IEP? Join Mikelle, Katherine, and favorite ...
It is Halloween and we are supposed to be scared, right? While the jack-o-lantern glow fades, the staffing shortages burn brighter every day. Mikelle, Katherine, and Kendyl, a direct service professional discuss the why, the impact, and strategies to create a new future in this transitional time including how Colorado is using its American Rescue Plan to improve recruitment and retention of DSP's. P.S. We are scared! For real.
Oh, boy! Not even sure where to start on this episode, but it feels like chaos cause it is like chaos. Good times mix with challenging times. Change is complex and confusing. Perhaps, the most challenging aspect of 2021 for us is the labor shortage in all aspects of service delivery for people with disabilities. We have never seen it like it is now. In this episode, see how Mikelle and Katherine are coping and what they are trying to address this growing crisis.
Please forgive the tech advocates for the slow start on this podcast. We are not perfect but we are smart enough to invite Rehabilitation Subject Matter Expert, Amy Gonzales to our podcast! In this episode, we cover the gambit of working with other communities, learning cultural sensitivity, and the future of employment for people with disabilities. Amy is so fun!
This is not our first hiring rodeo. Over the years, we have pretty good luck building an amazing team. However, this year everything is different. Confronting a labor shortage in health care, we had to get creative. Try a few new things and search for deeper understanding for those who are in education and direct support. This episode is all about adventuring into our post-COVID world and listening and learning from those on the frontline.
We are fascinated with Win Charles's courage and grace. After both her parent's passed, she found herself facing a dilemma about where she should live. None of this was planned. Listen to see how Win dealt with difficult decisions and determined her destiny. Win candidly shares the ups and downs of being on her own.
Check the literature and there isn't much on wellness and cerebral palsy. MaryAnn, a nutritionist in training, Katherine, and Mikelle discuss the unique needs of people with CP and how they approach health and wellness together.
There are days....and this is one of them. Katherine planned a quick road trip to look at reality, clear her mind and seek new vistas for both her and Mikelle. Celebrating moms! We all need a chance to vent.
What a great episode with Jerome Deroy from Narativ.com ! This episode is all about the story. How to listen to it. How to tell it. And, the importance of sharing it. Shining Beautiful was awarded a small grant from the Creative Ideas Fund as part of the Denver Mill Levy to offer four workshops on Adding Voice to Advocacy.
Podcasting pays off! Mikelle and Katherine prepare to be interviewed by KUNC's Henry Zimmerman of the Colorado Edition. Nervous, the ladies discuss how they prepared for the big moment with Gretchen Storm and Lex Pummer. https://www.kunc.org/show/kuncs-colorado-edition
Hello, dear listeners. Thanks to you, we are now celebrating two years of podcasting. Listen in to hear what wonderful opportunities are coming our way because of you!
February is typically the month of romantic love, but this year isn't any more typical than the last one! For the gals at SB, the month has been jammed packed with unexpected events, which if allowed could be exasperating. Today's episode is all about finding sunshine in winter, self-love as opposed to romantic love, and generally walking on the bright side of the street. Join us!
We apologize. We failed to introduce you to a valued team member and now she is leaving us! So, say hello and goodbye to Danika. Unlike some of our other fabulous team members, Danika is older, a mom of two children, and works for a local police department. We miss her but celebrate her time with us.
Hiring a friend has its risks. What happens to the friendship? Can your boss still be your friend? All these questions were asked by Mikelle and her friend, Lex. Complicating a new hire is the onboarding process during COVID-19. Listen to this episode as the ladies "Dish the Dirt" on they made it work.
Whew! The holidays are over and the ladies are focusing on new goals for 2021 and celebrating some last-minute victories in 2020. The ladies have been wickedly busy this winter and thank you for all your support as they wind up season two of the Shining Beautiful Series Podcast.
The experts warned us. We did our best to avoid it, but it still entered our circle--even our house! Yep, we had to get tested and went quarantine. Mom and Mikelle and no one else. That was a first. The result is a few changes in the roles and responsibilities of Mikelle's support team members.
As far as support services have come for people with disabilities, dentistry lags behind. Part funding, part lack of trained dentist and a system overwhelmed with patients, it is tough to get great care when your teeth aren't great. In this episode, Katherine details Mikelle's dental journey and recent implant surgery. The struggle is real. The optimism is high. The determination on Mikelle's and Katherine's part...substantial.
Allison and Katherine discuss the difficulties of educating Jack who is in his final year of high school. There are many losses but are there some precious finds for everyone.
Arghh...tech is ever-evolving. In this episode, you get a peek behind the scenes as the SB team explores new podcasting tools in an effort to provide you with higher quality podcasts. It is goofy, messy and it is real. We understand why folks are reluctant to engage with this often steep learning curve. Listen in and laugh a lot as we wipe up our tech spills and thrills.
Shockober, Rocktober....we decided it is Thoughtober--a time to reboot, reflect and renew. Katherine shares her fall sojourn to nurturing herself through nature and updates on the ladies. PS. Vote!
The problem: Mikelle's on/off switch to her wheelchair broke three times. A $2 part that cost $4,000 to fix. A frustrating problem which causes Mikelle to be without a working chair for weeks. The solution: Go outside the rehab system to crowdsourcing within our community. In this episode, listen in to how Salena, one of Mikelle's team members, taps into her network of creative artists and designers to find an innovative solution to Mikelle's problem. Kyler Rolo, a product designer, utilizes 3D ...
We all know MIkelle is a star that shines beautifully! Now, she gets to shine on the new Colorado Office of Employment Firsts soon to be launched website. Karen Ferrington for COEF and well-known photographer Darcy Keifel came to Mikelle's home to capture her magic. (All done carefully with masks and social distancing!)
COVID is kicking the can of inclusion way down the road for Mikelle and Katherine. This acclaimed blog post viewed by many policy professionals and advocates is an updated audio version. Thought-provoking, this podcast looks at how life has changed for Mikelle since the virus landed in our state. Like many families, the SB Community is figuring out and concerned about inclusion during the colder months ahead....
We have read during this pandemic organizations are focusing on rethinking, reimagining, resilience in a quickly changing world. We decided to take a queue from business and do some reimagining ourselves. We asked each of our team members who were interested in more responsibility to write their own job descriptions. They did. What follows is their perspectives on the experience of carving out their job at The Shining Beautiful household.
The times, they are a-changing. Mikelle's team is transitioning members with a couple of returning members and one departure. It might be time to rethink how we pay Mikelle's support team. Creativity and innovation are going more critical fall/winter approaches in the time of COVID. How do we reward innovation? Time to re-imagine our model. Listen in as Katherine shares her perspective on this somewhat challenging topic.
In the last episode, Katherine shared her concerns about traveling in the time of COVID-19. This podcast gives Mikelle, Mo, and Mary Ann describe the worries, preparation, and impact of Katherine's sojourn into the Rocky Mountains. It can be a rough but beautiful road.
Let's face it. We are all feeling a little COVID-Cabin Fever. Traditionally, Katherine and Mikelle's lives overlap, yet, leave each has their own space to do "their thing." Every year, Mikelle kicks Katherine out for a week to 10 days. But, this year is different in so many ways. Mikelle was so sure she wanted Katherine to getaway, and Katherine wasn't so sure she wanted to go. In this episode, Katherine shares her struggle. In the next episode, Mikelle shares hers with her team.
Nice podcast here. It starts with Mary Ann, a member of Mikelle's support team, spotting a mural on a garage wall along a nearby alley. "Mikelle, you give me hope. Let's stop!" The conversation evolves into mental health support and creative celebrations in the time of COVID-19 and ends with a sweet, somewhat philosophical conclusion.
Join Beth Keaton and Katherine Carol on this powerful episode on working with parent expectations, foster parental involvement in preparing their family member for employment success using customized employment. It is a real treat to hear these two ladies explore the possibilities of parent power.
