REAL conversation with Alycia Anderson - a wheelchair user who responds with candor to discriminatory assumptions and uncomfortable conversations that happen in her presence or after she has rolled away.

Alycia helped me to remove the fear and pity lens that I was looking at disabled folks through. I was operating from an ableist perspective - a notion that a “normal” body is the ideal - concluding that people in bodies different from the norm would want to be fixed or restored to whole. That is not necessarily the case and it’s favoring one ability over another.

I am starting to unwire my old operating system; when we define someone by their disability we risk missing the person!

About our guest:

Alycia Anderson is an international TEDx motivational speaker, disability advocate, DEI & accessibility corporate inclusion educator, podcast host of Pushing Forward with Alycia and founder / CEO of The Alycia Anderson Company, LLC. Alycia’s company focuses on the education and advocacy of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. Alycia was recently awarded 2022 Employee Business Resource Group (EBRG) Program of the Year.

Alycia holds a European Master’s Degree in Adapted Physical Activity emphasizing the benefits, practices and principles of inclusion. She is a tennis player, cyclist, identical twin and has been a wheelchair user since birth.

Alycia shares her journey globally to help companies and organizations understand the true benefits inherent to building a diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace and society. Shining light on how our diversities are core to the qualities that make each of us uniquely qualified and able in life.

Alycia’s authenticity and charisma draw others to her, and she naturally connects with them to inspire, mentor, champion, and support. Alycia right sizes everyday obstacles to open minds to a world of possibility. "And that's how she rolls!"

Alycia has spoken for the likes of: TEDx, Victoria's Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., eHarmony, Hyatt, AAA, AbbVie, Blue Shield of California, Arizona State University, Burlington Stores and has been featured in an AT&T commercial, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Orange County Register. She's also been a guest on the Leeza Gibbons show, spotlighted on CBS news, and featured on the covers of Living Low and New Mobility Magazines.

TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_NWrE291o

Website: https://alyciaanderson.com/

Podcast link: https://alyciaanderson.com/podcast/

Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/alyciaspeaking/

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCcsHc2guyzv7waaN6EVag

Linkedin link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyciaranderson/

About Jen Oliver:

I pursue and create environments where we converse on the REAL stuff that changes us. I’m designed to bring others on my personal journey with honest admissions to help us all transform - that’s my sweetspot and I speak, lead, and write from that space.

REAL conversations stir deeper connection and community - to explore ways that you can work with me, go to:

email: jen@REALjenoliver.com

podcast website: ListenForREAL.com

website: REALJenOliver.com

LinkedIn:@realjenoliver

Instagram: @realjenoliver

Facebook: @realjenoliver

If you believe conversations like these belong in the world, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast - and even better, share it with someone else as a REAL conversation starter. Subscribe to all things Jen at REALJenOliver.

I learned so much during this conversation with Emelda De Coteau. Our motherhood journeys look very different - as we talk about the emotional terrain of raising a child with unique needs.

Tears were definitely shed in this episode; Emelda speaks honestly about her journey as a mother to her vibrant, neurodivergent child. At one point, she describes how it feels to watch your child struggle to find a playmate and be understood by other children - and what you do and don't do in hard moments like that. It was a wakeup call for me. We delve into the practical aspects of parenthood that many families encounter, from advocating for suitable educational resources to nurturing communication with children who experience the world differently. This was a very REAL and important talk that sharpened and bonded both of us. May no parent feel alone on their journey!

Our Guests Bio:

Emelda Juanita De Coteau is a loving wife, mama, creative (writer, podcaster, spiritual activist / organizer), and believer seeking God anew in each moment. Although based in Baltimore, this daughter of a Honduran immigrant feels at home throughout the world. She leads Pray with Our Feet (PWF), an online community lifting the intersection of progressive Christian faith and social justice; she co-hosts the PWF podcast with her Mom, Trudy.

She is also the founder of When Motherhood Looks Different, a community-based small business helping Mamas of neurodivergent kids and Moms with chronic illness center well-being and connect in community by offering events, resources, support and mindfulness coaching. Emelda is a certified mindfulness coach and trauma informed mindfulness facilitator.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

When Motherhood Looks Different Self-Compassion Meditation - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wE9AWQCLNMm1fS92NcQgjFN-6UW0Bvh_/view?usp=share_link

WMLD Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whenmotherhoodlooksdifferent/

Pray with our Feet website - https://www.praywithourfeet.org

PWF post on Ryan Gainer - https://www.instagram.com/p/C4dnyZcJ09f/?img_index=1

WMLD post on Ryan Gainer - https://www.instagram.com/p/C4jPOcwOxOC/?img_index=1

Video of Ryan Gainer, WMLD post - https://www.instagram.com/p/C4d7LY5RDcw/

Blog - https://www.praywithourfeet.org/blog

Devotional and Prayer Page - https://www.praywithourfeet.org/devotionals

Pray with our Feet Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/praywithourfeet/

About Jen Oliver:

I pursue and create environments where we converse on the REAL stuff that changes us. I’m designed to bring others on my personal journey with honest admissions to help us all transform - that’s my sweetspot and I speak, lead, and write from that space.

REAL conversations stir deeper connection and community - to explore ways that you can work with me, go to:

email: jen@REALjenoliver.com

podcast website: ListenForREAL.com

website: REALJenOliver.com

LinkedIn:@realjenoliver

Instagram: @realjenoliver

Facebook: @realjenoliver

If you believe conversations like these belong in the world, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast - and even better, share it with someone else as a REAL conversation starter. Subscribe to all things Jen at REALJenOliver.

I am back with the insightful Christie Watrous for a heartfelt conversation on the intricacies of sisterhood. We get REAL about the social conditioning that often pits women against each other and share our own journeys toward meaningful connections.

Christie and I discuss our shared passion around holding space for other women and the transformative experience of being seen in our most vulnerable moments. We emphasize the significance of environments that encourage curiosity over comparison.

I talk about my commitment to creating Red Tent (a best selling book by Anita Diamont)gatherings; the kind of where women can gather to find solace and solidarity amidst life's challenges. isterhood that holds the potential to transform personal growth and communal resilience.

--------- HIGHLIGHTS ---------

0:03:33 - Reconnecting Through Sisterhood and Intimacy

0:14:18 - Understanding the Concept of Containers

0:22:44 - Building Sisterhood and Safe Spaces

0:33:52 - The Importance of Passing Down History

0:39:46 - Exploring Erotic and Personal Voice

Our Guest: Christie Watrous

Christie (she/her) is currently a Sex & Relationship Coach practicing in Folsom, CA. She is clinically trained with a Master’s in Social Work and has spent most of her career working in a wide variety of grassroots and non-profit settings ranging from runaway and homeless youth to adults with traumatic brain injuries. She graduated from the Advanced Sex & Relationship Coaching Program with the Somatica Institute. And most recently, Christie completed a sex educator mentorship program with the Back to the Body team and received her certification as a facilitator of The Lotus Lift Meditation ©, created by Pamela Madsen & featured in Oprah Magazine.

Christie's practice focuses on helping those whom identify as women to stay connected to their bodies in the midst of life transitions. She helps women discover their own unique erotic energy, prioritize pleasure, explore desire and integrate this awareness into daily life. Her work is inspired by her own mid-life embodied journey back to her erotic self and fuels her passion for women’s sexual wellness.

As the founder of Embodied Life Transitions providing 1:1 Coaching for women, Christie also facilitates a collaborative community based Book Club called “Between the Covers”. She hosts a monthly, sex-positive Sisterhood Happy Hour with a focus on sexual wellness for women and teaches her own in-person experiential workshops in Historic Folsom as part of the Back to the Body Collective. She is an advocate for women's sexual wellness & is passionate about creating spaces for sisterhood, intimacy, and connection in her community.

website: https://www.embodiedlifetransitions.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christie-watrous-b3b350172/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embodiedlifetransitions/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embodiedlifetransitions/

About Jen Oliver:

I pursue and create environments where we converse on the REAL stuff that changes us. I’m designed to bring others on my personal journey with honest admissions to help us all transform - that’s my sweetspot and I speak, lead, and write from that space.

REAL conversations stir deeper connection and community - to explore ways that you can work with me, go to:

email: jen@REALjenoliver.com

podcast website: ListenForREAL.com

website: REALJenOliver.com

LinkedIn:@realjenoliver

Instagram: @realjenoliver

Facebook: @realjenoliver

If you believe conversations like these belong in the world, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast - and even better, share it with someone else as a REAL conversation starter. Subscribe to all things Jen at REALJenOliver.