Disability Empowerment Now, Hosted by Keith Murfee-DeConcini

10/26/2024

Please check out founder and host of Disability Empowerment Now Keith Murfee-DeConcini’s Marquis Who's Who award! Congratulations Keith, well deserved! 🎉

This listee dedicated his life to raising awareness of disability rights through creative mediums. We are excited to announce Keith Murfee-DeConcini has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who!

As a result of his lived experiences as a disabled person since birth, disability rights have been at the forefront of Mr. Murfee-DeConcini's mission in life. As an adult, he learned to use his speech impediment as a tool for uncovering social injustice and discrimination, which prompted his life's work: raising awareness and advocating for disability rights through public speaking, writing, and other creative mediums.

To read more about Keith, read the full press release linked below:
https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/505150/keith-r-murfee-deconcini-recognized-by-marquis-whos-who

10/26/2024

episode out now whenever you stream podcasts ! Find it on YouTube , Spotify, Apple Podcast and more!

John R. McFarlane is an Actor with Polio and a Polio Advocate. John and Keith talk about Polio Advocacy, traveling the world, and John’s personal experience living with Polio. They talk about the importance of living life and embracing the “Polio family.”

10/16/2024

Have you listened to Temple Grandin’s episode yet? This is one you will not want to miss! Find this episode on YouTube, the DEN website linked in bio, or wherever you stream podcasts!

Temple Grandin is a Distinguished Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed for handling livestock are used by many companies around the world. She has also been instrumental in implementing animal welfare auditing programs that are used by McDonalds, Wendy’s, Whole Foods, and other corporations. Temple has
appeared on numerous TV shows such as 20/20 and Prime Time. Her books include: Thinking in Pictures, Livestock Handling and Transport and The Autistic Brain. Her books Animals in Translation and Visual Thinking have been on the New York Times Bestseller List. Temple was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in September 2017, in 2022 was named a Colorado State University Distinguished Professor, and in 2023 was inducted into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame.

10/13/2024

Temple Grandin episode is out now on all streaming platforms! Be sure to find it on YouTube, or wherever you stream audio podcasts! comes back on the podcast for a second time to talk more about her book Visual Thinking and her passion about autism in the workforce, and autism in relationships. Be sure to stay tuned!

10/09/2024

Please find Jenny Sichel’s episode here!

Season 4 Episode 5Jenny Sichel is a Paralympian Silver Medal winner and the Operations Director of National Council on Independent Living. Jenny talks to Kei...

10/08/2024

Jenny Sichel episode out now wherever you stream podcasts ! Tune in to find out more on the Paralympics, Jenny’s mental health advocacy journey, and more! You will not want to miss this episode !

is a 2016 Rio Paralympic Silver Medalist and 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Coach for Team USA in the sport of rowing. She was a USRowing National Team member for seven years and in that time won five international silver medals. When she’s not on the water, Jenny is passionate about destigmatizing mental health and is a strong advocate for independent living of people with disabilities. She currently works at the National Council on Independent Living as the Operations Director and her secret dream is to host a daytime talk show. Recently, Jenny has helped form an indie improv group based in Boston, MA and she loves making people laugh. Jenny considers herself a viewer of the gold lining, because there is always something good that comes from something negative - it just depends how you look at the situation.

10/05/2024

Andrew Gurza’s episode is out now! Stream wherever you listen to podcasts! Find it also on YouTube.

This episode reflects on Gurza’s time writing for Huffington Post, s*x positivity as a q***r disabled person, his podcast Disability After Dark, and more! Tune in now, you will not want to miss this fun, enlightening, and entertaining episode of DEN.

Andrew Gurza is an award winning Disability Awareness Consultant and the Chief Disability Officer and Co-founder of Bump’n, a s*x toy company for and by disabled people. Andrew uses they/he pronouns and identifies proudly as disabled. Their work has been featured on BBC, CBC, Daily Xtra, Gay Times UK, Huffington Post, The Advocate, Everyday Feminism, Mashable, Out.com, and several anthologies. He was the subject of an award winning National Film Board of Canada Documentary “Picture This”. Andrew has guested on a number of podcasts including Dan Savage’s Savage Love and Cameron Esposito’s Q***ry. He has spoken all over the world on s*x, disability and what it means to be a Q***r Cripple. They were also a Production Consultant and Actor on the Q***r As Folk reboot in 2022.

He is also the host of Disability After Dark: The Podcast Shining a Bright Light on Disability Stories which won a Canadian Podcast Award in 2021, was a Q***rty Award nominee, and was chosen as an Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards. The show is available on all platforms. Andrew is also the creator of the viral hashtag . You can find out more about Andrew by going to andrewgurza.com

10/04/2024

Listen now as Keith and C. Quintana talk all things playwriting, television, and film as a q***r non binary writer!

Season 4 Episode 3C. Quintana is a Q***r Playwright and a Television Writer for Orphan Black: Echoes. CQ talks to Keith about working in television and on th...

10/03/2024

CQ Quintana episode is out now on all streaming platforms! Be sure to find this episode on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts!

C. QUINTANA (CQ) [pronouns: she/any] is a q***r NB writer with Cuban blood and New Orleans roots based on Canarsee and Munsee Lenape land in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Across genre, CQ’s writing centers on human connection and proclaims, “you are not alone.” Developed and produced nationwide, CQ’s plays include THE GENDERLESS PLAY EXPERIMENT (Carthage College New Play Initiative), BEASTGIRL with music by Janelle Lawrence (Kennedy Center), AZUL (Diversionary Theatre), SC******NG (INTAR), EVENSONG (Astoria Performing Arts Center), ENTER YOUR SLEEP (Yale Cabaret), and more. Most recently, Life Jacket Theatre Company selected CQ to develop a new verbatim play on trans joy (JOYFUL JOYFRIENDS) as the company’s inaugural Trans+ Playwriting Commission recipient and Audible named their audio play THE 126-YEAR OLD ARTIST (available on the platform) one of the “8 Best Theater Listens of 2023.” CQ is the recipient of grants and fellowships from NYSCA, Café Royal Cultural Foundation, MacDowell, Van Lier New Voices, Q***r/Art, and Lambda Literary. Television writing credits include AMC’s ORPHAN BLACK: ECHOES, Fox’s ALERT: MISSING PERSONS UNIT (Season 2), and ABC’s THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY. Check out GHOST TOUR, a new spooky middle grade series -- perfect for ages 9 and up -- available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts (Princess Grandpa Productions/Cordelia Studios). For more, updates on CQ visit www.cquintana.com or

09/27/2024

The team at Disability Empowerment Now is extremely saddened by Christina’s passing.

Christina was a friend to host Keith Murfee-Deconcini and a talented colleague in the line of work towards empowering and advocating for disability voices in the community.

She will be forever missed.

https://rememberchristina.net/

09/18/2024

Liv Mammone episode out now on all streaming platforms ! Listen to it on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and Google Podcast!

Liv Mammone (she/her) is an editor and poet from Long Island. Her poetry has appeared with Button Poetry, The Poetry Foundation, The Medical Journal of Australia, and in many places. In 2017, she competed for Union Square Slam as the first disabled woman to be on a New York national poetry slam team She was also a finalist in the Capturing Fire National Poetry Slam in 2017. A Brooklyn Poets Fellow and Zoeglossia fellow, she is currently an editor at Game Over Books. In 2022, hers was one of the top ten most read poems at Split This Rock’s poetry database, The Quarry. Her first collection is forthcoming in 2025. Follow her on Instagram .

09/13/2024

If you have not already listened to Megan Lummus and Katherine McCrackin’s episode do so now! Find it here! Tune in to hear more about diversity on the stage and advocacy!

Season 4 Episode 1: Megan Lummus is an openly autistic stage and film director and Katherine McCrackin is an openly autistic actor. Each with their own uniqu...

09/11/2024

Check out our new website landing page if you haven’t already! DEN is up to some great things! Be sure to stay tuned for Season 4 new episode dropping this Sunday! 🎉

Curious about disability advocacy? Welcome to a place where disability voices get heard and where they are able to tell their stories, whether it be personal or professional. About Us We’re Back! Disability Empowerment Now Returns for Another Incredible Season – Launching in September 2024! PODC...

09/09/2024

Season 4 guest list is available now! Get excited for some great content coming these next couple of months! Please find these episodes on YouTube and wherever you stream podcasts!

Thank you to all of the guests that have came on the podcast, you’re interviews are incredible and so crucial to DEN.

09/02/2024

Out now on all streaming platforms! Be sure to tune in to hear more about the behind the scenes of DEN!
Listen on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, YouTube, and wherever you stream podcasts!

08/27/2024

Be sure to tune into Alexandra Pere’s episode if you haven’t already ! Find out more about the creation of Disability Empowerment Now, the genesis of Season 2, and more!

Alexandra Pere is a digital media professional and content "wizard". When she's not engrossed in the latest documentary, she's writing for the University of ...

08/27/2024

Alexandra Pere episode is out now on all streaming platforms!

is a digital media professional and content “wizard”. When she’s not engrossed in the latest documentary, she’s writing for the University of Arizona College of Engineering. She’s a long-time wildcat with a bachelor’s in science journalism and religious studies and a master’s in journalism. Alex is a professional storyteller engaging in best practices for marketing, content development, newsletter curation and search engine optimization (SEO). In her downtime, she’s finishing a Master of Science in Digital Audiences from ASU Cronkite.

When Alex was finishing her master’s degree at UA, she was pivotal in the creation of Disability Empowerment Now — acting as the first official producer, website builder, and social media manager.

Follow her on LinkedIn or Instagram, she loves to follow back!

Be sure to tune into this episode on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you stream podcasts!