Think Inclusive

Tim Villegas from the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education connects with Simone Morris and Julie Kratz, hosts of the Inclusion School podcast, to explore the intersection of inclusive schools and the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) space. They discuss the importance of DEI initiatives in schools, strategies for allyship with marginalized groups, and the significance of addressing racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism with children. They delve into the societal and educational challenges of promoting inclusion and belonging, with insights into disability and diversity awareness in educational settings.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/julie-kratz-and-simone-morris-inclusion-school/

Gage Robinson is a 19-year-old college student at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota. He’s a passionate self-advocate who fought for his right to inclusive education and now shares his story to inspire others. Gage runs a nonprofit called Gage Gives Back, where he educates about traumatic brain injury and shaken baby syndrome, and supports organizations that helped him succeed. He’s also a public speaker who has presented at regional, national, and international conferences.In this episode, Gage Robinson shares his journey from being segregated in a self-contained classroom to advocating for his right to attend college alongside his peers. We talk about his due process battle with his school district, his testimony at the Minnesota State Legislature, and what inclusive higher education looks like for him today.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/gage-robinson-a-self-advocacy-story-2/

Carolyn Kiel is a corporate instructional designer and the host of Beyond 6 Seconds, a podcast that spotlights neurodivergent and disabled entrepreneurs, creators, and advocates. She’s a late‑identified autistic adult who uses her platform to share first‑person stories that challenge stereotypes and expand understanding.In this conversation, Tim talks with Carolyn about why she started Beyond 6 Seconds, how the show’s name pushes back on snap judgments, and what led her to focus the podcast on neurodiversity. Carolyn shares her journey to a late autism diagnosis, the relief of having language for lifelong experiences, and the habits that help her regulate and work (yes to stim and fidget tools). Together, they dig into what inclusion really looks like: listening first, trusting people’s lived experience, and offering practical accommodations without gatekeeping. For educators, Carolyn’s core message is simple—learn from neurodivergent adults and presume competence, especially for nonspeaking students who may need different communication supports. Listeners will leave with concrete ways to shift classroom mindsets and amplify authentic neurodivergent voices.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/carolyn-kiel-beyond-six-seconds-2/

Alma Zaragoza‑Petty (she/her) — Mexican American activist, scholar, and podcast host; author of Chingona: Owning Your Inner Badass for Healing and Justice. She advises and counsels first‑generation, low‑income students and teaches equity-focused coursework to working professionals at USC, with a personal and scholarly focus on intergenerational healing.Alma Zaragoza‑Petty shares how reclaiming the word “chingona”—once used to silence Latina women—can fuel personal healing and collective justice. She unpacks intergenerational trauma, practical steps for healing (acknowledgment, memory work, retelling our stories, and forgiveness), and how educators and mentors can change trajectories for students who have been underserved.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/alma-zaragoza-petty-unpacking-intergenerational-trauma-and-healing-2/

Hilda Bernier — Educator with a special education license and bilingual extension who has taught mostly integrated co‑teaching classes (and some self‑contained high‑school classes). As a parent, she describes how evaluation reports and an early IEP meeting pushed against inclusion for her son, Emilio, and how seeing the Henderson Inclusion School shifted her perspective on what’s possible.Olivier Bernier — Filmmaker and father who turned the camera on his family to make Forget Me Not, documenting their fight for inclusive education in New York City and the realities of IEP meetings. He aims to spark wider conversations about inclusion and accessible schooling for all learners.Tim talks with Hilda and Olivier Bernier about their documentary Forget Me Not, which follows their son Emilio’s path into school and their push for inclusion within a segregated system. They discuss what went wrong in early evaluations and IEPs, what good inclusion looks like, and how Emilio is thriving today in a fully included kindergarten.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/hilda-and-olivier-bernier-forget-me-not-documentary-2/

Ryan Wilson is the founder and director of Team Trust Productions, a disability‑led media company that partners with mission‑driven organizations to tell authentic stories of people with disabilities. He launched Team Trust after an early documentary project (“Seeing With Trust”) and now works with nonprofits and higher‑ed institutions to make marketing more accessible and inclusive. Ryan lives with Osteogenesis Imperfecta and speaks from lived experience about access, belonging, and representation.Tim Villegas talks with Ryan Wilson about what authentic disability representation looks like—and why it matters in schools, higher education, and media. They dig into common pitfalls (the “inspiration” trope), practical fixes (accessibility in video and web, ASL, real stories), and how personal connections with students change outcomes.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/ryan-wilson-team-trust-2/

Mary Beth Moore — Author of Unwanted: Fighting to Belong and founder/executive director of The Advocacy Underground. She studied political science and criminal justice at UNC Charlotte, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, worked as a DoD intelligence analyst and later as a marketing leader. She uses storytelling to make special education law and research accessible to families and educators. She’s also Gavin’s mom.When school leaders say yes to inclusion, everything changes. In this conversation, Mary Beth Moore shares how her son Gavin—who has Down syndrome, is nonverbal, and is still working on early literacy and numeracy—thrives in a fourth‑grade general education classroom because a principal chose to welcome him and build support. She contrasts that with systems that default to no, explores why implementation (not new law) is the bottleneck, and offers practical ways families and districts can move from conflict to collaboration. The through‑line: inclusion isn’t about meeting grade‑level benchmarks—it’s about belonging, support, and leadership willing to try.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/mary-beth-moore-unwanted-2/

Cheryl Green is an access artist who’s spent a decade creating creative, immersive captions and five years crafting audio description, drawing on lived experience with chronic illness and invisible disabilities. She’s collaborated with disability‑focused organizations including Superfest International Disability Film Festival, Disability Visibility Project, and Kinetic Light; she’s also produced documentary films and makes (and transcribes) the storytelling podcast Pigeonhole.Thomas Reid became blind in 2004 and reignited a long‑standing passion for audio. Selected as a “new voice scholar” by an association for independent radio in 2014, he launched Reid My Mind Radio, featuring compelling people impacted by blindness and disability—and, at times, reflective stories from his own life. He’s widely recognized for covering audio description and now narrates AD and other voiceover work.Host Tim Villegas talks with Cheryl Green and Thomas Reid about storytelling by disabled creators, why medicalized “how it happened” narratives aren’t the only (or best) way to tell disability stories, and how to center community voice without objectifying guests. The conversation introduces Pod Access—a new effort bringing disabled podcasters and listeners together through a resource hub and companion podcast—while exploring language shifts, like Thomas Reid’s move from “vision loss” to “blind,” and the importance of owning one’s story. They close with messages for educators about believing and following the lead of students with invisible disabilities and chronic illness, and a reminder that what teachers say can shape a student’s self‑concept for years.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/cheryl-green-thomas-reid-pod-access-2/

Katie Novak, renowned education consultant, talks about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), instructing learners with extensive support needs, and the importance of equity in education. She discusses the relationship between UDL, differentiated instruction, and specially designed instruction, and explores the role of scaffolding in UDL and differentiated instruction. Katie emphasizes the importance of implementing UDL in classrooms and challenging traditional beliefs about education.

Michael Giangreco is a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Special Education at the University of Vermont and is affiliated with the UVM Center on Disability and Community Inclusion. He’s authored over 200 publications, presented across the U.S. and internationally, and is known for the “Absurdities and Realities of Special Education” cartoon collection, created to spark reflection and change in inclusive education.Tim talks with Michael about why many schools over-rely on paraprofessionals for inclusion and how that can unintentionally create dependency, block peer relationships, reduce teacher ownership, and limit access to qualified instruction. Michael offers a simple shift: teachers take instructional ownership, special educators co-plan and co-facilitate, and paraprofessionals support the teachers (not attach 1:1 to students), all within inclusion‑oriented schools using natural proportions. They close with the story behind Michael’s cartoons and why humor and candor help the field move forward.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/michael-giangreco-on-the-overreliance-of-paraprofessionals-to-implement-inclusive-education-2/