Adam is a disability advocate, actor, and writer living in Austin, Texas with his wife Laura, and their beautiful daughter. 
"I have more of a responsibility than desire for pleasure. How shallow to be consumed by lust and desire. We have a duty to ourselves and to others to know God on whatever level we can conceive of him, or her. 

I rise before the sun, I shower, and meditate on the cause of all causes. When you say “God,” or any other name for the Lord, people tend to stop listening. So, with that in mind, I don’t ‘Hare Krishna’ right off. "

Brittany Sessum is a Houston native and Army veteran that loves making connections with others. She has a passion to serve her family, the community, and her country by giving back in any capacity. She believes that her passions and actions live beyond herself. Brittany loves writing poetry, reading, traveling, and working as an entrepreneur.

Jennifer Howell’s lifetime of personal experience with disability – as a caregiver, teacher and person with disabilities herself – has led to her work as an accessibility and creative placemaking consultant. She is a special education teacher, published author, award-winning artist and online instructor to students around the globe, ages 4 to 94. As an Accessible Yoga Ambassador, she has led classes for over a decade for seniors and persons with disabilities. Her other curricula include hand-lettering and cursive handwriting, and sustainable fashion. Jennifer is a member of IAMPETH (International Assoc. of Master Penmen, Engrossers & Teachers of Handwriting) and the Climate Reality Leadership Corps.

ID: Jennifer, a white woman with short brown hair smiles directly into the camera. Wearing a dark shirt with a flower-patterned scarf and silver earrings. She is seated outside. 

Jennifer McKinney

Jennifer McKinney was born legally blind. She has always enjoyed reading and writing. Some of her work has been published in Soupstone Literary Anthology. Despite the challenge of being visually impaired, Jennifer graduated from American Broadcasting School. She went on to work for KOOP 91.7 FM, a community radio station in Austin. An active member of her community for the past nineteen years, Jennifer joined Art Spark Texas in the Spring of 2014. She was introduced to OMOD by a friend. In her spare time, Jennifer loves traveling abroad and singing along with the radio poorly. 

Joey Gidseg is an enthusiast of podcasts & disability policy who works to close gaps in Access to Justice for disabled Texans. As chair of a statewide disability caucus and former multimedia producer, Joey is thrilled to collaborate with other disabled creators on Art Spark Texas’ podcast, True Tales by Disability Advocates.
You can connect or keep up with Joey on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin:
https://www.facebook.com/joeygidsegfortexas/
https://twitter.com/joeyinatx
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeygidseg/
Learn about the justice gap https://www.justiceinreach.org/
ID: Joey, a white nonbinary person with short blonde curly hair, big red glasses, and a slight grin. Wearing a black t-shirt. 

No moss gathers on a rolling wheelchair, and throughout the state of Texas are sightings of John Beer and his travel trailer. With his wife's help, John spotlights the disability side of skydiving, fire evacuations & other topics for New Mobility magazine. You’ll also find him on MS Connections at TheMighty.com – and he's wheelie excited being on the team creating Art Spark Texas' new podcast, True Tales by Disability Advocates. John was a member of our first Virtual Speaking Advocates Training and is one of the storytellers in Episode 2, “Life on Wheels”. 
ID: John, bearded smiling wearing a straw cowboy hat and a black button-down, a crowd of people walking behind him.
https://www.instagram.com/wheelieoutthere/

Kamand Alaghehband was born and raised in Austin, TX, and has autism. In 2020, the CDC reported approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. diagnosed with autism ratio is more than all cancer patients combined. Kamand has spent her life supporting all generations with disabilities. Kamand loves the Special Olympics, and her favorite sports are swimming, basketball, and track. Kamand is a member of the executive committee of Special Olympics Athletes Leadership in Texas. 

She creates her own podcasts, Tik Tok videos, video games, and a variety of health activities during the pandemic to keep her mind occupied in a healthy way. 

Kamand’s mission is to bring peace today and create a vision of equity and inclusion for tomorrow’s disabled population. Kamand hopes that she’ll be able to teach others to turn denial into acceptance.
ID: Kamand smiles into the camera, long brown hair with red headband, wearing light pink lace dress.

Kaye has over eight years of experience working with individuals with developmental and learning disabilities, including Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder, in Special Education and Vocational Rehabilitation. She has experience providing spiritually sensitive counseling to clients who identify with diverse belief systems, including Buddhism, Christianity, Ethical Humanism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Wicca.

   Schedule Counseling on Thrive: Thriveworks Counseling - Janet Kaye Love

   Acting: tiltperformance.org

ID:  Caucasian woman with light brown hair smiling. She is wearing a stole and a blue shirt and dark-rimmed glasses.

Kristen Gooch is an actress, poet, and advocate from Austin, Texas with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility.  She hopes to broaden her horizons and branch out into film and television someday. She currently facilitates a peer support group through Imagineart called Adapting Sheros for women with mobility disabilities.  She is a company member of TILT Performance Group and Paradox Players.
ID: Kristen, a caucasian young woman with shoulder-length auburn hair and pink lipstick smiles into the camera. She is wearing a pink short-sleeved dress with gray triangles and a black zig-zag pattern, a black beaded necklace, and hoop earrings. The background is light brown and yellow.

Toby Al-Trabulsi is an actor, writer and creative access advocate for performers with disabilities based out of Austin, TX. Toby is a member of TILT Performance Group and ScriptWorks and is currently pursuing podcasting through the Art Spark podcasting workshop. True Tales by Disability Advocates. He is eager to see where this journey takes him.
Follow Toby on Twitter or Instagram
Twitter: @Tobias_Zane
Instagram: @Tobias_Zane

ID:  Toby Al-Trabulsi, a white male with brown hair. Toby is seated and holding a plate of food. He is wearing a red shirt with text “ZOO YORK”.

MsBoye, is a multifaceted artist. She wears many hats: actor, published poet, essayist, and playwright. Currently, she coordinates the Speaking Advocates Program and the Lion & Pirate Open Mic for ArtSparkTx. She produces & Co-hosts the “True Tales by Disability Advocates” podcast.

 At forty, MsBoye discovered that her challenges weren’t due to laziness or underachievement but rather stemmed from being neurologically atypical and twice gifted. 

With degrees from Goldsmiths College London and Naropa University, She’s also trained and ordained as an interfaith minister, dream-worker, and spiritual director. 

She has performed with various companies, including Stage Q Theatre Company, Madison Theatre Guild, and TILT Performance Group. Her passion lies in giving voice to those with invisible disabilities, celebrating uniqueness, and serving her community through meaningful work.