Summer, Support, and Self-Care: Notes from a Season of Change
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
Release Date: 08/02/2025
Our Goals Haven't Changed. Our Roadmap Might Have.
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
Budget cuts may be changing the landscape, but they aren't changing our destination! This week on The Shining Beautiful Series, Mikelle, Torie, and Katherine gather around the kitchen table to talk about what it means to keep moving forward as the resources we depend on shrink. Some cuts have already arrived, and others are looming. Plenty of questions remain unanswered, but one thing is certain: Our goal of helping Mikelle live a full, meaningful, and connected life in her community hasn't changed. We're talking about finding new opportunities, strengthening community connections, getting...
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Around the Kitchen Table with Allard Broderick
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
We’re back at the kitchen table. This time, four generations gathered around it for a remarkable conversation with Denver author, poet, and artist Allard Broderick, author of Wallpaper Dogs. And, of course, Reilly the cat was right in the middle of things, making sure no one forgot whose kitchen table it really was. For this episode of The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast, we talked about mental health, disability, autism, DID, art, poetry, trauma, and the many ways creativity can help us tell stories that aren't always easy to put into words. Allard shared artwork, talked about using poetry...
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Feeling the Shift: Are We Ready for What’s Coming?
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
September feels like one of those months when change is no longer somewhere off in the distance—we can begin to feel it. In this mid-month episode of The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast, Katherine talks about what that looks like in real life: growing concerns about Medicaid and HCBS funding, changes within Mikelle’s support team, and the increasing importance of additional protocols as Colorado’s Medicaid agency, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), more closely scrutinizes the services people with significant disabilities need to live in their homes and...
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Finding the Intersection: A Labor Day Reflection
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
Labor Day is upon us, summer is beginning its slow turn toward fall, and after two longtime members of Mikelle's team moved on to new opportunities, I find myself, at seventy-three, back in the caregiving saddle again. In this episode of the Shining Beautiful Series Podcast, I reflect on an unexpected friendship from years ago that has me thinking differently about caregiving, community and the people we sometimes overlook when searching for support. Maybe preparing for an uncertain future isn't only about finding more services or filling the next vacancy. Maybe it is also about noticing where...
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More Than a $99 Painting: Mikelle’s Fourth Year at Access Gallery
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
What happens when an artist keeps showing up—and people keep taking her art home? For the fourth year in a row, Mikelle has a piece in Access Gallery’s $99 Art Show in Denver this September. And, just like the last three years, we’re hoping someone will fall in love with her work enough to give it a new home! In this episode of The Shining Beautiful Series, Mikelle, Torie, and I talk about art, creativity, inclusion, and what it means to be recognized as an artist. For Mikelle, creating art isn’t just about making something pretty. It’s another way she communicates, connects with...
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The Architecture of Hope
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
The Architect of Hope What does it mean to stay hopeful when the world feels divided and uncertain? In this mid-month update of The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast, Katherine reflects on the quiet work of becoming an architect of hope. Through stories from nature, mentorship, caregiving, and community, she explores the difference between hope and despair, the powerful role of both nature and nurture in shaping our lives, and how mentors plant possibilities that continue to grow long after they are gone. She also shares why building authentic relationships with people who may see the world...
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More than a Meeting
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
What makes a great support team? It isn't the agenda, the meeting notes, or the action items. It's the relationships built around the table. In this heartfelt episode of The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast, Mikelle, Katherine, and team member Torie explore why team meetings are about so much more than logistics. They share how open communication, mutual respect, and shared purpose create a support system where everyone has a voice—and where Mikelle feels seen, heard, and deeply supported. Together they discuss: Why trust is the foundation of every successful support team Creating...
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Freedom's Promise: Loving Our Country Enough to Keep Building It. A Fourth of July Reflection
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Katherine reflects on the complicated emotions of this Fourth of July. As the mother of an adult daughter with significant disabilities and someone who has spent more than four decades advocating for community living, employment, and self-determination, she celebrates the extraordinary progress our nation has made while also sharing her growing concern about recent policy shifts affecting disability rights. This deeply personal episode explores what freedom has meant for Mikelle's life—from becoming a homeowner and entrepreneur to building a life...
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Coffee, Bracelets & Brave Beginnings: Welcoming Rachael to the Shining Beautiful Team
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
What happens when a tattoo artist with social anxiety joins the support team of one of the world's first nonverbal podcasters? You pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee, and discover that community grows one conversation at a time. In this heartfelt episode, Mikelle introduces listeners to Rachael, one of the newest members of the Shining Beautiful team. Together, they share stories about friendship, finding confidence, and the unexpected ways people change one another. What begins as a conversation about supporting Mikelle quickly becomes a story about mutual growth. Through neighborhood...
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Building Employment From the Inside Out
The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast
Dr. Peter Smith on Family Discovery and Customized Employment In this warm and thoughtful episode of The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast, Mikelle and Katherine sit down with longtime friend and customized employment leader Peter Smith from the Centre for Disability Employment Research and Practice in Australia for a casual conversation about families, Discovery, and the importance of truly getting to know a person before trying to build employment opportunities around them. Rather than focusing on assessments and paperwork alone, Peter shares insights from his evolving work around the Family...
info_outlineIn this heartfelt midsummer episode, Katherine reflects on a season full of sparkle, growth, and the power of a strong support team. From Mikelle’s night out at Film on the Rocks to the everyday victories made possible by a dedicated crew of caregivers, The Shining Beautiful Series Podcast celebrates the joy that comes when everyone has space to shine.
Katherine also shares a timely update on the ongoing impact of the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB), and why staying connected—and taking care of ourselves—is more important than ever. With warmth and honesty, this episode offers a glimpse into how families like Mikelle’s are navigating uncertainty while continuing to show up for joy, community, and creativity.
Whether you’re a caregiver, advocate, or just someone trying to catch your breath this summer, this episode is for you.