Catch It!
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On March 15, 2016
Our guest today is AJK O’Donnell, they are a senior in high school, an author, Editor in Chief at The Progressive Teen, State Chair at High School Democrats of Nebraska, and an all-around great young human! O’Donnell shares about the struggles they have had growing up with adversity and does so with great eloquence and clarity! They give me a great deal of HOPE for our future!
If you can’t see the player above click HERE and listen to the episode on pod-o-matic.
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On December 31, 2015
On the show today I sat down with local photographer Joshua Foo! Prior to this interview I had never met Joshua in person. I saw some of the his photos on Facebook and instantly fell in love with his work
so I decided to send him a friend request. Considering we had so many friends in common I hoped he would accept my request and he did! I also liked his photography page on facebook so I could stay up to date with his work.
He has a crazy awesome imagination and has created some amazing images that are whimsical and fun!
But what really had me take notice was when he started posting photos of people with a front and a side view of each person. The people are not smiling and appeared to be randomly plucked off the street. I watched as he posted them one after another and I started to notice something. Each of them were amazing and alluring. I wanted to learn more about the people he was posting as well as about the man who was capturing these incredible images!
A Photo Series by Joshua FooInstagram: @joshfoolovesyouFacebook: Joshua Foo Photography
Posted by Joshua Foo on Saturday, September 26, 2015
So we sat down on the back patio at Caffeine Dreams, which is where he discovered the backdrop that would become a key element in his series! I was even honored to have my photo taken that day!
So here it is the full interview with Joshua Foo, my new and amazing friend! How many times does a person get to have their very first conversation with a person be recorded for all to hear and to live on forever right here on Speaking Of Happy! Thank you Joshua Foo!
We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did, and if you don’t that’s ok, we at least hope you learn something new!
If you can’t see the player above click HERE and listen to the show on PodOMatic.
Joshua is not only an amazing photographer but a human being extraordinaire and we talked about his photo series As You Were along with what inspires him and why he chose to become a photograper. Josh is a compassionate and amazing human being and I am so very grateful to now be able to consider him my friend.
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On December 16, 2015
Detour EP
Today on the show we sit down with Brody Ray, Kearney, NE native, who is working hard to make his dreams become a reality! He recently released his first EP Detour worldwide! He has an upbeat alternative rock sound that is full of life and energy! On this episode we talk about how Brody became a musician along with some wonderful stories about his growing up knowing he was different.
Brody’s life started out different from most. Brody, born female, new that his body didn’t match what he felt on the inside, as young as a toddler. Brody’s mother remembers him kicking the back of her seat in the McDonald’s Drive Thru until he got the boy toy in his happy meal, and jumping around in diapers and cowboy boots with a guitar singing at the top of his lungs.
I happen to think Brody is an incredible talent as well as being an amazing human being! He has a heart of gold and a deep desire to make a difference in the world with his music and I believe he is well on his way! He has performed at numerous Pride’s around the US along with performing right here in Omaha for Heartland Pride! Be sure to check out his website at www.brodyray.com and BUY HIS MUSIC which is also available on iTunes.
Brody also sang live in the studio for us and we shot a little video footage for your viewing pleasure!
If you can’t see the player above click HERE and listen to the show on PodOMatic.
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On December 10, 2015
Today on the radio show we sat down with Kate Parrish. She is the president of the River City Gender Alliance, also known as RCGA. Since 1986 RCGA has been a support organization that provides peer support, friendship and understanding for crossdressers, transgenderists and transsexuals.
The mission of the RCGA is to provide support for all persons who experience any form of gender identity issues. We welcome all persons with gender identity issues and also their spouses, partners and family members.
To fulfill the mission of the RCGA the objectives will be:
Monthly support meetings
Provide educational assistance and resource referrals.
Develop self-confidence/self-esteem in all members.
Network with other support groups.
Provide outreach activities that positively reflect our lifestyle.
Provide outreach to helping professionals who are interested in our lifestyle.
Hold social gatherings.
Recently RCGA provided Talk Back Panels for the play “Mama’s Girls” produced/directed by SNAP! Productions. The panels ranged from youth members of the trans community sharing their experience to longtime members of RCGA sharing their knowledge and personal stories about being Transgender in the Midwest. Powerful conversations where conducted and we are sure many people left the theater with a greater understanding and compassion for the Transgender community. GREAT work by Kate Parrish and RCGA in provided this support.
On our show Kate shares her experience in discovering her own gender identity and becoming the woman she is today. We hope you enjoy the episode! Do you want to be on the show? Do you have a local organization that supports the LGBTQIA Community or a personal story that you feel is important for others to hear? Please send us an email elirigatuso@catchcreative.com to schedule a time to talk!
If you can’t see the player click HERE and listen to the podcast on PodOMatic.
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On November 25, 2015
Jordan Delmundo Executive Director NAP
Today on the show we sat down with Jordan Delmundo, Executive Director of NAP, Nebraska AIDS Project in Omaha. He shares about how NAP started along with all the wonderful resources they provide in education and testing right here in the Omaha area.
Founded in 1984 as a compassionate response to the AIDS crisis, Nebraska AIDS Project (NAP) leads the community in the fight to overcome HIV/AIDS and its stigma through education, supportive services, and advocacy. As one of the few statewide AIDS service organizations in the country and the only community-based AIDS service organization in Nebraska, NAP provides HIV prevention education and case management services to the entire state of Nebraska, 11 counties in Southwest Iowa, and two counties in Eastern Wyoming.The employees of Nebraska AIDS Project come from diverse and wide ranging backgrounds and each person brings with them skills, education, and experience to best serve our community. NAP’s team includes a Board of Directors, administrative staff, client services staff, education/prevention staff and more often than not, a few interns and students.
If you can not see the player click HERE and listen to the podcast on Pod-O-Matic.
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On November 23, 2015
On the show today I sat down with Dr. Amanda Duffy Randall. Omaha Therapist, Associate Professor, and the Director of the Grace Abbott School of Social Work at UNO. She shares some insights into her personal journey into becoming a therapist and how she started working with the LGBTQ Community. Dr. Randall is an amazing compassionate no nonsense human being who has a refreshing matter of fact way of approaching things. My favorite quote from our conversation is:
“Reaction is often times not long term adjustment, especially for a trans person, this has been something they have struggled with for a very long time. And when they tell their families they have about 30 seconds of reaction time. And often those reactions aren’t elegant, and aren’t pretty. But long term adjustments a very different process for families.” Dr. Randall
I LOVED our chat and I hope you will enjoy it too! I also hope you might learn something useful you can pass on to others. Please feel free to share this post with anyone you feel might benefit from it.
If you do not see the player click HERE to listen to the show on our Pod-O-Matic channel. The link will open a new window so you can still enjoy looking at other posts on our site! Also be sure to listen to previous episodes of the show!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out my video on transition and how it doesn’t just affect the person who is transitioning but everyone he or she knows.
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On November 18, 2015
Transgender Day of Remembrance
On a special episode of the podcast we sit down with Kate Parrish, President of the RCGA (River City Gender Alliance), and she shares about TDOR Omaha and what is happening along with how RCGA is supporting the play Mama’s Girls produced by SNAP! Productions and showing now at the Shelterbelt Theater. Click HERE to buy tickets to the show before they sell out!
Transgender Day of Remembrance is this Friday, November 20th.
TDoR Omaha presents the 4th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance at the beautiful First Unitarian Church of Omaha, 31st and Harney. TDoR is a day that we gather in community to remember those who have died in the name of transphobia, share the living history of the transgender community, and to celebrate the transgender community.
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On November 12, 2015
We couldn’t be happier to have today’s podcast go live! We sat down with Ferial Pearson who is an educator, activist, public speaker, human being extraordinaire and she shared how The Secret Kindness Agents became a reality!
Taken from their facebook page:
Moved by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, Ferial Pearson wondered if a simple act of kindness could change a life. She thought of the school where she taught and the students she guided every day and wondered, what would happen if we started secretly carrying out small acts of kindness in school? Could a modest act of compassion really change the course of a life? She posed the question to her students. They didn’t have the answers but they were willing to find out. And so they became the Secret Kindness Agents. They not only changed the lives of those they met, they changed their own. Their hope, their hearts, and their hunger for happiness will inspire you to change your small corner of the world, in your own way, for the better. Let them show you how they did it, and how you can do the same.
Ferial Pearson, a native of Nairobi, Kenya, is a national award-winning high school teacher and college instructor. For her dedicated work in education and human rights, she has earned the National Education Association’s Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights in 2012, and the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network’s Educator of the Year Respect Award in 2011. She is an Instructor and Instructional Coach in the Teacher Education Department at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Buy a copy of Secret Kindness Agents by clicking here. Follow the Secret Kindness Agents on Facebook by clicking here.
If you don’t see the player you can click here and listen to the podcast on Pod-o-matic! Thank you for listening!
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On November 6, 2015
On todays show we are chatting with Jordan Brown, President of the Queer Nebraska Youth Network, QNYN, in Omaha. The Queer Nebraska Youth
Network is a grassroots organization that aims to create a healthy, empowered, and visible community of LGBTQ+ youth in Nebraska. composed of 3 subgroups: the Queer Women’s Subgroup, the Queer Men’s Subgroup, and the Trans*/Genderqueer Subgroup. Peer leaders known as “admins” lead each of these groups, which are made up of youth, age 15-24, across the state of Nebraska and parts of western Iowa.
The QNYN’s current membership exceeds 700 LGBTQ+ youth. Members’ hometowns stretch from Council Bluffs, IA to Alliance, NE. Our growing community represents a diversity of experiences in terms of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, ability, and sexual/gender identities. We learn from the experiences of one another every day and work to make the QNYNs as radically welcoming as we can!
If you don’t see the player you can click here and listen to the podcast on Pod-o-matic! Thank you for listening!
Posted by Eli Rigatuso On October 28, 2015
On the show today we speak with Michal Simpson, Artistic Director at SNAP! Productions a Non Profit theater space in Omaha. SNAP! has been around for 22 years and has produced award winning theater productions and musicals all focused on educating people on diverse topics. Simpson has been with SNAP! for 22 years and shares some heartwarming and wonderful insights from both past and present shows.
Simpson also shares about the current production which opens on November 12th and runs through December 6th.
Mama’s Girls – Written by Marilynn Barner Anselmi
The show is about Eleven year old twins Amelia and Sam who argue about everything. Barbies, sports, chores, everything – except Sammy’s knowledge she is a girl trapped in a boy’s body. Amelia fights for everyone and everything who opposes Sammy, including their parents. The shrapnel of these conflicts brings Sammy’s transition and the fragility of their parent’s marriage to the fore.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here.
We hope you enjoy the podcast we sure enjoyed our conversation with Michal!
If you don’t see the player you can click here and listen to the podcast on Pod-o-matic! Thank you for listening!