In the first episode of the We’re Not Stumped podcast, I’m very honored to have Nicole Kelly as a guest. Like me, Nicole is an congenital amputee of an upper extremity. Nicole was Miss Iowa 2013 and competed in the Miss America Contest in 2014 and she talks about that experience in this podcast. Nicole was also featured on the The Today Show as well as countless other shows and platforms. She has a masters degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University and and has proudly spoken at hundreds of K-12 schools and given educational lectures at universities across the country. Nicole has spoken at corporations including Google, Microsoft, Allstate, and Riot Games. She now works for Coapt, the maker of Complete Control advanced pattern recognition myoelectric control technology for upper limb prosthetics. In this video she will demonstrate her incredible prosthetic made possible by the great team at Coapt. If you are an amputee, a family member of a person with limb loss or a person in the support community, I would love to have you on the show. Please contact mike@mikebolland.com to be considered as a guest.
More Info
Nicole Kelly website: https://www.missnicolegkelly.com
Coapt website: https://coaptengineering.com/
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Dr. Carmen Elliott, the new President and CEO of the Amputee Coalition, joins Mike Bolland for a conversation about community, advocacy, and helping people with limb loss and limb difference find the support they need. Carmen shares how her family’s experiences with healthcare access and limb loss shaped her commitment to this work. Together, they explore the value of peer support, access to prosthetics, and including families and caregivers in the conversation. They also discuss support groups, certified peer visitors, AC Connect, and the upcoming “Fireside Connections” conference.
How do you move forward when vision loss changes your career, independence, and plans for the future? In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland speaks with Jennifer Frederick about living with permanent vision loss and learning to advocate for herself along the way. Jennifer explains how changes in her vision eventually forced her to leave a career in crisis management. She also discusses the challenges she now faces while looking for work, including interview practices that have left her questioning whether she is being treated fairly as a person with a disability. The conversation explores Jenn’s decision not to undergo surgery for her detached retinas, the importance of seeking medical attention when your vision changes, and the need to take ownership of your healthcare.
What happens when we stop deciding what someone is capable of—and give them the opportunity to lead? In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland speaks with Nathan Kennedy of Upstream Fitness, Chris Kocurek, and Chris’s son, Coach Cameron “Coach Cam” Kocurek. Cameron, who has Down syndrome, began gymnastics as a child and went on to compete through Special Olympics and unified gymnastics. Today, he is using the confidence and skills he developed as an athlete to help coach others at Upstream Fitness. Nathan explains how Upstream Fitness uses movement, games, coaching cards, and step-by-step instruction to make exercise accessible for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Chris shares Cameron’s journey from athlete to assistant PE coach—and now toward meaningful employment and greater independence.
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