Most people move through the world without thinking about how they move through the world. The door opens. The bathroom fits. The seat is reachable. For Jenna Udenberg, none of that has ever been a given. And after nearly four decades navigating life from a wheelchair, she has stopped waiting for the world to catch up — and started educating it.
Jenna is an educator, author, and founder of Above and Beyond with You, a nonprofit dedicated to accessibility education in it...
Most people move through the world without thinking about how they move through the world. The door opens. The bathroom fits. The seat is reachable. For Jenna Udenberg, none of that has ever been a given. And after nearly four decades navigating life from a wheelchair, she has stopped waiting for the world to catch up — and started educating it.
Jenna is an educator, author, and founder of Above and Beyond with You, a nonprofit dedicated to accessibility education in its fullest sense. Her memoir, Within My Spokes, traces a life shaped by juvenile arthritis, identity crises, the pandemic's invisible toll on disabled workers, and the hard-won freedom that comes from building a community instead of just surviving one. In this conversation, we talk about what the ADA actually means (and doesn't), the difference between compliance and genuine inclusion, the emotional exhaustion of constantly educating others, and the small but radical act of asking someone how they want to be described.
This one is for anyone who has never had to think about whether they can get through the door — and for everyone who has.
Show Notes with Chapters
00:00 Cold open — the ramp and the button aren't enough: accessibility beyond the front door
01:06 James introduces Jenna: educator, author, wheelchair user, founder of Above and Beyond with You
02:04 The view from four foot two: Jenna's perspective on perspective
03:23 Diagnosed at seven, in a wheelchair by eight — and the ginger snap she lost before all of it
03:46 The Firefly attachment, paved trails, and finding the biking community during the pandemic
04:46 The bikers looked her in the eye — why that was a profound and unusual experience
08:06 Why James wanted this conversation: the invisible design of everyday life
09:02 Self-advocacy from childhood — and the parents who made Jenna the decision-maker about her own body
10:28 "Leave places better than you found them" — the family ethos that became a life philosophy
11:30 The Journey Award, the superintendent, and the moment Jenna climbed on her soapbox
12:27 Not seeing herself within disability community until the last three years — and why rural isolation makes it harder
13:05 The ADA myth: the largest unfunded mandate in U.S. history
14:27 The Blandin fellowship, the identity cost of leadership retreats, and navigating access needs in unfamiliar spaces
15:47 The pandemic strips the superwoman persona — invisible disabilities become visible for the first time
17:00 The district, the lawyers, and the identity crisis of not getting to say goodbye to her students
18:17 Being given the words "accessibility educator" — and the aha of a new identity forming
19:04 The Bush Fellowship, the memoir, and how Above and Beyond with You was born
21:12 What the work actually looks like: speaking, paneling, partnerships, and the long-game "with you" model
22:26 "Nothing about us without us" — the consulting firm with no disabled employees
24:59 Creating safe spaces to make mistakes — and why Jenna still says "handicap parking" even though she hates it
26:15 Advice for new caregivers and newly disabled families: the grief cycle, community, and not rushing
28:26 Medical model vs. societal model vs. disability culture — and the moment Jenna caught herself diagnosing
strangers
30:44 "I have scars, but not open wounds" — what it means to be a veteran disabled person
33:19 Finding community online — Facebook groups, information overload, and discernment
35:42 Accessibility in real spaces: James shares the Weymouth Center renovation story
39:46 The Carnegie Library transformation — from inaccessible bathrooms to the first adult changing table in the region
42:19 Stop trying to be ADA compliant. Be committed to the spirit of why it was written.
43:52 We gave you a ramp and a button — the gap between entry and true belonging
45:41 How to interact with disabled people: humor, curiosity, and the no-BS detector
47:32 Learning by osmosis — hang out in the rooms where this is the work
49:34 The exhaustion of managing other people's awkwardness — and when enough is enough
51:19 Practical tips for talking to someone in a wheelchair: eye level, space, and just asking
53:39 "How would you want me to describe you to someone else?" — restoring dignity and agency with one question
55:09 Talk to the disabled person, not over them to their caregiver
56:03 The memoir Within My Spokes: who it's for and what Jenna wanted to put in the world
58:46 Family reactions, vulnerable stories, and the tapestry of interconnection
1:00:36 Why she wrote it: 5,000 coffees vs. 500 — the book as the fastest way to get real
1:01:30 Final invitation: take inventory of who you surround yourself with — and prepare
1:04:25 Where to find Jenna and Above and Beyond with You
Resources Mentioned
Above and Beyond with You: https://www.aboveandbeyondwithu.org/
Jenna's book — subtitle: A Tapestry of Pain, Growth and Freedom. Available via the website.
