Disability Empowerment Now

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Welcome to a place where disability voices are heard and where they are able to tell their stories, whether it be personal or professional.


Some of Our Memorable Guests

Season 4 Episode 24, 100th Episode Disability Empowerment Now is celebrating its 100th episode with Former Senator Tom Harkin. Thomas Richard Harkin is an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa’s 5th congressional district from 1975 to 1985. He is the longest-serving senator to spend the entire tenure as a state’s junior senator. Former Senator Harkin is most known for introducing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into the Senate.

Season 3 Episode 1, Temple Grandin P.h.D is a renowned autism spokesperson, author and animal behaviorist and an academic. She is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed are located in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries.  Dr. Grandin talks to Keith about her books “Thinking in Pictures,” and “Visual Thinking.” She talks about the disability mindset and emphasizes learning life-skills like “shopping, how to save money and general work skills,” and how to get a good career with these skills.

Season 3 Episode 8, Kurt Yaeger is an American actor and disability advocate known for his inspiring story of resilience and determination. He was born on January 3, 1977, in San Francisco, California. However, in 2006, his life took a dramatic turn when he was involved in a motorcycle accident that resulted in the amputation of his left leg. Despite this life-altering event, Kurt Yaeger continued to pursue his passion for acting and quickly established himself as a talented actor in the entertainment industry. He’s best known for his roles in popular TV shows like “Sons of Anarchy” and “Quarry.”


Now in its third year with over 13,000 listens worldwide, Disability Empowerment Now was founded on a simple yet powerful mission: to give the disability community an authentic platform to share their true, unedited experiences. Host Keith Murfee-DeConcini connects with guests from across the globe, creating a space where serious advocacy meets shared laughter.

From industry leaders like Tom Harkin, Temple Grandin, Kurt Yaeger, Danny Woodburn, and Ben Mattlin to close allies like Kat Stratford, Liv Mammone, and Andrew Gurza, no topic is off-limits. The podcast explores everything from complex legal rights to the humor of dating with a disability, and it is precisely this broad range of perspectives that fuels Keith's passion for the show.

A recipient of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 40 Under 40 award and a Marquis Who’s Who honoree 77th edition (2023/2024), Keith remains steadfast in his mission. He plans to take his vision even further through public speaking and authorial work, continuing to raise awareness and fight for accessibility everywhere.

What is Disability Empowerment Now?

Check Our Mini-series Dating With Disabilities

Dating with Disabilities is a miniseries that explores dating and intimacy in an authentic and vulnerable way. Sexually explicitly on purpose, these conversations explore topics for mature and open-minded audiences who are looking to know more about disability and sexuality and everything in between. Fellow podcast host and advocate Andrew Gurza and advocate and poet Liv Mammone join Keith for these important conversations.


"Disability rights has always been my passion, even when I wasn’t consciously aware of the term. Born into a disabled body due to premature birth, my mind was always fueled by an inner determination for curious exploration. As a child, I began to write before I could speak. As a student in my formative years, I was blissfully unaware (for the most part) of my educational needs being any different than those of my peers, despite having a speech impediment." Host Keith Murfee DeConcini

Disability rights has always been my passion, even when I wasn’t consciously aware of the term.

Born into a disabled body due to premature birth, my mind was always fueled by an inner determination for curious exploration. As a child, I began to write before I could speak. As a student in my formative years, I was blissfully unaware (for the most part) of my educational needs being any different than those of my peers, despite having a speech impediment. 

Growing up disabled made me realize that people very often fear what they don’t understand, yet it was only recently that I began to study those services and the complex histories behind them. 

As an adult, I learned to use my speech impediment as a tool for uncovering social injustice and discrimination, hence propelling my career ambition as a Disability Advocate. Obtaining a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Arizona with a concentration in Disability Advocacy led me to a Master’s degree in Disability Studies from the City University of New York (CUNY), School of Professional Studies.

Professionally, my past experience includes advocating through public speaking and creating advocacy content for unique organizations, ie: Young Adult Institute of New York (YAI), Santa Fe Trails of New Mexico, The National Office of United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). At YAI, I created advocacy content for a weekly article entitled “Voices” for the YAI web site, three of which were later published in the Huffington Post. 

In addition to being a disability advocate and writer, I am also an actor. Occasionally performing in theater and small productions, most recently, I participated in Theater Breaking Through Barriers‘ virtual production of “Teacher’s Pet” (2020), “Mended” (2021), “Strength in Numbers” (2021), “Epidermis” (2022), “Blood Runs Cold” (2023), “It’s Not Just Cricket” (2024) “Drifters” (2025). I was inspired to pursue the opportunity to work with the organization after seeing a performance of an actress with cerebral palsy on stage. This theater production experience further expanded my professional efforts to advocate for disability rights through various performance mediums as I previously appeared in a New York MTA’s 2019 employee training video. By authentically partnering with organizations that advocate for disability rights, I discovered the ability to use my unique voice to further educate and advocate. 

All of my successes would have not been possible without the tireless support of not only my family members, but also of the efforts of the disability advocates who fought for a better future for individuals with disabilities before me.  Being disabled from birth makes me more aware of the sense of empathy that should be innate in the human experience. Making the world a more accessible place now, both professionally and interpersonally, benefits both the present and the future of humanity.


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Let’s Stay in Touch

If you are interested in coming on the podcast or having us on your podcast please reach out to us, we would love to collaborate