This week Jen and Brendan are joined by Katie Boland. Along with her brother, Sam, Katie is a usual fixture at WSA Camp working with kiddos and foster a love of music! In addition to camp and music, Katie also talks about her experience going to college and some of the aspirations she has as she continues into adulthood. This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

Joining the show is Sarah Schaefer, WSA Executive Director, to talk about the upcoming WSA International Convention in July 2026!  UPDATE: We know many of you planning to attend the 2026 WSA Convention in Buffalo are eager to book your hotel rooms. We had hoped to receive final clearance from our hotel partners by  November 5, but uncertainties about construction plans and the room block at one of our primary hotels have caused a delay. We will let you know as soon as we can when you can begin booking your rooms. Thank you for your patience—we can’t wait to kick off an unforgettable convention in Buffalo! Remember to go to williams-syndrome.org/convention to see all the latest information. Also, starting with this episode, The Starry-Eyed Podcast will go to a weekly format. New episodes will drop every Tuesday! Make sure you subscribe! As always, this episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

We're back with more Nick Doris, who is leading the WSA's Wellness programming! This week he guides Jen and Brendan through some exercises and discusses the joyous energy that comes from working with a roomful of people with Williams syndrome. Then it's back to the sea with a couple international travelers: Holly Griffin from Western Canada and Dagmar Hakonandottir from Iceland! Together with USA's Nathan Carlton, they talk about what it's like to be on such a huge ship with so many other people with WS! Spoiler: it's pretty awesome! As always, this episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

It's our first two-parter! Jen and Brendan welcome our dear friend Nick Doris to talk about the WSA's Wellness programs: Wellness Wednesday and Mindfulness Mondays. This discussion on mental health and how we treat ourselves and others is so wonderful it couldn't be contained in just one show. Be sure to check out williams-syndrome.org/wellnesswednesday for more information on Nick's work. Then it's back to the high seas where Producer Joel interviewed Kiersten Frickey. The topics range from parents to Kansas to chocolate...but ultimately it was always leading to pie. This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

This week the pod is joined by Oklahoma's very own Hope Hansen. This wide-ranging discussion covers everything from college and living on your own versus living with roommates, to being a working woman and figuring out just how much Williams syndrome plays a part in your personal identity. Hope is truly a leader in our WS community! This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!  

This episode features something truly remarkable. Jennifer Scheuerell and her daughters, Liv & Kaya, share their story of 2 daughters, born years apart, yet both having Williams syndrome. There is no known reason why Jennifer and her husband should have 2 kiddos with WS, which means that the odds of these girls happening is around 1 in 100,000,000!  Then the show is joined by Jeff Isensee who shares what he loves and what he finds difficult about being a young man who is pretty independent living with WS. These interviews were conducted by Producer Joel on the Adventure Seekers Cruise in the Caribbean in July. This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

WSA Educational Consultant Dr. Robin Pegg returns to the WSA's Starry-Eyed Podcast for her third year with some fantastic back-to-school advice for parents and caregivers. This episode deals specifically with setting goals and working with your team to create effective IEPs. It's not to be missed.Robin's slides from the episode plus some goal setting example templates are available here This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!  

For many of our families, Clancey Hopper has been a constant figure in the WS community. She has spent years as a kind and powerful advocate for herself and others with WS. We are so thrilled that she was able to join Jen and Brendan for a discussion on life and her work.  Come for the convo, stay for the cloggin'!   This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

It's sweltering hot outside and we got some sweltering hot takes on this weeks episode! Jen and Brendan visit with Elizabeth Bress who is a strong self-advocate from the Brevard, FL area! She shares her experiences going through school mostly mainstreamed and how that has shaped her adult life. They also discuss her Facebook group Inclusion is Love and how she accumulates data with polls she puts out allowing people with and without WS or other disabilities to share their experiences with sometimes brutal honesty. Enjoy this frank discussion about the difficulties and the expectations around making lasting friendships! This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

The gang is back together after a month of traveling and shenanigans! Jen, Producer Joel, and Brendan share stories of their travels to Japan, the Caribbean, and Philadelphia, respectively. Note: On behalf of the entire Starry-Eyed Podcast family, we want to apologize to the nation of Japan for almost destroying your bullet train. Whoopsie! In this episode, the gang are joined by Alex and Matt Boxall, twins from outside Chicago who both have WS! Along with their mom, Kristin, they share stories of growing up, getting along (and sometimes not), and how WS keeps them connected even though they've become two very different people. This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

This special episode takes a look back at the journey of understanding Williams syndrome—and how the WSA has grown alongside it. Through past interviews, we hear from leading voices in the field: Dr. Barbara Pober, Dr. Marty Levinson, Dr. Elizabeth Barnhardt, Dr. Becca Lyren, Dr. Jocelyn Krebs, Dr. Ben Jacob, and former WSA Executive Director Terry Monkaba. Together, their insights paint a picture of how research, diagnosis, care, and community support have evolved over time. Whether you're new to the WS world or have been walking this path for years, this episode connects the dots between where we started—and where we're headed. Click on THIS LINK and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

Recently, creator of Innersense Organic Beauty and friend of the show Joanne Starkman, invited the gang to be on her new podcast, "Trust Your Innersense." It was a wonderful conversation about how Williams syndrome has touched all aspects of our lives and irrevocably changed our respective life paths. We also get into the early days of the show and how it's evolved over the last 2 years. We hope you enjoy this this little trip into our Innersense. Rebroadcast with permission from Joanne Starkman and Innersense Organic Beauty. This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty! Click on https://innersensebeauty.com/products... and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

Last Saturday marked the end of Williams Syndrome Awareness Month and to cap it off, WSA Executive Director Sarah Schaefer and Producer Joel held a 14-hour Give-A-Thon to reach $100,000! Around hour 9 1/2, Jen and Brendan joined for a live podcast featuring Varun Indugula. Varun is a student at the University of North Carolina and the younger brother of Prannoy, who has WS. Varun moderates the Adult Siblings Support Group for the WSA and shares his story on growing up with Prannoy and how it has already shaped his future. We hope you enjoy his touching story. On either side of that, it's absolute silliness as the uber-tired Sarah and Joel try to make sense with Jen and Brendan the realities of going from a week-long camp with teens and kids with WS straight into a 14 hour broadcast. May might be over, but it's not too late to donate! Go to weekend4williams.org or text WEEKEND to 71777 to donate. This episode is sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty! Click on this link and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase!

We're well into Williams Syndrome Awareness Month and in this episode, Jen, Brendan, and Producer Joel welcome singer, bon vivant, and raconteur Avi Lesser! He (along with his mother Carol Patinkin and special guest Jon Kent) recount the many hours spent in Graceland, his trips abroad and his love for all kinds of national anthems! This is one gets silly!  We'd also welcome our first sponsor: Innersense Organic Beauty! Click on this link and complete your purchase and 25% of your purchase will go back to the WSA! Also use promo code MORGAN15 to get 15% off your first purchase! You can see Avi Visits the Court of the King by clicking here!

Happy Williams Syndrome Awareness Month! To kick things off we have a extra-large episode for you! Jen and Brendan are joined by Megan McNeil to share the love of being part of the WS community and how much brighter the world is when people choose kindness over bullying. Then we welcome back former Executive Director Terry Monkaba for her first interview in a couple years! They discuss the early days of the WSA and being part of some of the major breakthroughs in WS research. Terry also lets us in on how she's enjoying her retirement and the surprising joy of finding balance after dedicating nearly four decades to the WSA and the WS community.  It's shaping up to be a really special Awareness Month so please get out there and tell people about Williams syndrome, the Williams Syndrome Association, and the importance of a robust and interesting community for all! For information on Camp Blue Skies, go to campblueskies.org For information on Bennett's 2nd Annual Chili Pepper Challenge, go to wsinfo.org/peppers  

On this episode, Jen and Brendan are joined by Erin & Sophie Rupolo who, thanks to Team Impact, are jet setting all over the country with the Maryland Terrapins Women's Basketball Team. The Lady Terps have truly made Sophie one of their own..even when she is in full teenager mode. Then, Alex Bentley joins the pod to talk about working at Disney World. It was a childhood dream, and thanks to hard work, determination, and help from his family, he turned his dream into reality. Is he going to stop there? No way! He's still setting goals and putting in the work to achieve them! Join us at The Starry-Eyed Podcast page on Facebook or watch the video version of the podcast on Youtube.

Today we have not one, not two, but three guests at once - A THREE-FER! Jen and Brendan are joined by Brett Beger, Carl Hanson, and Ben Monkaba to discuss what it's like living together as 3 dudes under the same roof. It's a fantastic story of friends, independence, and the courage to try something scary. Speaking of scary, we, of course, talk about the one clown who is an exception to Jen and Producer Joel's fear of clowns - Big Red! We hope you enjoy this absolutely fantastic hang with these guys! Interested in being on the podcast? Go to Williams-syndrome.org/podcast and fill out the interview form.  Enjoying the audio version? Check out the video version of the show on YouTube or check out the show on Facebook.

Gird your ears for Producer Joel has lost his voice. Before it went completely away, he was able to spend the week at Camp Blue Skies in Georgia, with around 75 adults with Williams syndrome.  Camp creator Dick Sesler and his son, Brent the Mayor of camp, sat down to talk about the need for community for our adults and what the future holds. Then, Producer Joel set up the camera and mics and interviewed whoever was willing to sit down - making for a fantastically eclectic segment! For more information about WSA Camps including Camp Blue Skies, go to Williams-syndrome.org/camps. Croutons & Hearts!

Two years! 53 episodes! 3 podlet mini-sodes! Two years is longer than Blackbeards reign of terror on the high seas! Two years is longer than the existence of the Pony Express! Technically our show has lasted longer than the Disco era (2 years...look it up)! On this episode, Jen and Brendan welcome Jon Kent, who has been a part of the Williams syndrome community for decades, but only recently joined the staff as the new Vice President of Philanthropy and Communication. He helps us understand that "fundraising" isn't nearly as scary a word as some of us might think. Then we take a trip down memory lane revisiting some of our favorite moments, guests, and episodes from the last 2 years. Thank you all so much for coming along on this journey. We can't wait to see what the future brings.

In this episode, Jennifer, Brendan, and Producer Joel kick things off with a celebration—Brendan’s appointment as WSA Secretary! He is the first person with WS to hold a position on the Executive Committee of the WSA Board of Trustees!Next, we welcomed newcomer Sarah Schaefer, the new Executive Director of the WSA (Just kidding, it’s the same Sarah we already know and love)! She shared her vision, passion, and what’s ahead for the organization. It’s an exciting time for the WSA, and Sarah’s leadership is sure to bring incredible momentum.Finally, Cara Romanowski joined the pod. She’s a member of the Dream Team— our fantastic group of older individuals with Williams syndrome who inspire us with their experiences and advocacy.Make sure to “Like” and Subscribe to the YouTube version or the audio version wherever you get your podcast delights and don’t forget to leave a review!