Meet the Hosts of ‘The Exceptional Caregivers Life’
MARCH 17, 2025
You can listen to “The Exceptional Caregivers Life” on: 
Spotify 
Youtube
Surrey Place and our Family Advisory Council (FAC) are excited to bring to you a new podcast titled, “The Exceptional Caregivers Life”! Meet our exceptional hosts, Wendy and Liz, who are both members of the FAC.
Wendy is a dedicated mother of twin daughters, including Bridget, who is Autistic as well as developmentally and intellectually disabled. With 15 years of experience navigating the autism journey, she has become deeply involved in the community, serving on multiple special needs councils and actively participating and organizing fundraisers.
Image of Wendy and her daughter Bridget
Liz is a passionate autism advocate, dedicated to creating inclusive environments for individuals on the autism spectrum. With 15 years of experience in advocacy, outreach and public speaking, Liz has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about autism and dismantle misconceptions surrounding neurodiversity. Liz’s son, Jack, and his diagnosis inspired her to pursue not-for-profit work, developing and implementing programs that promote understanding, acceptance, and support for individuals with autism and their families.
Image of Liz Phipps
The pair took time to share their experience about hosting a podcast for the first time and what they hope listeners will get from it. “Surrey Place’s Family Advisory Council (FAC) is a group of caregivers of children and/or adults living with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) or autism,” says Liz.
“We come together monthly to share experiences, advocate, make recommendations and prioritize important
matters to and with Surrey Place so that together, we can make positive changes. This includes – prioritizing
concerns for Surrey Place, expressing family and caregiver perspectives to inform clinical practices, identifying gaps
in services and suggesting concrete solutions, guiding Surrey Place staff on service enhancement and building
community amongst Surrey Place caregivers and family members.”
The FAC had long discussed hosting a podcast, stemming from the idea that the council wanted other families to know they are not alone in their journeys. “After your loved one is diagnosed, the process and the idea of a new ‘normal’ family life with restrictions can be so isolating,” shares Wendy. “We hoped if families could hear honest conversations from guests on their highs and lows, that they would realize that they are not the only ones.”
From the start, Liz and Wendy both had an interest in hosting, but the interest in creating a community was shared amongst all the members of the FAC. “All the members wanted to be a part of the podcast, whether that was a guest, hosting or working behind the scenes. It was all about teamwork,” says Liz.
We hoped if families could hear honest conversations from guests on their highs and lows, that they
would realize that they are not the only ones.
The motto of the “Exceptional Caregivers Life” is connecting with a community that just gets it. As caregivers of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, this podcast is made by and for caregivers. “We hope that our listeners really take away that caregivers are exceptional!” exclaims Liz. “Life is hard, but also so full of joy. These families are warriors, and everyone needs to know that!”
Join Liz and Wendy as they welcome guests and dive into topics such as community, advocacy, caring for the caregiver, and gratitude. Episodes will be released every other Wednesday, so follow our channels to stay up to date!
Special thanks to the Family Advisory Council for making “The Exceptional Caregivers Life” podcast possible. Foundational support was provided by the Arthur and Audrey Cutten Foundation and the Harry E. Foster Foundation. All episodes are produced by LeadPodcasting.
Learn more about “The Exceptional Caregivers Life”!
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