The Quest for the GoodLife with Dr. Mike Strouse
How do we redefine what’s possible in care services, care & support models, and community living?
The Quest for the GoodLife is where bold ideas, innovative solutions, and next-generation technology come together to transform lives.
Hosted by Dr. Mike Strouse, a visionary leader in disability services, this podcast challenges conventional wisdom and explores groundbreaking approaches to independence, self-direction, staffing models, technology-enabled care, and workforce stability. Through candid conversations, real-world examples, and thought-provoking analogies, Dr. Strouse and co-host Ivo Ivanov unpack the science of implementation, the art of change management, and the future of human-centered care.
This podcast is designed for:
• Leaders of care service organizations seeking forward-thinking strategies.
• Advocates, parents, and guardians wanting to empower their loved ones.
• Legislators and policy-makers shaping the future of care.
• Individuals with care needs looking for a more independent, connected life.
Join us on this journey as we push boundaries, reimagine care, and challenge the status quo—because at GoodLife, impossible is what we do best.
Tune in, challenge the norm, and start your own Quest for the GoodLife.
The Quest for the GoodLife with Dr. Mike Strouse
Noel's Quest for Independence
Watch this Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jG4M1him8Hk?si=4qKdXTWneqaS5y3o
Watch this Episode on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/goodlifeu/quest13?share=copy
About this Episode:
In this special video episode of The Quest for the GoodLife Podcast, Dr. Mike Strouse travels to Arkansas to meet Noel—an insightful, passionate young man with cerebral palsy—and Whitney Garrison, Director of Regional Services for GoodLife.
What unfolds is a deeply personal, eye-opening conversation that lays bare the realities of support systems for people with disabilities. Noel shares his experiences navigating Arkansas’s fragmented care landscape, his struggle to remain independent, and the emotional toll of unreliable staffing, limited transportation, and bureaucratic complexity.
With humor, grace, and wisdom beyond his years, Noel reminds us what it truly means to live a “good life”—not just with support, but with friendship, dignity, and the freedom to contribute meaningfully to one's community.
Hello, Quest listeners, producer Megan O here.
This week, we actually have a very special video episode of the Quest for the GoodLife podcast with Dr. Mike Strouse for you today.
While Ivo was out of town, Mike traveled to Arkansas and met with a wonderful man named Noel to talk about his experiences navigating disability services in Arkansas.
So this week, what I want you to do is to head over to our YouTube or Vimeo pages---you'll find the links in our episode description below---so you can see and hear about Noel's story. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled format in two weeks. Talk with you then!
-Megan
