SPEAKING
Prior to becoming disabled in 2016, I knew nothing about disability rights or even how to talk about disability. When life gave me an unexpected crash course in the topic, I made it my goal to be open and honest about my experiences to educate others. Beginning with Instagram, I started to share the realities of my life with chronic illness and disability. Talking to people about my experiences continues to surprise me and help me grow my own knowledge of what it means to be Disabled. Through my speaking engagements, I hope to help audiences reframe their conception of disability and the disability justice movement so they can become effective allies and self-advocates.
Areas of Expertise
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Disability 101. An introduction to appropriate terminology, disability history, models of disability, allyship, and more. A great starting point for those unfamiliar with the disability movement.
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Disability Justice. A similar introduction as above, but with an explicit focus on the disability justice movement's history, how it differs from disability rights, and ways to incorporate its principles into our work and/or activism.
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Introduction to Accessibility. A roadmap to making your social media, marketing materials, and workspaces accessible.
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Disabled in the Law. What it's like to be a disabled law student and future disabled lawyer. How friendly is the legal field to disabled attorneys?
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The Patient Perspective. What do disabled patients wish their providers knew? What is it like to navigate the healthcare system as a disabled person?
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ADA in the Workplace. An overview of disabled employees' rights in the workplace and how coworkers can be good allies.
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Disability & Queerness. How my multiply marginalized identities intersect and interact with my privilege and one another to produce my lived experiences.
Previous Speaking Engagements
Podcasts
My Dearest Friends
Reflecting on my identity as a disabled person and why I decided to become a lawyer.
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Activist Files
Discussing art as a tool to facilitate difficult conversations, why those working for justice must move beyond an ableist conception of "normalcy," and more.
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Always Looking Up
Considering why inaccessibility persists today and what issues still face the disability community.
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Events
1.
University of Münster School of Law
Topic: An intersectional introduction to disability and disability law in the United States to German law students.
2.
University of Virginia
Topic: Guest lecture on abolition, transformative approaches to justice, and the disability perspective.
3.
The Coehlo Center ACCESS Workshop
Topic: A workshop convening representatives from top law schools in the nation to address disability inclusiveness, accessibility, and campus climate.
4.
disAbility Law Center of Virginia Summit
Topic: Seclusion and restraint regulations in Virginia public schools and their disproportionate impact on students with disabilities.
5.
Center for Constitutional Rights
Topic: A lecture on disability justice principles followed by a question and answer for attorneys and staff at a prominent civil rights litigation organization. CCR invites me back periodically to educate new staff and interns.
6.
Tanner Center for Human Rights, University of Utah
Topic: Guest lecture on the intersection of disability justice and decarceration efforts to a social justice college class. I conduct this lecture annually.
7.
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Topic: A panel on patient perspectives on disability in healthcare before an audience of medical students and doctors.
8.
After School Matters
Topic: An interactive discussion of disability rights history and how to be an ally with an autistic teens' after-school enrichment program.
9.
Communities in Schools of Richmond
Topic: A presentation on my career path to a 4th and 5th grade girls' empowerment group.
10.
Syracuse University College of Law
Topic: A panel discussion on what it's like to be a disabled person in law school.