About the U.S. Gender and Disability Justice Alliance

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Danielle Moreno

Alliance Coordinator

Danielle Moreno is a Black queer disabled healer, organizer, leader, and coordinator dedicated to building transformative systems of care and justice. With over a decade of experience, Danielle approaches every role with a holistic and justice-centered perspective, blending expertise in leadership, program development, and somatic healing to foster sustainable change and empower marginalized communities.

As a healing practitioner, Danielle employs modalities such as somatic healing, breathwork, meditation, and harm reduction to support individuals and communities. Through their work as a Liberation and Healing Coach and Grief Counselor,  Danielle guides people in reclaiming their power, overcoming challenges, and stepping into their full potential, believing that healing is both an individual and collective process rooted in justice and love.

In their role as an organizer with the Black Phoenix Organizing Collective, Danielle creates spaces that celebrate joy, cultivate transformative practices, and advance justice frameworks such as disability and reproductive justice. Their work includes mentoring emerging leaders, designing programs, and fostering safety without police, reflecting a deep commitment to dismantling oppressive systems and amplifying community power.

As the U.S. Gender & Disability Justice Alliance Coordinator, Danielle collaborates with leaders across the nation to advance true inclusion. They co-develop curricula that integrate disability justice frameworks into actionable strategies, demonstrating a passion for intersectionality and equitable systems that center those most impacted.

Danielle’s areas of expertise include:

• Leadership Development: Mentoring emerging leaders and fostering collaboration.
• Program Design and Implementation: Creating initiatives that prioritize healing, justice, and safety.
• Community Empowerment: Developing projects that amplify marginalized voices and build resilience.
• Curriculum Development: Crafting frameworks for justice-based education and training.

For Danielle, democracy is about actively creating spaces and systems where everyone is valued, supported, and empowered. Their work embodies democracy in action, from healing practices to organizing for liberation and coordinating justice-focused initiatives.

Outside of their roles, Danielle focuses on cultivating joy and sustainability in movement work, ensuring that the communities they serve are not only surviving but thriving. They are deeply committed to creating pathways to collective healing and liberation, rooted in justice, equity, and love.

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Alicia Deal

Alicia Deal is a former librarian and currently works as a part-time freelance editor, advisor, and public speaker and provides support for a children’s author’s book promotion campaigns. Growing up in a small rural town in East Texas, Alicia was diagnosed with hearing loss as a child but attended mainstream public schools and college without accommodations. After developing tinnitus in college and being diagnosed with bilateral profound deafness, she received a cochlear implant in November 2020, though she is still not proficient in ASL. Due to prevalent stereotypes surrounding ADHD and autism, she was only diagnosed with ADHD in the past year. She believes she also has autism but continues to struggle to receive adequate diagnosis and treatment. Educating herself about these conditions led her to realize that her hearing loss may also be related to Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). These challenges in accessing adequate care have profoundly shaped her desire to advocate for disability justice and accessibility.

Alicia received multiple degrees in Criminal Justice, including a PhD, from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Huntsville, Texas. However, after a short stint as a community college instructor and as a skills trainer with Best Friends Community Services, pivoted their career to focus on librarianship. As a skills trainer, she provided personalized support to individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities that fostered independence and improved their quality of life.  This experience, along with their increased confidence in advocating for herself, led to continued efforts to advocate for the disabled community as a library professional.

Recognized for their advocacy work, she was awarded as a 2023 Advocate Movers & Shakers by Library Journal and participated in the 2023 American Library Association (ALA)’s Emerging Leaders Cohort. She has also served as Chair of ALA’s Bridging Deaf Cultures (BDC) Interest Group and held leadership roles within the ALA’s Peggy Barber Tribute Grant Committee. Alicia was also instrumental in co-founding and serving as inaugural President of the City of Dallas’s Employee Resource Group for employees with disabilities and their allies. Her public speaking experience includes presenting at national conferences, library associations, and universities about disability inclusion and accessibility within libraries. She is a dedicated new member of the US Gender & Disability Justice Alliance where she continues to advocate for marginalized communities. Hobbies include reading, diamond painting, scrapbooking, junk journaling, and camping as well as spending time in nature and with family.

Image description:  Alicia, a white woman with medium-length dark brown hair and hazel eyes, is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a denim jacket and is sitting in front of a tree where only the bark of the tree is visible.

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Annabelle Patton

Annabelle Patton is a second-year law student at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is currently the Secretary for the UB Disabled Law Students Association, Communications Chair of the UB Chapter of the People’s Parity Project, and the 2L Representative for the UB Chapter of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. In her capacity as a disabled student and advocate in these organizations Annabelle is able to champion intersectionality between Disability Justice, Reproductive Justice, and making the law equitable for all.

Prior to coming to law school Annabelle graduated with her Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from the University of Denver with minors in Spanish, Gender and Women’s Studies, and International Studies. During her time at DU she served as the LGBTIQ&A Programs Coordinator for the Center for Multicultural Excellence. After graduation, Annabelle worked in both elementary and parent education, most recently as a Data Specialist for the Positive Parenting Program at the Durham County Department of Public Health in North Carolina.

As a late-diagnosed Autistic woman, Annabelle has continued to engage in disability advocacy. She previously served as a Board Member for CANDOR (formerly the Autism Support and Advocacy Center), an organization based in Durham, North Carolina that aims to dismantle the systems and narratives designed to perpetuate discrimination and devaluation of Autistic, Neurodivergent, Chronically-ill, and Disabled people. Annabelle (with her limited free time) loves to bake, read bad romance books, and spend time hiking with her girlfriend.

Image description: Annabelle, a white woman with medium length red hair, is outside on a sunny day. She is posed in front of a fence at the Ellipse in Washington D.C. with the Washington Monument in the background. She is smiling and is wearing a white t-shirt and dark sunglasses.

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Ariel Edwards

Ariel Edwards (they/them) joined the U.S. Gender and Disability Justice Alliance in May 2024 as a self-advocate, bringing a distinctive background in disability advocacy and community engagement. They earned their Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees from Georgia State University, where their MSW focused on community partnerships. Ariel’s commitment to disability justice is shaped by their lived experience as a queer Black Southerner and AuDHDer, alongside their foundation in macro social work practice. Alongside their work with the Alliance, they also serve as the Program and Policy Specialist at the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), where they focus on public policy research, project management, and initiatives that support Georgians with developmental disabilities.

Ariel’s experience includes facilitating career discussions for neurodiverse students in a community project at the Connections School of Atlanta and co-leading an independent study at Georgia State University’s School of Social Work to update the ‘Disability, Policy, and Research’ elective using a disability justice lens. The new course incorporates practical insights into disabled individuals’ strengths, challenges, and lived experiences through direct community engagement. As a Social Work and Self-Advocacy Fellow in the Georgia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (GaLEND) 2024-2025 cohort, they have deepened their understanding of improving systems that support neurodiverse individuals and their families in the South. Ariel also worked toward establishing a new peer mentorship program in a group participatory action research (PAR) project through GaLEND that connects disabled mentees with mentors who share similar experiences, recognizing that those with shared lived experiences are better equipped to support one another. In their role at the Alliance, Ariel developed and edited accessible content for an introductory disability studies workshop, coded qualitative data for a storytelling project focused on sexual and reproductive health issues impacting disabled people, and authored an essay for the Women’s Equal Pay Day campaign.

Beyond advocacy, Ariel found inspiration in their love of Star Trek, which reflects their hope for humanity to embrace growth, empathy, and a mutual understanding of strength in everyone’s differences. An avid reader and writer, they enjoy science fiction, adventure novels, and creative writing, connecting with other autistic adults through a virtual poetry club. Ariel believes that the struggle for disability justice is ongoing and that true progress is not always linear; it unfolds over time, shaped by the personal and collective stories of those who have come before. Committed to building genuine connections across communities, they strive to create spaces where all voices can be heard and recognized as vital to progress across the country, especially in the South.”**

Image Description: An African American person with brown skin and dark, medium-length coiled twists held back by a black headband. They are wearing a blue blouse with a textured leopard-like pattern in various shades of blue. They look directly at the camera with a soft smile, and the plain white background keeps the focus on their face and expression

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Dr. Ashley Volion

Dr. Ashley Volion is an academic who identifies, first and foremost, as a community advocate. She wears several different hats—serving as a Policy Analyst at Disability Rights LA and as a lecturer at Tulane University, where she teaches Disability and Intersectionality in the Sociology Department. As a woman with cerebral palsy, she has always recognized the power of strong women. After obtaining a PhD in Disability Studies with a concentration in Women’s Studies, she learned about the U.S. Gender and Disability Justice Alliance. When the opportunity arose to join in May 2022, she knew it was a perfect fit. Inspired by the connections and advocacy of her fellow alliance members, Ashley founded the Louisiana Disabled Divas, a social group for women with disabilities, in 2023. That same year, she was awarded Advocate of the Year by the Split Second Foundation and received the Patsy Barrett Award, an honor given by the Governor’s Office of Disability Affairs to recognize a strong woman advocate in Louisiana. Most recently, in 2024, her co-authored essay with Dr. Akemi Nishida was published in Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire, edited by Alice Wong.

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Dynah Haubert

Dynah Haubert celebrates disability as a rich source of community, culture, and identity. As an attorney, their work focuses on disability rights laws. They enjoy books, art, travel, and vegan pho.

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Elayne Otstot

Elayne Otstot is a public health and disability rights professional based in Huntsville, Alabama, with over five years of experience in the nonprofit and not-for-profit sectors. Her expertise lies in disability policy and accessible communications, and she is dedicated to issues of emergency management, disaster preparedness, and health disparities impacting rural, disabled, and other marginalized communities.

Currently, Elayne serves as the Administrative Coordinator for The Alliance for Citizen Directed Supports and provides strategic support through her company, Singing River Consulting, focusing on nonprofit operations, communications, and DEI. She is an alumna of the inaugural law fellowship at Loyola Law School’s Coelho Center for Disability, Law, Policy, and Innovation, and a member of the 2021 AAPD Summer class.

Elayne holds graduate certificates in disability policy and law from Loyola Law School and in disability advocacy and policy from American University’s School of Public Policy. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in public health from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she represented the Office for Disability Services on the President’s Diversity Roundtable and led a community health project on HPV prevention and sexual health education.

Image description: Picture of a white woman with red short red hair cut into a bob. She is sitting in front of a grey background. She is wearing a navy, teal, cream, and black leopard print shirt. She has on large, round, silver earrings and is looking at the camera smiling.

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Hannah Ehrenberg

Hannah Ehrenberg works in progressive politics and movement-building infrastructure. Prior to entering this field, she worked in autism advocacy and Deaf education. Outside of work, she previously was an organizer with ProtestAccess and was a panelist at the 2021 Stanford Neurodiversity Summit. As a neurodivergent woman, she is committed to bringing disability justice into all of her work.

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Janie Mejias

Janie is Women Enabled International’s Manager of Movement Strengthening. In this capacity, she is actively involved in the design and implementation of programmatic work to advance movement and capacity strengthening goals. Janie took the lead in starting the US Gender and Disability Justice Alliance in 2021 and acted as coordinator of the alliance until 2025. Janie is still an active member of the Alliance and supports its members and the coordinator.

Prior to joining WEI’s team Janie completed her PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). While completing her doctoral program Janie worked as a Teaching Assistant and Instructor for UIC’s large undergraduate program in Disability Studies. During her graduate studies Janie was the recipient of the Ethel Louise Armstrong Fellowship and Alice J. Dan Dissertation Award.

As a lifelong wheelchair user Janie is very active in the disability rights community. She has previously served as a member of Access Living’s Young Professionals Council and the Disability Justice Mentoring Collective. She also worked as an intern for the American Association of people with disabilities (AAPD), and was a delegate for Mobility International’s cross-cultural exchange program in Japan. Janie was selected as an ADA25 Emerging Leader, and completed leadership training alongside other emerging leaders in the Chicago area.

Janie enjoys spending spare time with her service dog, and is an active volunteer for Canine Companions.

Image description: Photo of Janie (she/ her). She is a White and Hispanic woman with shoulder length brown hair. She is wearing a black button- up shirt with multicolored flowers printed on it. She is seated in her power wheelchair and her service dog, Neville has his two front paws across her lap. Neville is a yellow lab golden retriever cross, and is wearing a blue and white service dog vest. The vest inscribed with the words “Canine Companions.” There are trees and greenery in the background of the photo.

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Jesenia

Jesenia (Jess – eN – ee – Ya) is a queer first-generation Indigenous-Venezuelan-American, AutiHD (Autistic & ADHD), living with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.  She is an artist, community builder & organizer, disability advocate, scientist, cultural producer and activist. They are a 2024 Emerge Fellow with the Longmore Institute.  Jesenia is the founder of OneFreeCommunity.com , an online community center connecting decolonizing people to community & building mutual aid initiatives together.  She engages in disability advocacy with the Women Enabled International as part of the US Gender & Disability Justice Alliance.  They serve as a Communications Producer with Calling Up Justice & regularly teaches workshops on conflict resolution, access inclusion, creating neuro-affirming spaces & more with her consultancy NeuroSpicy Networking.

Image description: Jesenia is a brown skin native woman with short black hair shaved on the sides with various rainbow colors throughout.

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Jessica Lizardi

I identify as a woman, mother, wife, disability advocate, and counseling graduate student. I plan to practice from a trauma-informed, neurodiversity and identity-affirming perspective, emphasizing that “normal” is subjective and overrated. My approach draws from various theoretical orientations, focusing on person-centered care, career planning, mindfulness and compassion, advocacy and support for adults of diverse backgrounds, and centers historically marginalized communities. Ultimately, my goal is to support others toward living their most authentic life of self-acceptance and joy.

Image description: Jessica is a white woman with blue eyes and brown hair and she is smiling at the camera in front of a blurred background. She is wearing a gray suit jacket.

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Jiya Pandya

Jiya is an academic and activist invested in praxis-driven and accessible writing, teaching, and organizing. They are currently a PhD candidate in History and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University, working on a dissertation on the concept of disability in postcolonial India and transnational social welfare spaces between the 1930s to 1990s. Their broader research and teaching sits at the nexus of critical disability studies, modern South Asian history, global history, and feminist and queer theories of the body. When not in the carrel or classroom, Jiya is engaged in progressive South Asia organizing and disability justice community. More information on their work can be found on their website: https://www.jiya-pandya.com/

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Kayla Rodriguez

My name is Kayla Rodriguez. I’m a Puerto Rican autistic lesbian and non-binary person with ADHD and a type 1 diabetic. I’m originally from New York and currently reside in Georgia. I was trained in three programs, including the Georgia LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Program, to be a skilled advocate. I’ve spoken on several panels including ones for the UN and WHO and I’ve won three awards. My work experience so far was a paid internship at GCDD (Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities) and as Social Media Coordinator for Foundations for Divergent Minds aka FDM. I was Vice President of an affiliate group of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network aka ASAN. I was the co-chair of the Executive Advisory Board for the Autistic Women and Non-Binary Network aka AWN. I wrote a chapter in the republished version of AWN’s Sincerely Your Autistic Child. I am also part of the US Alliance for Women Enabled International. Currently, I am training to be a Board  of Director for AWN and I’m now wanting to work in consulting, public speaking and writing.

Image description: Photo of Kayla Rodriguez (She/they), light skinned Puerto Rican woman and non-binary person with straight black hair going down to the upper half of her chest, black eyebrows, black-like dark brown eyes, and pink lips. Wearing a black sweater on top of a tan shirt that has white stripes on it. The background of this photo has windows behind her.

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Ly Xīnzhèn Zhǎngsūn (Lydia X. Z. Brown)

Ly Xīnzhèn Zhǎngsūn (Lydia X. Z. Brown) is a feminist disability studies and critical legal studies scholar. Their advocacy and scholarly work addresses the deep interconnections between ableism and all other forms of marginalization, domination, and oppression, and has often focused on interpersonal, state, and corporate violence, deprivation, and exploitation targeting disabled people at the margins of the margins. Ly Xīnzhèn focuses on interpersonal and state violence against disabled people at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, faith, language, and nation; carcerality and institutional violence; asexuality as queerness; algorithmic harm as an accelerating force of systemic injustice; and the ableism-racism nexus of transracial and transnational adoption. Ly Xīnzhèn has spoken, facilitated, and consulted internationally and throughout the U.S. on a range of topics related to disability rights and disability justice, including providing expert commentary to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the White House’s Domestic Policy Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Ly Xīnzhèn is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Disability Studies at Georgetown University (also affiliated with Women’s and Gender Studies) and the Law and Public Policy Discipline Coordinator for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program at the Georgetown University Medical Center. Ly Xīnzhèn is Director of Public Policy at National Disability Institute, which works to advance economic opportunity and freedom for people with disabilities through finance, tax, public benefits and entitlements, consumer law, and employment/workforce policy. Ly Xīnzhèn is also the founding Executive Director of The Autistic People of Color Fund, which advocates for disability, racial, and economic justice with a focus on building generative economies and just transition while providing mutual aid, peer support, and community-funded reparations. They previously led the nation’s only project focused on disability rights, AI/algorithmic discrimination, and tech policy at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Tech Law & Policy and later at the Center for Democracy & Technology.

Ly Xīnzhèn serves as immediate past president and vice chair of the Disability Rights Bar Association and as the Disability Justice Committee’s representative to the National Lawyers Guild’s national executive committee. They serve as a Commissioner on the Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs, and have served as advisor to the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, Transgender Law Center, and Nonbinary & Intersex Recognition Project. Outside of advocacy, Ly Xīnzhèn has also been creating art and written offerings for Disability Justice Wisdom Tarot, a love offering centering disabled people of the global majority (disabled people of color), since 2020. Often, their most important work has no title, job description, or funding, and probably never will.

Image description: Photo by Sarah Tundermann: Lydia X. Z. Brown smiles in front of reeds blowing in a gentle breeze. They are an East Asian nonbinary/transmasc person with short black hair and glasses, wearing a dark blue suit and blue paisley necktie.

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Madeline T. Morcelle, J.D., M.P.H.

Madeline T. Morcelle, J.D., M.P.H., is a multiply disabled U.S. health lawyer, policy strategist, and coalition builder. For more than a decade, she has advocated, provided legal and policy counsel, and crafted public policies to expand and defend access to high-quality health care, advance civil rights, and foster health equity for and with low-income and underserved communities, including Black, Latine, and other people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, and people at the intersections of these identities.

Madeline currently serves as a Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program (NHeLP), where she fights for sexual and reproductive health equity and justice in federal Medicaid and nondiscrimination rights. Drawing on her lived experiences, Madeline coordinates NHeLP’s legal, policy, and advocacy efforts to strengthen and defend nondiscrimination rights in sexual and reproductive health care, foster sexual and reproductive health equity for people with disabilities, and federally close the Medicaid expansion coverage gap. She also defends Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act against federal attacks as co-chair of the National Coalition for Gender Justice in Health Policy. Madeline believes that the people closest to the problems are often closest to the solutions. She is passionate about lawyering to help social movements by and for undervalued communities build power toward collective liberation

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Marianne Park-Ruffin, M.A.

Marianne is an experienced facilitator, researcher and advocate having worked in the gender-based violence field for over 30 years. Having lectured to over 29,000 police officers on the dynamics of domestic violence in Canada and the USA. She is a subject matter expert in disability and gender based violence.

She has also been involved for 30 years in health regulation as a public member on self-regulating professions governing councils. Working presently as an adjudicator.

Marianne has the distinction of being a woman with a disability (albinism low vision).

She holds a Masters in cultural/medical anthropology from the University of Tennessee.

Marianne resides in Detroit Michigan and Woodstock Ontario Canada.

Fun fact she has been a Tarot reader for 50yrs.

The Alliance is a great opportunity to connect with other advocates.

Marianne is the founder of Network of Women with Disabilities NOW a Facebook based group dedicated to the issue of sharing information and resources on the issue of violence and women with disabilities.

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Marilyn Tucci

Marilyn  is a dedicated resident of Long Island for over five decades. Since the 1990s, she has passionately advocated for the disabled community, earning numerous awards and recognition for her contributions in various areas.

Currently, Marilyn is an invaluable asset to Self-Initiated Living options (SILO), where she provides essential support to individuals with disabilities through peer counseling, advocacy, information, and referrals.

For the past 14 years, Marilyn has been facilitating a support group, demonstrating her commitment to helping others in their journey toward personal growth and independence. Additionally, she was an active member of The Lion’s Club of Islip, engaging in community service activities until they folded because of the pandemic. She hopes to join another club in the future.

Marilyn’s independence and empowerment comes from her trusted companion and exceptional Guide Dog, .this past  September, she will have been utilizing guide dogs for 36 years. This profound bond has driven her to advocate tirelessly for those with similar needs, ensuring their rights and needs are recognized and addressed.

Moreover, Marilyn is a proficient public speaker and a skilled fundraiser, utilizing her communication abilities to raise awareness and support for crucial causes.

Her dedication extends to resolving issues pertaining to Suffolk County Transportation, particularly in advocating for audible pedestrian signals, leading to substantial system improvements.

Outside her professional commitments, Marilyn enjoys going out to eat with friends and shopping. She is a mother and grandmother.

Overall, Marilyn Tucci’s remarkable journey of service and advocacy embodies her unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of others, and her achievements are a testament to her selflessness and dedication.

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Meghann O’Leary

Meghann O’Leary (she/her) is a Mad interdisciplinary educator, scholar, and activist whose work focuses on the nuanced, collective, and individual experiences of madness (otherwise termed mental illness, psychiatric disability etc.) both in life and representation. Her passion for challenging the systemic structures that hold mad people captive and limit their agency is reflected in her pedagogy, scholarship, activism, artistic hobbies, and pursuits, as well as her various media consumptions. Her work engages and challenges others to view the world from a non-normative mad lens, celebrating the humanity and perspectives of the mad community.

As part of the Gender and Disability Justice Alliance, she has found community, connection, care, and humor with a wonderful group of people who share the same values in their advocacy and daily lives. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting and watching apocalyptic horror films while snuggling on the couch with her feline companion Dylan.

Image description of head shot: A white cis-gender woman with dark-rimmed glasses and shoulder-length light brown hair smiles at the camera. She wears a black tee shirt with a view of Lake Michigan in the background.

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Nicole Marquez

Nicole Marquez is a brain and spinal injury survivor, advocate, performer, and board member.

Approximately 15 years ago, she relocated to New York with the aspiration of pursuing a career in dance on Broadway. Her dreams were deferred following an accident that nearly claimed her life—where she fell six stories from the roof of her apartment building. In the wake of this harrowing experience, Nicole survived & became dedicated to demonstrating that life’s formidable challenges can sometimes present the opportunity to embark on a new chapter and lead an even more gratifying life.

Nicole is in the process of re-establishing her dance career, and by sharing her personal experiences, she seeks to illuminate the realities of living life after a traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Her outreach spans across all age groups nationwide, with the aim of inspiring resilience and conveying the potential to enjoy a meaningful life despite adversity.

Image description: Photo of Nicole (she/her) She has short dark hair that sits right at her ears. Nicole is a 41yr old Latina/Hispanic female.  In the photo she has a big smile spread across her face & is wearing a black dance leotard.

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Saphire Murphy

Saphire Murphy is a 30-year-old bi-racial woman with multiple disabilities. She focuses on the representation of women with disabilities to help bridge the gap between advocacy and research for women with disabilities in everyday society as women with disabilities are excluded in many current-day social movements, which is the opposite as women with disabilities were included in previous social movements- understanding the impact the social movements had on all women.

Saphire’s educational background is in Sociology from a disability studies lens. She gained her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a dual minor in Disability Studies and Women’s Studies, highlighting the impact of community inclusion and what community means as a disabled woman. She expanded her love and interest in Gender and Disability connections in Society as she went to graduate school to get a dual Master’s of Art in Sociology and a Master’s of Liberal Studies focusing on Social Sciences and Humanities. Saphire hopes to continue her studies and gain a doctorate in Sociology to focus on Historical Sociology and Social Movements through a disability lens.

Saphire enjoys the U.S. Alliance because she gets to continue what she loves in research, teaching, and representation of Disabilities as she works on the Alliance’s different projects to be able to expand people’s knowledge on disabilities through research and lived experience.

Outside of Academics, Saphire enjoys advocating in her local community in Cleveland, Ohio. For the past 3 years, she has participated in and celebrated “March for Access”, which is an event that calls to action the local disabled community to raise awareness for present issues facing the disability community. Working with her local disability community allowed her to discover her love for advocacy work and create a better way to expand her experiences to different organizations.

Saphire loves listening to music and reading. She mostly reads memoirs, as she realizes she loves learning other people’s stories and understanding how they got where they are. She’s also a significant fan of Trevor Noah, a comedian, author, and podcast host, whom she has had the opportunity to see in person. Her favorite musicians are pop artists from the early 2000s, as she is a genuine product of the 90s. She’s also a massive Jonas Brothers fan, and you will catch her at their 20th Anniversary Tour next summer. Saphire is passionate about traveling; her favorite place is the Hard Rock Café. If a city has a Hard Rock Café, it is on Saphire’s list of places to visit.

Image Description: The image is of Saphire during her travels last year to Chicago in the Sugar Factory. In the image, Saphire is a light bi-racial woman wearing medium-washed jeans, a black tee, and lavender croc shoes. Saphire is sitting in a red royal-style chair with gold accents and a red carpet with a background behind which is white with multiple-colored candies and the Sugar Factory written on it in black. Above Saphire, in the background, are various colored candies and golden frames with different celebrities on the wall.