2021 Disability Summit Program Access and Crisis: Disability and the Collapse of Everything The 4th University of Maryland (UMD) Disability Summit April 12th-14th, 2021 via Zoom An Event Itinerary will be sent to registrants via email during the week of April 5th, 2021. This will contain the Zoom links for each session and other important information. The event is free but registration is required in order to get access to the event. Information and registration: https://pcdi.umd.edu/summit-home Contact us: disabilitysummit-committee@umd.edu Follow us: Twitter: @UMDDisabilityS1 Facebook: #DisabilityUMD and #2021DisabilitySummit 2021 Disability Summit is sponsored by: University of Maryland President’s Commission on Disability Issues and Trace Research & Development Center Table of Contents Day 1 - Monday, April 12 4 Welcome and Opening Keynote - 9:00 AM-10:00 AM 4 Session 1 – Disability Represented as Crisis – 10:30 AM-1:00 PM 4 Cinematic Portrayals of Disability as Ongoing Crisis – 10:30 AM-11:00 AM 4 Canceled - A Form of Racialized Neuronormativity: The Reading of Racial Stereotypes on Neurodivergent Bodyminds – 11:10 AM-11:40 AM 5 Whose Story is it Anyway? – 11:50 AM-1:00 AM 6 Session 2 – Policing the Disabled Body – 1:30 PM-3:30 PM 7 Tourette’s Syndrome and Tic Disorders: What Law Enforcement Needs to Know – 1:30 PM-2:00 PM 7 Decriminalizing Behavioral Health – 2:10 PM-3:30 PM 8 Session 3 - Spoken Word Workshop - 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM 9 Poetic Exploration: Allies, Accomplices & Ableism – 4:00 PM-5:00 PM 9 Day 2 - Tuesday, April 13 10 Session 1 – Being Seen – 9:30 AM-12:30 PM 10 A New Tool for Making Computers Usable by Those Who Cannot – 9:30 AM-10:05 AM 10 Hidden Disability: Seeking Support and Understanding for Endometriosis in an Online Community – 10:15 AM-10:45 AM 11 Essential Yet Disposable: Food, Flowers, and Filth in the Pandemic Era – 10:50 AM-11:15 AM 12 Parenting During the Storms: Experiences of Parents with Disabilities Raising Children During COVID & Social Turmoil – 11:25 AM-12:30 PM 13 University of Maryland Internal PCDI Awards Presentations – 12:45 PM-1:15 PM 14 Session 2 –Accessibility in a Pandemic – 1:30 PM-4:30 PM 14 Inheritance and Access – 1:30 PM-2:00 PM 14 Steps to Creating Accessible Courses – 2:10 PM-2:40 PM 15 Queer Theory, Accessibility, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Classroom – 2:50 PM-3:20 PM 16 Accommodating Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies to Support Service Providers – 3:30 PM-4:00 PM 17 Day 3 - Wednesday, April 14 18 Session 1 – Self Advocacy – 9:00 AM-11:30 AM 18 The Better Way: Disabled Students Navigating Self-Advocacy in Postsecondary Education – 9:00 AM-9:30 AM 18 Stories of Disabled Student Organizing Through Time: A Case Study – 9:40 AM-10:00 AM 19 Turning Complaints into Advocacy – 10:10 AM-10:35 AM 20 Young Adults shaping the Disability Social Justice Movement – 10:45 AM-11:15 AM 21 Session 2 – Activism Across the Globe – 12:45 PM-2:00 PM 22 Main Aspects of Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities (Georgia) – 12:45 PM-1:20 PM 22 Madness: Respons-ability Against Crude Power (Iran) – 1:30 PM-2:00 PM 24 Session 3 – Moving Toward an Inclusive Future 2:30 PM-4:00 PM 25 Making and Breaking in a Disabled World – 2:30 PM-3:00 PM 25 Trace Center at 50 – Accomplishments, lessons learned, and future directions – 3:10 PM-3:55 PM 26 Dr. Angel Love Miles – 4:30 PM-5:30 PM 28 Pre-Recorded Sessions 30 Assistive Technology to Combat Social Isolation and Support Independence 30 Producing Accessible National ID Cards in Bangladesh 31 Race, Gender and Disability Intersections in Gendered Occupations 30 Literacy Access among Students with Disabilities during a Global Pandemic 32 Audio Description: If Your Eyes Could Speak 33 2021 Disability Summit Sponsors 34 2021 Disability Summit Organizing Committee 35 Day 1 - Monday, April 12 Welcome and Opening Keynote - 9 AM-10 AM Dr. Ashley Shew Keynote Speaker Bio - Dr. Ashley Shew, Associate Professor Department of Science, Technology, and Society (she/her) Dr. Ashley Shew is Associate Professor at Virginia Tech and specializes in philosophy of technology at its intersection with animal studies, disability studies, and emerging tech. Shew is the author of Animal Constructions and Technological Knowledge (2017), co-editor of three philosophy of technology volumes, and currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. She has published in The Chronicle for Higher Education, Catalyst, IEEE Technology & Society, Nursing Clio, and Nature. Her current work is about technoableism, supported by NSF CAREER Award #1750260: Disability, Experience, and Technological Imagination. Technoableism is the idea that some of the ways in which we cast technologies as ’empowering’ disabled people reify ableist narratives that end up confining technological choice, feed into narrow conceptions of good disabled life, and prevent inclusion. She is interested in the different, non-dominant stories disabled people tell about their choices and relationships to technologies. Multiply disabled (and loud/proud), Shew engages in cross-disability advocacy and community through the Disability Alliance and Caucus at Virginia Tech (serving as co-chair) and her local Center for Independent Living (CIL), the New River Valley Disability Resource Center. Session 1 – Disability Represented as Crisis – 10:30 AM-1:00 PM Cinematic Portrayals of Disability as Ongoing Crisis (Sponsored by Maryland Relay) Dr. Petra Anders (she/her) April 12, 2021 - 10:30 AM-11:00 AM Twitter: @PA_PetraAnders Website: http://petraanders.de/ Abstract As a Disability Studies scholar, who uses a wheelchair to navigate this world, I can get quite fierce while analysing/deciphering ableist cinematic portrayals of disability. Recently, I have been writing about the dramas You’re Not You (USA 2014) and Me Before You (UK/USA 2016) which are linking disability with (un)loveability. This means that the disabled characters feel unworthy of love as well as incapable to love. But as a Film Studies scholar I also know that creating a dramatic conflict around disability is easy. Most audiences will not doubt that being disabled is a tragedy, will they? Moreover, disability can serve as conflict in all kinds of film genres. How can we use these cinematic portrayals of disability as crisis, which have been perpetuated throughout history, in our favour? Can these portrayals become more than “emotional, relational and artistic offerings” (Hoeksema/Smit 2001: 42) which we learn from? The “disability perspective” – as outlined by Elizabeth Ellcessor and Bill Kirkpatrick in 2019 – suggests that we can discover, uncover or create subversive potential in or around such films as well as empower “new voices” and change “political struggles over power and privilege” (Ellcessor/ Kirkpatrick 2019: 140). References Ellcessor, Elizabeth and Bill Kirkpatrick. 2019. ‘Studying Disability for a Better Cinema and Media Studies’, IN FOCUS: Cripping Cinema and Media Studies, Volume 58. No. 4: 139–144 Hoeksema, Thomas B., and Christopher R. Smit. 2001. ‘The Fusion of Film Studies and Disability Studies.’, in Christopher R. Smit, and Anthony Enns (eds), Screening disability: Essays on cinema and disability (Lanham, MD: University Press of America), pp. 33–43 Presentation Textual (PDF) Bio Dr. Petra Anders is based in Germany. Her research includes cinematic representations of disability, disability studies and gender, and teaching or dance practice. Publications include the chapter ‘More than the “Other”?: On Four Tendencies Regarding the Representation of Disability in Contemporary German Film (2005-2010)’ in Benjamin Fraser’s Cultures of Representation: Disability in World Film Context, ‘Screening Gay Characters with Disabilities’ as part of the blog NOTCHES: (re)marks on the history of sexuality and the chapter ‘Mediale Zuschreibungen. Über die Rolle von Behinderung im Spielfilm’, in Kunst, Kultur und Inklusion. Menschen mit Behinderung in Presse, Film und Fernsehen: Darstellung und Berichterstattung edited by Juliane Gerland, Susanne Keuchel and Irmgard Merkt. Further publications, for example, an essay on disability in Wim Wenders’ films, are forthcoming in 2021. Canceled - A Form of Racialized Neuronormativity: The Reading of Racial Stereotypes on Neurodivergent Bodyminds (Sponsored by Maryland Center for Women in Computing) Rudolph P. Reyes II (he/him) April 12, 2021 - 11:10 AM-11:40 AM Abstract The physical, epistemic, and institutional violence against neurodivergents of color goes unnamed. The failure to recognize this marginalization is due to the depoliticization of disability and the deficit model inherent in modern constructions of race. There is greater need for intersectional analysis of how racism and neuronormativity meet. This paper argues that a form of racialized neuronormativity is in the ways “common sense racist” notions are read onto neurodivergent embodiment. This paper addresses the issue of racialized neuronormativity through intersectional analysis with special attention to the ways that racist stereotypes of Latinx are read onto neurodivergent Latinxs. Specifically, three Latinx stereotypes are examined - lazy Mexican, Latino dimwit, and Latin lover - for the ways they are read onto ADHDer Latinxs, to reveal the ways that neurodivergence is read as exemplifying another aspect of a person’s positionality. Once this form of racialized neuronormativity is recognized, it allows for ways to combat it towards a more just future. In closely examining how Latinx stereotypes are read onto ADHDer Latinxs, new light is shed on the rarely acknowledged issue of racialized neuronormativity. ADHD is a stigmatized identity and misunderstood form of neurodivergence. Bio Rudolph P. Reyes II is a PhD candidate at the University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology. He is a multiply neurodivergent Chicano. His research interests are on how religion affects race, class, gender, and disability oppression from a liberative ethical framework. He is currently working on his dissertation entitled: "Divergence: Toward a Neurodivergent Latinx Liberative Social Ethic." Whose Story is it Anyway? (Sponsored by Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council) Kathleen McGoldrick, Sharon Cuff & Stephanie Patterson April 12, 2021 - 11:50 AM-1:00 PM Abstract Reliance on social media has increased exponentially; posts ask and answer questions, show support, and inform. Recently, traditional community supports have given way to social media reliance bringing a new meaning to peer support. With ease of access and shared experiential nature, “sharenting,” the many ways parents relate details about their children online, has become popular among parents with a disabled child. While this sharing appears harmless, it deserves a closer look. Uncensored narratives connect viewers; however, parents’ indiscriminate sharing can be manipulative in eliciting support through pity, similar to telethons seeking funding. Even if unwitting, is it possible that the quest for support has created another scenario exploiting disabled children? Parents assert that personal sharing is needed despite self-advocacy groups’ rejection of the narrative that perpetuates the stigma it creates around disability. Disclosing intimate details of a disabled child’s life, even when advocating for the child, comes at the cost of privacy and creates a permanent, international, digital footprint. Is it not imperative that disabled children’s autonomy be protected when parents utilize internet supports? How much sharing is too much, and how might boundaries be set regarding a child’s right to privacy? Presentation (PPT) Bio Kathleen McGoldrick (she/her) Twitter: @kmcgoldrick Instagram: @kamcgoldrick Kathleen McGoldrick is a clinical associate professor at Stony Brook University where she teaches in the Disability Studies and Human Development concentration in addition to courses in scholarly writing and research methods. She is currently PI on a study to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer mentor training program in an adaptive soccer program as well as PI on a grounded theory textual analysis of sharenting through social media posts. Some of her scholarly work includes co-authoring a chapter on sharenting in The Routledge International Handbook on Children’s Rights and Disability that is in pre-publication and is also co-author on a journal article on the intersections of disability studies and health science. In addition, she has coauthored a textbook, Research Methods in the Health Sciences. Professor McGoldrick holds a Master of Library Science from St. John’s University in NY. Sharon Cuff (she/her) Sharon Cuff joined the Health Science faculty at Stony Brook University (SBU) in 2004 bringing 15 years of experience in not-for-profit administration to the department. While teaching, she draws upon her experience in working with people with disabilities to find employment, participating in the building of a new consumer-run agency, and developing innovative programs to bring course content to life. Professor Cuff teaches scholarly writing, Children with Disability, and oversees the student practicum and capstone of the Disability Studies and Human Development concentration. She co-authored an article, “The Intersection of Disability Studies and Health Science,” and has recently developed a program with a local Head Start program for Health Science students to perform annual vision and hearing screenings. Professor Cuff holds a Master of Social Work and a Master of Liberal Studies from SBU. Stephanie Patterson (she/her) Stephanie Patterson is a clinical associate professor at Stony Brook University. Integrating experiences in disability services and labor relations with disability studies, her primary expertise lies in the field of disability and employment. She teaches Disability and Employment, a course she created for the Disability Studies and Human Development concentration, and Professional Ethics in Healthcare for the Health Science major. Some of her research endeavors include authoring a textbook, Disability and Employment in the United States published by Cognella Inc. and co-editing a special forum on disability and employment and another on disability and shame for the Review of Disability Studies. She has written a book chapter “Working 9 to 5…or Not: Historical Origins of Disability Discrimination in the U.S. Workplace” for Disability Discrimination at the Workplace. She has also co-authored a chapter on the topic of sharenting in The Routledge International Handbook on Children’s Rights and Disability that is in prepublication; in addition to co-authoring a book chapter, “Disability, Vulnerability, and the Capacity to Consent,” in Research Involving Participants with Cognitive Disability and Difference: Ethics, Autonomy, Inclusion, and Innovation published by Oxford University Press. Professor Patterson holds a Master of Liberal Studies from Stony Brook University. Session 2 – Policing the Disabled Body – 1:30 PM-3:30 PM Tourette’s Syndrome and Tic Disorders: What Law Enforcement Needs to Know (Sponsored by Mid-Atlantic ADA/TransCen) Ray Nardella (he/him) April 12, 2021 - 1:30 PM-2:00 PM Twitter: @rayjnardella Instagram: @ticbytic Abstract Tourette’s Syndrome (TS), tic disorders, and associated disabilities, especially neurological-based ones, can oftentimes present significant challenges when in public places. Notably, interactions with police officers, security personnel, and other members of the law enforcement community can prove especially difficult- even dangerous- as such disabilities are not widely understood by those in the security and enforcement communities. The subtle or extreme movement of parts of the body (motor tics), or the mild or severe vocalization of noises, words, or phrases (vocal tics, or coprolalia), can easily lead a member of law enforcement to believe that there is another issue at play, such as drugs or intoxication, rather than a disability. A paucity of resources in the TS education realm, coupled with the political and administrative barriers of police and security training often hinder activists from being successful in their efforts to expose more law enforcement to TS and related conditions. The presenter will share his personal experience and research with TS and police to illustrate the dire need for increased training, understanding, and outreach for TS, specifically, and neurodiverse communities, generally. The presenter will also use brief storytelling to demonstrate the misconceptions, stereotypes, and stigmas associated with TS and associated disabilities. Bio Ray Nardella works in the Department of Resident Life at UMD, where he helps to oversee the student conduct program in the residence halls. Prior to UMD, Ray has held positions in high school and college teaching, clinical counseling, policy development, and has served as an elected city council member in Connecticut. Ray is passionate about sharing his experience with Tourette’s, panic, OCD, and anxiety, and educating the community on such issues. Ray has bachelor degrees in political science and education, master degrees in education and mental health counseling, and law degrees from the University of Maryland Carey Law School in Baltimore. Ray is interested in the intersection of disability and homeland security/crisis management policy, and hopes to influence change in this very important realm of the law. He has also engaged in projects in the areas of health, environmental, and military law. As a neurodiverse person, Ray wants to understand how different legal systems and structures affect the everyday lives of people with disabilities. Ray works to ensure that lawmakers ensure accessibility and equity for our community's most vulnerable populations in emergency, crisis, and national security planning. Decriminalizing Behavioral Health (Sponsored by College of Behavioral & Social Sciences) Marcella Holloman, Lauren Young & Thomas Hicks April 12, 2021 - 2:10 PM-3:30 PM Abstract Our over-policing and the excessive criminalization of people in behavioral health crisis will be related to our discriminatory and segregationist history, data, and shared stories. The prevalence of ugly laws, institutionalization, eugenics and the development of policing will be briefly discussed to identify how our discriminatory legacy relates to the criminalization of people with disabilities. Data will be shared to demonstrate the disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities and of color in our carceral system, our local state hospitals and in police fatalities. Two individuals will share their traumatic encounters with law enforcement in Baltimore City when they or their loved one contacted 911 for help with a mental health crisis. In Baltimore, such calls automatically result in a police response. Their stories are told through a video they helped to create. The session will also address local advocacy efforts for public health services that remove law enforcement and use a human rights framework and emphasizes peer participation, non-discrimination, accessibility, accountability, consent and non-coercion. Bio Marcella Holloman (she/her) Ms. Holloman is a community activist and former psychiatric hospital aid. She lost her son to 4 police violence after she called 911 for assistance to help transport her son to a hospital. She is committed to reforming 911 practices, ending police intervention during behavioral health crisis, and recognizing the value and human rights of persons with disabilities. Lauren Young (she/her) Ms. Young is an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, the state’s federally mandated Protection and Advocacy Agency. She works with and on behalf of individuals with disabilities and has a strong interest in decriminalizing disability and using law to redress segregation and the inequities we create through discrimination and oppression. Thomas Hicks (he/him) Mr. Hicks is a Peer Recovery professional for a crisis center in Baltimore. He was Executive Director for Helping Other People through Empowerment Inc., (H.O.P.E.) a consumer run wellness and recovery peer-support program, offering a stigma free environment to individuals with behavioral health needs. H.O.P.E services include life skills training, phone and internet use, meals, shower and laundry facilities, group activities and a serenity room, referrals to mental health and substance use treatment. Mr. Hicks is active in several community activities and is the recipient of numerous awards. Session 3 - Spoken Word Workshop - 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Poetic Exploration: Allies, Accomplices & Ableism (Sponsored by Office of Diversity and Inclusion) Dr. Naliyah Kaya (she/her) April 12, 2021 - 4:00 PM-5:00 PM Website: http://www.naliyahkaya.com Redefine/ABLE Challenging Inaccessibility Redefine/ABLE Stories on Vimeo Abstract This workshop is designed for allies and accomplices to consider our beliefs about ability and inclusion, the ways we may be engaging in ableism, and to identify and commit to one thing we can personally do to address inaccessibility. Participants will be introduced to the: Redefine/ABLE: Challenging Inaccessibility virtual exhibit designed by the 2020 University of Maryland, College Park graphic design cohort in collaboration with local Maryland stakeholders who identify as having disabilities. Attendees will view/listen to a short video documenting the stories and experiences of the stakeholders. We will then utilize spoken word poetry & group discussion to explore ableist language as well as our socialization and resulting beliefs about ability, accessibility, and allyship. Participants will be provided with writing prompts and time for group discussion and share-out. No prior poetry, performance or storytelling experience is necessary- ALL are welcome! Presentation (PPT) Bio Dr. Naliyah Kaya teaches TOTUS Spoken Word Experience for the Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House in collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy at UMD. She is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Montgomery College, spoken word poet, and mixed media artist. Dr. Kaya organizes arts programming as a member of the Executive Committee for the Critical Mixed Race Studies Association (CMRSA) and has served as an advisor and evaluator for cross-cultural exhibitions including the Redefine/ABLE: Challenging Inaccessibility project. Day 2 - Tuesday, April 13 Session 1 – Being Seen – 9:30 AM-12:30 PM A New Tool for Making Computers Usable by Those Who Cannot Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden (he/him) April 13, 2021 - 9:30 AM-10:05 AM Abstract COVID-19 has exacerbated the problems faced by people who have trouble using computers – and their trouble using computers has exacerbated their COVID-19 isolation. This presentation will discuss the problems faced by people with low digital affinity and describe efforts and a tool created at University of Maryland, College Park to help address them. The new tool is designed to make computers easier to use for those who find computers too confusing (elders, people with cognitive disabilities, people new to desktop computing, etc.) as well as for those who use assistive technologies. The tool, called Morphic, is a unique new open-source developed tool that, makes it easier for people to discover and quickly access and use the features that are built into computers; lets you set up an ultra-simple way to use a computer for people who need to use a computer but currently can’t (or won’t) due to complexity; lets a person’s assistive technologies and settings follow them and appear on any computer they need to use, and will allow a person to have their AT automatically installed on the computer if it was not there (and then disappear when they leave the computer). Bio Dr. Vanderheiden has worked in technology and disability for 50 years (since 1971). He was a pioneer in Augmentative Communication (a term he coined in the 1970’s) and in cross-disability access to ICT. His work is found in every Windows and Macintosh computer, iOS and Android phone or tablet, US Automated Postal Stations, Amtrak ticket machines and many other products you encounter daily. Most of the initial access features in both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems came from the work of his research group. Dr. Vanderheiden created the first accessibility guidelines for computers and software (‘85), consumer products (‘91) and the web (’95)– and co-chaired both WCAG 1.0 and 2.0 working groups. He has worked with over 50 companies and numerous consumer groups and government advisory & planning committees, including the FCC, the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), the United States Access Board and The White House. He has received over 35 awards for his work. Dr. Vanderheiden holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, MS in Biomedical Engineering, and Ph.D. in Technology in Communication and Child Development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Hidden Disability: Seeking Support and Understanding for Endometriosis in an Online Community (Sponsored by College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences) Jessica Chaikof April 13, 2021 - 10:15 AM-10:45 AM Twitter: @JessicaC_2015 Abstract Endometriosis is a hidden disability that disrupts multiple aspects of life—school, work, social, etc. Women living with endometriosis have often felt misunderstood and unsupported by their doctors, family, friends, teachers, and colleagues. To better understand their experiences with the condition, this exploratory study seeks to understand, 1) How women with endometriosis use Facebook to portray their experiences, and 2) What words, phrases, or images do they use to convey those experiences? To answer these questions, virtual participant observation was conducted in an online support group for women with endometriosis. Three central themes emerged from the observations of the group: dealing with mental and physical health challenges, learning to understand and manage the symptoms in relation to endometriosis, and understanding disease as part of identity. By examining the virtual lives of women living with endometriosis, we can bring light to the challenges and the issues they face and how they use social media for support. Presentation PPT | PDF Bio Jessica Chaikof is a master’s student in the Sociology Research and Practice program at American University in Washington D.C. Her research interests lie within the realm of medical sociology with a special focus in chronic illnesses, disability, and accessibility in higher education. She has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. During her time in undergrad, she co-founded WheAccess, the first club on campus to support students with disabilities and to educate all members of the college community. Her eventual goal is to obtain a doctoral degree in sociology that will allow her to continue pursuing this research in accessibility and disability. Essential Yet Disposable: Food, Flowers, and Filth in the Pandemic Era (Sponsored by College of Education) Dr. Becca Monteleone (she/her) April 13, 2021 - 10:50 AM-11:15AM Twitter: @BeccaMonteleone Website: http://RebeccaMonteleone.com Abstract Employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have long been critiqued for being limited to socially undesirable, low-wage positions. Colloquially known as the 3Fs - Food (restaurant, cafeteria, and other food service), Flowers (landscaping), and Filth (janitorial) – these traditionally devalued roles have suddenly been recast as indispensable in the pandemic era. With the abrupt reclassification to “essential work,” workers with intellectual disabilities are suddenly confronted with unprecedented recognition for their labor entangled with an increased demand for risk to their health and wellbeing. Drawing from a series of interviews with workers with intellectual disabilities – with positions ranging from grocery store clerk to food service in nursing facilities – I will consider the paradox of essential work conducted by socially undervalued bodyminds. Speech Text (PDF) | Presentation Slides (PDF) Bio Dr. Becca Monteleone is an assistant professor of Disability Studies at the University of Toledo. Her work focuses on centering the perspectives and experiences of disabled people in areas in which they have historically invalidated, including healthcare, technology design, and public discourse. She has received fellowships and scholarships from the US-UK Fulbright Commission, the National Science Foundation, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and has published research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, the Journal of Responsible Research and Innovation, and IEEE Technology and Society, among others. She is motivated by the imaginative possibilities of anti-ableist worlds made possible only through valuing diverse bodies and minds. In addition to scholarly work, she has more than a decade of experience working with disability organizations, specializing in developing plain language and Easy Read policy and guidance documents. Parenting During the Storms: Experiences of Parents with Disabilities Raising Children During COVID & Social Turmoil (Sponsored by UMD Counseling Center) Denna Lambert & Dr. Beth Douthirt-Cohen April 13, 2021 - 11:25 AM-12:30 PM Abstract Emerging research is beginning to document the challenges and impacts of long-term stress associated with parenting during unprecedented times. We are in the early stages of understanding how life has changed for our society and millions of families due to COVID and are still wrestling with the complex and pervasive problem of racism in our country. However, the voices and lived experiences of parents with disabilities has not been well analyzed or documented. The impact of the pandemic has shaken and changed how parents with disabilities access services such as groceries, health/child care, transportation, which had known system level challenges prior to the existence of COVID-19. Many parents have had to face multiple questions surrounding the safety of their children. Questions of whether they would have access to equitable health care amidst the prospect of rationing care. And questions of how prioritization of vaccine access factors in the needs of those who are medically fragile or vulnerable due to not only health condition(s) but also their status as a disabled individual relying on others which heightens risk for exposure. Through this presentation, we will share both of the presenters' lived experiences as parents with disabilities, and innovative solutions that have emerged because of the pandemic. Participants will gain an understanding of the challenges faced by parents with disabilities, how we can offer support to disabled parents and build more community, and how the lessons we’ve learned can be turned into establishing inclusive and responsive environments for parents with disabilities. Bio Denna Lambert (she/her) Twitter: @Dennalambert01 Website: https://www.facebook.com/denna.lambert Denna Lambert is a project manager with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where she coordinates the Center's efforts in developing and launching the GSFC's Information and Collaboration Center (GIC2), a research center for NASA scientists and engineers. During her 16 year career with NASA, Denna has completed multiple NASA assignments that include supporting the budgetary process for a range of science missions in various life-cycle phases. Her professional experience combines her core beliefs in transformational leadership, dynamic governance, transparent government contracting, and equity across the spectrum of human experience. She has recently taken leadership in the Agency’s efforts to engage and support employees who are caregivers for children and elders. In addition to her professional efforts, Denna actively supports community organizations from Greenbelt Mamas & Papas, Dynamic Community Governance, and to Rivers of LIfe AME church. Prior to adopting her son Kaleb, Denna served a coach for a community based FIRST LEGO League team and previously served as a Girl Scout Troop Leader for three years. Beth Douthirt-Cohen (she/her or they/them) Twitter: @bethadc Beth Douthirt-Cohen has been deeply engaged in racial justice, disability justice, LGBTQIA+ justice, gender justice, and addressing all forms of religious bias for the past 20 years. Beth’s work focuses on building the capacity of institutions, groups, and individuals to interrupt and effectively address current and historical legacies of all forms of oppression, centering racial justice, from boardrooms to playgrounds to religious halls to living rooms to classrooms. Beth’s research and teaching looks at how we can strengthen the capacity of majoritized people to engage—ethically, effectively, and with accountability—across power and identity differences. 3 While chasing around her hilarious and energetic toddler, Sam, Beth loves to dance, read, paint, and go on long walks near bodies of water. University of Maryland Internal PCDI Awards Presentations April 13, 2021 - 12:45 PM-1:15 PM The PCDI Awards honor outstanding contributions to the promotion of inclusion of disabled people made by members of the University of Maryland (UMD) community. The PCDI Awards recognize achievement in: * Promotion of equity and justice for disabled people at the University; * Creation and implementation of best practices in serving disabled members of the University; and * Innovations in advocacy, research, development, or teaching, that benefit disabled people at the university and beyond. Presenter Bio Dr. Georgina Dodge, Vice President, University of Maryland Office of Diversity and Inclusion (she/her) As a first-generation college student, Dodge brings a unique perspective to Maryland as an individual who took an unconventional path to educational and professional success. Prior to her career in academics, she served in the U.S. Navy as an electronics technician. Upon completion of her six-year enlistment term, Dodge began her pursuit of an A.A. from Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, California. After graduating with honors, Dodge continued to build on her education with a B.A. in English from the University of California Irvine, graduating summa cum laude. The scholar went on to earn both her MA and PhD in English from University of California, Los Angeles. Before Maryland, Dr. Dodge has served as Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Bucknell University, and has held similar roles as Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice President; Title IX Coordinator at the University of Iowa and Assistant Vice Provost of Office of Minority Affairs at The Ohio State University. Session 2 – Accessibility in a Pandemic – 1:30 PM-4:30 PM Inheritance and Access (Sponsored by College of Information Studies) Dr. Jonathan Flowers (he/him) April 13, 2021 - 1:30 PM-2:00 PM Twitter: @shengokai Abstract While previously impossible modes of accommodation have become widely available during COVID-19, I argue that these accommodations should be distinguished from the kinds of accessibility demanded by disabled activists for decades. While these modes of access are superficially similar, their purpose serves to maintain the same inaccessible world that existed prior to the advent of COVID-19. Drawing on the work of Sara Ahmed, I argue that COVID accommodations themselves are ways of extending the world organized around able-bodied individuals and thus a world that can be inherited only by able bodied individuals. To this end, these accommodations neither account for the experience of disability, nor do they address the unique ways that disabled activists have advocated for accommodations. On this basis, I argue that this understanding of COVID accommodations can allow us to reconsider and re-understand the ways that pre-COVID disability accommodations do not accurately accomplish the aims projected by disabled activists of a more inclusive and accessible world, a world that can be inherited by all. Speech Text (DOC) | Presentation Slides (PDF) Bio Dr. Johnathan Flowers is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Worcester State University. His current research focuses on developing an affective theory of experience, identity, and personhood through bridging American Pragmatism, Japanese Aesthetics, and Phenomenology. Flowers' work also explores how identities are lived affectively through technology and society, with a specific emphasis on race, gender, and disability. Steps to Creating Accessible Courses (Sponsored by Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education) Dr. Sandy Saperstein & Sacha St-Onge Ahmad April 13, 2021 - 2:10 PM-2:40 PM Abstract We received a UMD Teaching Innovation Grant in Summer 2020. Our project had two aims (1) to revise an existing face-to-face course into an accessible online course and (2) develop course content to teach students how to create accessible materials, a skill that could be used in their future work as public health professionals. To guide our work, we assembled an Advisory Board consisting of faculty and staff who had experience in accessibility and universal design for learning as well as students with disabilities. We also conducted interviews and usability testing with students with disabilities to learn about their experiences learning online and to get their feedback on the planned redesign. In this presentation, we will share findings and lessons learned from our project as well as the results of an end-of-semester satisfaction survey from students who took the redesigned course. We found that students were very positive about the redesign and they reported increased knowledge and confidence in their abilities to create accessible materials. We hope to encourage other faculty to take steps in creating accessible courses. Presentation (PPT) Bio Dr. Sandy Saperstein (she/her) Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-l-saperstein/ Sandy Saperstein is a lecturer in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health and currently teaches classes in public health informatics, digital health, and social media. Prior to earning her PhD in Public and Community Health, Dr. Saperstein worked for over ten years as an occupational therapist, primarily with adults who had strokes and head injuries. Sacha St-Onge Ahmad (she/her) Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachastongeahmad/ Sacha St-Onge Ahmad is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health. Her research interests include developing information and communications technologies to make pregnancy and childbirth safer in resource-poor settings. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, she worked as a public health practitioner in Pakistan for 5 years. Queer Theory, Accessibility, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Classroom (Sponsored by UMD Division of Information Technology) Dr. Kristin LaFollette (she/her) April 13, 2021 - 2:50 PM-3:20 PM Abstract Traditionally, there have been attempts to “pass,” “fix,” or “retrofit” spaces to make them more accessible for students with disabilities. “Passing” treats individuals as if they have no disability (so no changes are made to a space), “fixing” attempts to change the person rather than the space, and “retrofitting” is an “additive, not re-imaginative, ideology” where accessibility is an afterthought (Yergeau 2014). “Hacking,” on the other hand, provides a way for individuals with disabilities to “reinvent social and material spaces” (Dolmage 2008, Yergeau 2014). This presentation specifically focuses on hacking classrooms to develop accessible and safe spaces for students with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hacking, rather than passing, fixing, or retrofitting, questions traditional classroom spaces and creates an environment of inclusivity and accessibility where the instructor and the students build spaces of understanding and collaboration. I use a queer lens and build upon the definition of queer theory as “a theoretical approach that...question[s] the categories and assumptions on which current popular and academic understandings are based” (Barker 2016). I argue that hacking is a form of queering traditional norms in academia and in classroom spaces and, using queer theory as a springboard, I outline the physical and bureaucratic roadblocks students with PTSD face. Through sharing experiences I had with students who self-identified as having PTSD, this presentation emphasizes the pedagogical power of hacking and describes strategies that instructors can use to involve their classes in hacking activities that create inclusive and accessible spaces. Presentation: PPT | PDF Bio Kristin LaFollette is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Indiana where she teaches courses in writing, rhetoric, and gender studies. A writer, photographer, and artist, her creative-critical work focuses on arts-based approaches to research and pedagogy, cultural rhetorics, and women's and gender studies. Accommodating Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies to Support Service Providers (Sponsored by Robert H. Smith School of Business) Dr. Terri Massie-Burrell & Dayna Geary April 13, 2021 - 3:30 PM-4:00 PM Abstract A university disability services office shares how they worked together to create an effective workflow to appropriately provide access in crisis for students remotely during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The value standard was managing self and others during an unprecedented stressful time. Sharing how lessons learned through this experience have prepared us to deal with urgent, unexpected circumstances to serve a diverse population of students with disabilities. We will share best practices to serve our students during an unexpected shift to online classes and remote services. Strategies implemented on our initial day of teleworking with purposeful revisions over time. SDS staff band together and strengthened relationships with campus partners that will forever add to our approach as student affairs professionals. Objectives: * Overview of our Action Research as seen through Kurt Lewin's 3 Step Model of Change * How our experiences shaped our interactions with and support of one another, while facilitating accommodations for students with disabilities * How our experiences can inform our colleagues so they can attend to personal needs while providing support services in their unique roles Presentation (PDF) Bio Terri Massie-Burrell (she/her) Twitter: @jhudisabilityserviceshwd Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terri-massie-burrellphd-53407447/ Dr. Massie-Burrell is the Director of Student Disability Services-Homewood. She provides oversight of the office so accommodations are appropriately implemented based on Federal and institutional guidelines. Ensures needed connections with faculty, teaching assistants, and staff to support students in and outside of the classroom. Massie-Burrell brings over 25 years of experience in higher education at a variety of institutional types. She has held positions as both administrator and faculty member to help college students achieve their ideal academic and career goals. Massie-Burrell earned her doctorate in Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Maryland. Dayna Geary (she/her) Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayna-geary-8b70499a/ Dayna Geary is the Assistant Director of Student Disability Services-Homewood. She ensures timely and reasonable delivery of accommodations. She also serves as the Coordinator for the Workforce Recruitment Program, a federal program aimed to connect students with government job opportunities. She brings over ten years of experience working in higher education and student support, including direct service to underserved student populations through federal TRIO programs, academic tutoring, and clinical mental health counseling. Geary earned her Master’s in Counseling at Shippensburg University. Day 3 - Wednesday, April 14 Session 1 – Self Advocacy – 9 AM-11:30 AM (Sponsored by UMD President’s Commission on Disability Issues) The Better Way: Disabled Students Navigating Self-Advocacy in Postsecondary Education Emunah Woolf (she/they) April 14, 2021 - 9:00 AM-9:30 AM Twitter: @emunahwoolf Abstract The student self-advocacy literature commonly claims that although self-advocacy is a skill that disabled students require to succeed in postsecondary education, many students experience significant ‘skills-deficits’ in this area. This qualitative research project at a Canadian university sought to intervene in this literature by proposing opportunities to ‘politicize’ self-advocacy. Interviews with 11 disabled students revealed a perception of an institutionally endorsed ‘right way’ to self-advocate. This presentation will briefly explore this ‘right way’ and then turn our attention to disabled students’ ‘better way’ of negotiating self-advocacy and disability on campus. This was a form of resistance to these ableist expectations and ‘politicizes’ self-advocacy by recognizing ableism and the harms of the self-advocacy model, affirming disabled student knowledge and community, and enacting their visions for institutional change. Vital to this politicization is moving away from nondisabled-led initiatives like self-advocacy training and towards alternative research and student service practices. The presentation will then discuss how this is particularly notable in the COVID-19 era where the university is shifting and creating more possibilities for students’ ‘better way’ but disability community may be more difficult to create and sustain. This right way/better way framework may allow us to look at other equity issues on campus and highlight the importance of politicizing self-advocacy in this present moment. Presentation (PPT) Bio Emunah Woolf is a third-year Bachelor of Social Work student at McMaster University (Canada), disabled researcher, and community organizer. Their research focuses on politicizing disabled post-secondary student self-advocacy. They are also a co-investigator on projects leading to the creation of and research into disabled and Mad student zines and written history of the past 40 years of accessibility work at McMaster University. Emunah additionally leads a community organizing project with youth who have chronic pain and chronic illnesses. Stories of Disabled Student Organizing Through Time: A Case Study Dani Pryke (they/them) April 14, 2021 - 9:40 AM-10:00 AM Twitter: @pryke_d Abstract Over the past year, the world has changed significantly. It is difficult to predict how current events and their consequences will shape the future of accessibility and disability justice. While the future is unknowable, reflection on past disability activism represents both hope and resilience in the face of uncertainty. This lecture-style presentation will explore the history of Disabled student advocacy at one Canadian university, McMaster University. The presentation will be based on both archival research (40 years of both the local city newspaper, and the university student newspaper) and interviews of Disabled McMaster alumni identified through the archives regarding their activism work at McMaster. In alignment with the themes of this conference, the purpose of this presentation is to highlight the importance of Disabled student advocacy over time. Grounded in a case study of one institution, the presentation will explore the connection between Disabled student advocacy and changes to university attitudes and teaching practices. It will discuss how intergenerational memory, connections among cohorts of disabled students, and critical engagement with local disability organizing histories are vital to propelling the disability justice movement forward. Presentation (PPT) Bio Dani Pryke has been working on a number of projects related to Disability within post-secondary education. These include working as a co-investigator on a study about the history of disabled student organizing at McMaster University (Ontario, Canada), and participating in the organizing committee for two Disabled/Mad student zines. They hold a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Science, will be completing their Bachelor of Social Work this summer, and will start their Master's in Social Work in the Fall of 2021, all at McMaster University. Outside of academics they are involved with Speqtrum Hamilton as a check-in staff and community event facilitator for 2S-LGBTQIA youth. Dani would like to acknowledge their piece is also part of a larger study under Dr. Alise de Bie, who should get credit as co-author, though Dani is the only presenter at the Summit. Turning Complaints into Advocacy Adith Thummalapalli (he/him) April 14, 2021 - 10:10 AM-10:35 AM Instagram: @beep.beep.its.adith Website: https://www.facebook.com/adith.thummalapalli Abstract When we look at the world around us, we all notice things we don’t like or things we think are unfair. You might be tempted to complain, but will that really make a difference and solve the problem? You might be inspired to do something about it, but what can you do, and how? That something, is advocacy. There is a fine, sometimes imperceptible but vitally important, line that separates complaining from advocating. But how do we find that line and turn our complaints into advocacy? Complaining can seem so easy and advocacy can seem so hard...or is it really? Join Adith Thummalapalli, alumni member of the President’s Commission on Disability Issues, founding member of the PCDI Student Advisory Committee and author of the 2019 Campus Accessibility Report, for this brief Lightning Talk as he shares his personal experience turning his “useless” complaints into “useful” advocacy, and explores how you too can become an advocate for disability justice, or any other cause you can imagine. Becoming an advocate is as simple as asking yourself two important questions: join us to learn what these questions are and learn how Adith made a splash at Maryland with the Accessibility Report, almost by accident! Bio Adith Thummalapalli is a 2020 graduate of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, living with a neuromuscular condition called Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. A life-long self advocate, Adith began his advocacy work in the areas of disability justice, equity, and inclusion for the disabled community five years ago in 2016, as a freshman at Maryland. He is the author of the 2019 Campus Accessibility Report, a document outlining a few barriers to access once present at UMD. He is a member of the President’s Commission on Disability Issues (PCDI) and is a cofounder of the related Student Advisory Committee (SAC), which is dedicated to expanding the voice of UMD students with disabilities and improving access and inclusion for all people. He is a member of the Disability Advisory Committee (DAC), which advises the Office of the Mayor on issues of importance to people with disabilities in his hometown of Salisbury, Maryland. He is also a member of the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) Patient Adult Advisory Committee (PAAC), a group of men living with Muscular Dystrophy and committed to advocating for the needs of individuals living with Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy around the US. Young Adults shaping the Disability Social Justice Movement Alyssia Jackson, Erin Mayo, Julia Nessman & Savannah Trevino-Casias April 14, 2021 - 10:45 AM-11:15 AM Abstract Young Adults are at the integral part of the disability social justice movement and are fighting for equity. We are the first generation that has had the experience of having ADA our entire lives. As four current/past members of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), we will share our experiences through advocating for IDEA waivers to not be allowed through the #MyIDEAMatters Campaign. In addition, we will discuss ways that you can support your employees who disclose in the workplace as we will share our experiences from disclosing and developing ERGS. We will also address pressing policy issues impacting LAI communities today including the perpetuation of racial inequities in school and classroom practices as well as the unique challenges that neurodivergent students are facing during COVID-19. Together, we will continue to push forward former Senator Harkin’s mission and remind young people “the doors are open, the barriers are down and now you have to go for your dreams, fight for them like anybody else, don’t take no for an answer and don’t take a back seat.” Presentation (PPT) Bio Alyssia Jackson (she/her) Twitter: @alyssiajay Instagram: @alyssiajay Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssiajackson/ Alyssia Jackson currently works as a People Analytics Specialist within Human Resource at a small startup. Alyssia helps managers and executives make decisions about their employees/ workforce. Alyssia received her Bachelors from SUNY New Paltz in Business Management and is currently working on her Master's at NYU in Human Capital Analytics and Technology. Alyssia identifies as a triple threat, a "Black, Women, with a Learning Disability." Because of her unique experiences, she served as a Young Adult Leadership Council member through the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Alyssia is also the founder of MyAbilityLens, an organization dedicated to creating safe spaces, amplifying underrepresented groups' voices within the disability community, and bridge the equity and resource gap. Erin Mayo (she/her) Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinmmayo/ Erin Mayo is a higher education professional who currently works at Penn State University - University Park. Erin received her undergraduate degree from Salem State University in Massachusetts and her master's degree from George Washington University in Higher Education Administration focusing on policy and finance. Erin identifies as an individual with a NonVerbal Learning Disability (NVLD) and is a part of the Young Adult Leadership Council through the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). Erin is currently the co-chair for social media for the Coalition on Disability through the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). Erin enjoys implementing universal design in a higher education setting while helping students find their sense of belonging at an institution. Julia Nessman (she/her) Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-nessman-a2b72a157 Julia Nessman is currently working remotely in Washington D.C. as a Community Manager and Young Adult Leadership Council member through the National Center for Learning Disabilities. She received her undergraduate degree from Bryn Mawr College in May 2020 where she majored in anthropology and minored in biology. Julia identifies as an individual with a learning disability due to her unique sensory challenges, which has inspired her involvement in disability advocacy efforts since college. At Bryn Mawr, she was president of her campus disability affinity group and conducted her senior thesis on how federal disability and education policies impact the transition to college for students with disabilities. Julia hopes to pursue a career in disability and education advocacy. Savannah Trevino-Casias (she/her) Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savannah-trevino-casias-193b3710b/ Savannah is currently working as a Content Developer for the National Center for Learning Disabilities. She is also in her second year of a Master’s of Counseling program at Arizona State University. She has her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Family and Human Development from the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University. Savannah has dyscalculia, a math-based learning disability which inspired her research and advocacy work within the learning disability community. Savannah had been a member of the National Center for Learning Disabilities Young Adult Leadership Council and is also currently a consultant and content creator for the Understood organization. Savannah intends to remain working within the learning disability community as a mental health clinician specializing in the treatment and support of those with learning and attention issues. Session 2 – Activism Across the Globe – 12:45 PM-2 PM Main Aspects of Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities (Georgia) (Sponsored by Robert H. Smith School of Business) Madona Kharebava (she/her) April 14, 2021 - 12:45 PM-1:20 PM YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6QDhM2SdgI618GoU7KvOmA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madona.kharebava DEA Website: http://www.dea.org.ge and https://www.facebook.com/AssociationDea Abstract We are living in a very dynamic unfair world, where human rights and fighting against violence are only declared, however not implemented. The situation is sharper when it concerns women and girls with disabilities. The goal of my proposal is to introduce evaluation processes regarding this unresolved issue. Prevailing gender stereotypes, avoidance, and society’s ignorance of these problems in Georgia have created crucial barriers, which are still overlooked and less prioritized by the country. Despite significant steps forward for achieving gender equality and democratization of society, this issue has not become the topic of public discourse. Lack of political will and low public awareness in all levels of society (public and private sector) impede the process of rehabilitation and integration of women and girls with disabilities in ruling strata in urban and rural areas. After the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) by Georgia, significant progress has not been made in the country. It should be noted that civil society activities are not efficient, because they capture varieties of specific projects, are dependent on grants, and are unable to maintain stability. The voice of women and girls with disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis is difficult to be heard, hence, they are being forgotten by people. Inclusion, Integration, Cooperation, and Consolidation of all stakeholders for achieving justice should be an obligation of the citizens of Georgia. Presentation PPT Bio Ms. Madona Kharebava is a founder and a head of the “Association of Disabled Women and Mothers of Disabled Children (DEA),” which works with the civil society and local communities to enhance the capacities of women and girls in different regions of Georgia, particularly nearby the occupied territory of Abkhazia. For more than 20 years she has been working on gender equality issues , supporting women's rights initiatives through educational activities, capacity building and awareness raising. She has been involved in the elaboration of the legislative base on gender issues in the country: The Anti-domestic Violence Law, (2006), the Gender Equality Law (2010), Labor Law (2006), recommendations concerning the increase in women's status in Georgia. She has led many projects on the rights of persons with disabilities, girls and women in cooperation with many stakeholders. She is the author of many publications and researches related to these issues. Ms. Madona Kharebava has participated in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a systemic and targeted strategy to combat violence against people with disabilities, especially women and girls. She has graduated from the Physics faculty of IIvane Javakishili Tbilisi University, where she obtained a master's degree. Prior to founding the association DEA, Madonna was working as a high school teacher of Physics and Astronomy. Madness: Respons-ability Against Crude Power (Iran) (Sponsored by University of Maryland Libraries) Dr. Sona Kazemi (she/her) April 14, 2021 - 1:30 PM-2:00 PM Abstract “If freedom could sing a song small as the throat of a bird, nowhere would a wall remain crumbled. It would not take many years to comprehend that ruins are a sign of human absence, that human presence creates life” Ahmad Shamlu, contemporary Persian poet In this paper, I engage with different forms of atrocities committed against imprisoned dissidents in post-revolutionary Iran. Through a case study, I demonstrate how madness/disability/injury can be both a product of, and a response to, state violence, namely imprisonment and torture. I interviewed more than 30 former political prisoners who survived torture and imprisonment in the 1980s in Iran, and now, live in exile as part of the Iranian diaspora. I investigate the disabling processes and social relations involved in how some prisoners went “mad” and some remained “sane.” Using the transnational disability model (kazemi, 2017, 2018), I defetishize their disability by demonstrating how madness and sanity can be deliberately created (i.e., socially organized and imposed) in extremely brutal institutions and inhumane treatment of dissidents. As well, I ponder the ways in which madness could be the bodymind’s ‘response’ to violence or ‘survival strategy’ in the context of asymmetrical power relations. As an heir to the 1979 revolution, and as a raclialized activists-scholars from the global south, I struggle in this chapter to re-articulate the disabled subject against the ongoing re-constitution of him/her as a white subject in the Empire of rights, namely the global north. Bio Dr. Sona Kazemi is currently the Provost’s Research Justice at the Intersections Fellow at the Mills College in Oakland, California. From 2018 to 2020, Sona was the postdoctoral researcher of Migration Studies and Medical Humanities at the Ohio State University. Her research program is located in contradictions among transnational disability rights frameworks in the context of global and regional imperialism(s), as well as the proxy wars in the Middle East. Her postdoctoral projects concerns traumatized Yazidi refugees in diaspora and their disability consciousness as survivors of genocide and ethnic cleansing, the mental health of Iranian refugees in the United States who are the survivors of state terror and its implications for international security, Iranian women survivors of acid attack and their disability and feminist consciousness, and punitive limb amputation in Saudi Arabia and Iran. Sona’s first monograph, “Disabling Relations: Injured Bodyminds and Active Witnessing,” is under contract and scheduled to come out next year. Sona is the Society for Disability Studies’ 2018 recipient of the honorable mention for the prestigious award of Irving K. Zola Award for emerging scholars in Disability Studies. Sona is currently the associate editor for the Global Ideas: Section at Review of Disability Studies, an International Journal. Session 3 – Moving Toward an Inclusive Future 2:30 PM-4:00 PM (Sponsored by Trace Research and Development Center) Making and Breaking in a Disabled World Dr. Kelly Fritsch & Dr. Anne McGuire April 14, 2021 - 2:30 PM-3:00 PM Abstract 2020 has widely exposed the destructive brokenness of colonial structures of health and governance and further revealed how such structures are routinely broken by design. Likewise, 2020 has seen a productive crumbling of colonial monuments and imaginaries. As Dionne Brand observes, “all narratives for the moment have been blown open—the statues are falling—all the metrics are off, if only briefly” (2020). Drawing on crip theories of brokenness and disability justice activism, we examine relations of rupture and repair in times of crisis. Eli Clare observes, “the ideology of cure would have us believe that whole and broken are opposites and that the latter has no value” (2017, 159). Clare’s collapse of whole/broken frames repair not as a return to what once was but instead as a movement towards something altogether different. Positioning repair as transformative requires us to attend not only to what/who has been marked as broken but to the surrounding environs and relationships. Engaging with the generative possibilities of crip knowledge/practices of care, repair, and maintenance, we consider how these might enable us to grapple with the broken social conditions under which we unevenly live and move towards more accessible futures in which disabled people thrive. Bio Kelly Fritsch (she/her) Twitter: @kellyfritsch1 Kelly Fritsch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University, unceded Algonquin territory. As a feminist disability studies scholar and crip theorist, her work explores the generative frictions of disability and social justice. She is co-author of We Move Together (2021, AK Press), a children’s book engaging community-based practices of desiring disability. She is also co-editor of Disability (In)Justice: Examining Criminalization in Canada (2021, UBC Press) and Keywords for Radicals: The Contested Vocabulary of Late-Capitalist Struggle (2016, AK Press). She has also recently co-edited special journal issues of Somatechnics, Feminist Formations, and Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience. Between 2015–2018, she served as Associate Editor of Research for Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal. Anne McGuire (she/her) Twitter: @anneemcguire Anne McGuire is an Associate Professor with the program for Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity at the University of Toronto. Her areas of teaching and research draw on anti-racist and decolonial theories in disability studies, queer/crip theory, child studies, and feminist science and technology studies to study the structural and material conditions of human vitality and precarity. McGuire is the author of War on Autism: On the Cultural Logic of Normative Violence (University of Michigan Press), which was awarded the 2015 Tobin Siebers Prize for Disability Studies in the Humanities, and co-author of We Move Together (AK Press, 2021), a children's book on disability, access, and community. Trace Center at 50 – Accomplishments, lessons learned, and future directions Dr. J. Bern Jordan, Dr. Hernisa Kacorri, Dr. Jonathan Lazar, Dr. Amanda Lazar & Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden April 14, 2021 - 3:10 PM-3:55 PM Abstract This year marks the 50th anniversary for the UMD’s Trace Center. The Center’s work can be found in every computer and mobile device today – as well as voting machines, airport kiosks, ticket machines and numerous assistive technologies including those used by Steven Hawking. In 2016 the Trace Center moved from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to the UMD iSchool to join up with the accessibility and inclusive design researchers here to chart directions for the next 50 years. This presentation will survey the work of the last 50 years from Augmentative Communication ( a term coined by Trace Center researchers) through computer access and inclusive design of ICT. The work includes research, product development, standards, guidelines and policy. Trace research can be found for example in every accessibility standard and regulation to date (Web, ICT, and Telecom in the US and international) as well as in free and open-source accessibility tools to support them. The presentation will include lessons learned in working with disability groups, governments and over 50 companies. It will also review the Center's current and planned research directions including work to re-imagine accessibility policy and practice. Bio Dr. J. Bern Jordan (he/his) Dr. Jordan is an assistant research scientist at the Trace R&D Center, UMD. His work has included the development of techniques for cross-disability access to public ICT, analysis and contributions to accessibility standards and regulations, the development of hands-on accessibility training workshops, and research into automatically generating personal, one-sizefits-one interfaces. Dr. Jordan has worked with a dozen companies on making their products more accessible and has 10 granted and pending patents on accessibility of kiosks and other ICT products. Dr. Hernisa Kacorri (she/her) Dr. Kacorri is an Assistant Professor in the College of Information Studies with an affiliate appointment in Computer Science. She is a member of both the Trace R&D Center and the HCIL Her research focuses on data-driven technologies that can benefit the disability community, with an emphasis on rigorous, user-based experimental methodologies to assess impact. Hernisa is a recipient of a Mina Rees Dissertation Fellowship in the Sciences, and both ACM ASSETS and IEEE WACV best paper awards. She has been recognized by the Rising Stars in EECS program of CMU/MIT. Dr. Jonathan Lazar (he/him) Dr. Lazar is a professor in the College of Information Studies (iSchool) at the University of Maryland, where he is the incoming director of the Trace Research and Development Center, the nation's oldest research center on technology and disability, and is part of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL). Professor Lazar has authored or edited 13 books, including Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction, Ensuring Digital Accessibility Through Process and Policy, and Disability, Human Rights, and Information Technology. He is the recipient of the 2020 ACM SIGACCESS Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computing and Accessibility. Dr. Amanda Lazar (she/her) Dr. Lazar is an assistant professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her PhD from the University of Washington in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education. Her research examines the design of technology for older adults – and in particular, older adults with dementia – to support social interaction and engagement in activities. Her work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden (he/him) Dr. Vanderheiden has worked in technology and disability for 50 years (since 1971). He was a pioneer in Augmentative Communication (a term he coined in the 1970’s) and in cross-disability access to ICT. His work is found in every Windows and Macintosh computer, iOS and Android phone or tablet, US Automated Postal Stations, Amtrak ticket machines and many other products you encounter daily. Most of the initial access features in both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems came from work of his research group. Dr. Vanderheiden created the first accessibility guidelines for computers and software (‘85), consumer products (‘91) and the web (’95)– and co-chaired both WCAG 1.0 and 2.0 working groups. He has worked with over 50 companies and numerous consumer groups and government advisory & planning committees, including the FCC, the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), the United States Access Board and The White House. He has received over 35 awards for his work. Dr. Vanderheiden holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, MS in Biomedical Engineering, and Ph.D. in Technology in Communication and Child Development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Angel Love Miles 2021 Disability Summit Closing Keynote Speaker April 14, 2021 - 4:30 PM-5:30 PM Dr. Angel Love Miles was born with Spina Bifida and raised in a predominately black housing complex for low-income families in Germantown, Philadelphia. She grew up playing with the neighborhood children but attended separate schools and camps for children with disabilities. Influenced by her upbringing, she soon developed an interest in exploring issues of identity and inequality as they pertain to intersecting structures of race, class, gender and disability. Following her college graduation from Penn State University in 2003, she entered graduate school and ultimately earned her PhD in Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland College Park in 2016. A proud Terp, she was recognized upon graduation for her extraordinary educational, advocacy and service contributions when she was awarded the University of Maryland Graduate Student Distinguished Service Award, the University of Maryland President’s Commission on Ethnic Minority Issues Ethnic Minority Achievement Graduate Student Award, and the University of Maryland President’s Commission on Disability Issues Graduate Student Service Award. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Disability and Human Development and the Department of Occupational Therapy in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she became the Healthcare/Home and Community Based Services Policy Analyst at a prominent disability rights and advocacy organization in Chicago. In multiple capacities, she continues to speak, teach, write, and advocate on issues pertaining to social justice, and inequality especially as they impact black women and other marginalized people with disabilities. Her article entitled “Strong Black Women”: African American Women with Disabilities, Intersecting Identities, and Inequality was published in the February 2019 Gender & Society special issue: Gender, Disability, and Intersectionality. In April 2020, her piece “Disability: What Have Black People Got to Do with It?” was published by the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) blog Black Perspectives as part of the Blackness, Disability, & Gender Identity Series organized by Vilissa Thompson. Pre-Recorded Sessions Assistive Technology to Combat Social Isolation and Support Independence James A. Whitney, OTD (he/him) Pre-recorded presentation (mp4) Abstract The Maryland Department of Disabilities, Assistive Technology Program proposes to present a workshop on Assistive Technology to Combat Social Isolation and Support Independence. This training will provide examples of various technologies that are aimed to counteract and prevent social isolation among older adults and individuals with disabilities; the presentation will provide examples of AT that can be utilized to encourage and enable individuals to be/remain independent at home or as they transition to another type of living facility. With an emphasis on the empowering features of technology to participate in society, even through virtual means, this session will highlight the ways in which technology can bolster integration, connection, and independence. Bio James was born and raised in Salisbury, Maryland where he completed his bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. James worked as a social work counselor under the guidance of an LCSW while applying to graduate schools. He attended the Virginia Commonwealth Universities Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program where he graduated in Mary of 2020. SInce then James has immersed himself in the world of assistive technology volunteering at reuse centers in Virginia leading up to his employment at the Maryland Assistive Technology Program where he works as an AT Clinician. James provides customized AT demonstrations, short-term device loans, and hosts AT training and public awareness sessions to a range of consumers across the state. James currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland where the MDTAP office and AT library are located. Producing Accessible National ID Cards in Bangladesh Badiul Alam, Executive Director of BPUS, Bangladesh (he/him) Pre-recorded presentation (mp4) Abstract Democracy is more likely to develop and endure when all segments of society are able to participate without suffering discrimination or reprisal. Recognizing the fundamental rights of all citizens, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) through its Equal Rights in Action Fund provides support to organizations representing marginalized populations including persons with disabilities under three key objectives of safe and secure environment; political participation and empowered and inclusive movements and organizations. Under the topic of “Disability Activism and Justice”, NDI proposes, in partnership with Bangladesh Protibandhi Unnayan Sangstha (BPUS), a recorded lightning talk exploring a key aspect of BPUS’s project: producing accessible national ID cards to ensure PWDs are able to vote. Bangladesh is estimated to have 15 to 20 million PWDs and according to the government, 52 percent are unable to exercise their right to vote because the voting process and voting itself are inaccessible. Over sixty percent of the disability population live in rural areas where the opportunities to participate in public life are even more scarce. The lightning talk will briefly explore BPUS’s project and identify how they are working to eliminate the disenfranchisement of over 15 million citizens and holding the government of Bangladesh accountable to its commitments when ratifying the CRPD. Bio Facebook: @BADIUL2016; Website: http://www.bpusbd.org/ Badiul Alam is the founder and executive director of Bangladesh Protibandhi Unnayan Sangstha (BPUS). Badiul Alam, who is blind, did not let his disability deter him from being active in the community as a university student where he experienced firsthand the difficulties persons with disabilities face in accessing essential services in rural areas which inspired him to establish BPUS in Barisal, a remote district 150 km south of the capital. ‌Badiul Alam has a Master’s degree from the Bangladesh Open University and has participated in several disability inclusion trainings in Bangladesh and Europe. As a national advocate on disability rights, Badiul Alam plays a significant role in promoting and bringing disability to the forefront of the national development agenda in Bangladesh and serves as the Secretary General of the National Alliance of Disabled Persons Organizations in his country. He represented Bangladesh at the Global Disability Summit in London in 2018 and was nationally recognized and awarded for his achievements by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 2017. Race, Gender and Disability Intersections in Gendered Occupations Dr. Jenny Dick-Mosher, PhD (sher/her) Abstract The disadvantages faced by people with disabilities in the labor market have been well documented. However, there has been very little research on the impact of occupational segregation on the employment outcomes of people with disabilities. Previous research has demonstrated that disabled men and racial/ethnic minority men are more likely than non-disabled white men to work in female-dominated occupations, while at the same time not reaping the same privileges in those occupations as non-disabled white men do. In addition, while there have been qualitative studies on how men of minority status are sorted into female dominated occupations, no other research has tested this quantitatively, using a nationally representative data set. Using an intersectional approach, I ran logistic regression models in order to examine the likelihood of people working in female dominated occupations, male-dominated occupations or mixed gender occupations. I found that disability has an impact on how people are sorted into occupations; however, that impact varies by race as well as by gender. These findings point to an intersectional effect wherein disabled people experience gender differently depending on their race. Bio Jenny Dick-Mosher is currently a postdoctoral Research Associate with The Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living at Washington State University. While completing her Ph.D. in sociology from Virginia Tech she worked as a Disability Rights Advocate at the disAbility Law Center of Virginia. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her spouse, baby and 3 cats. Literacy Access among Students with Disabilities during a Global Pandemic Dr. Alexandra Shelton (she/her) Twitter: @AlexLizShelton Pre-recorded presentation Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the inequities many students with disabilities face in schools across the country. For example, 68% of principal and teacher respondents on a nationally representative survey reported that achievement among students with disabilities (SWDs) in their schools was somewhat lower or much lower in fall 2020 than in fall 2019 (Kaufman et al., 2020). In this new normal, it is especially important that SWDs have access to high-quality remote learning opportunities, particularly in the area of literacy. Therefore, the purpose of this proposed pre-recorded presentation is to discuss innovative ways to support SWDs’ access to literacy in virtual inclusive K-12 environments. This presentation will provide guidance on leveraging technology to promote inclusion and access among K-12 SWDs. The presentation will begin with a discussion of the unique challenges SWDs face within inaccessible, restrictive virtual instructional settings. The presentation will also include resources and strategies that educators and family members can use to foster literacy access among SWDs during at-home learning. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of how these resources and strategies can be extended to increase inclusion and access among SWDs in a post-pandemic world. Bio Alexandra Shelton is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher and Faculty Specialist in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland. Her work focuses on improving literacy outcomes for secondary students with mild disabilities, including mild intellectual disability and learning disabilities, via intensive intervention and teacher professional development and coaching. Dr. Shelton is currently the Project Director of three federally funded grants that aim to provide professional development and systematic coaching to middle school teachers to promote their use of evidence-based literacy practices. As a former high school special education teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools, she served students with disabilities in the general and special education settings in English language arts, reading, math, and science. Audio Description: If Your Eyes Could Speak Dr. Joel Snyder, Ph.D., Director, Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind (he/him) Pre-recorded presentation (mp4) Abstract In his introduction to the second edition of The Mastery of Movement, Rudolph Laban suggests that performers form the “active pole of this magnetic circuit” [and form the] “exciting current between stage and audience.” But what if the exchange is interrupted, not by lack of clarity on stage, but rather by an audience member’s lack of access to that full perception. How, for example, can a blind person “see” a dance performance? This paper/presentation will demonstrate how audio description provides access to the arts for people who are blind. Describers observe, select, and then succinctly and vividly use language to convey the visual image that is not fully accessible to a segment of the population—new estimates by the American Foundation for the Blind note that over 32 million Americans are blind or have difficulty seeing even with correction. In the United States, the principal constituency for audio description has an unemployment rate of about 70%. With greater access to our culture and its resources, people become more informed, more engaged with society and more engaging individuals—thus, more employable. Bio A member of Actors’ Equity Association, the American Federation of TV and Radio Artists, and the Screen Actors Guild, and a 20-year veteran of work as an arts specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, Joel Snyder is best known internationally as one of the first “audio describers” (c. 1981) working with theater events and media at the world’s first ongoing audio description service. Beginning in the early 1970s, he recorded “talking books” for the Library of Congress and read privately for individuals who are blind – but his abilities as a describer have made hundreds of live theater productions accessible to audience members who are blind; in media, Dr. Snyder has used the same technique to enhance PBS’ American Playhouse productions, Sesame Street, a wide range of network broadcasts, feature films, educational videos, the IMAX film Blue Planet and the Planetarium show And A Star To Steer Her By at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. ________________ 2021 Disability Summit Sponsors Title Sponsors: * The President's Commission on Disability Issues (PCDI) * Trace Research & Development Center No Barrier Sponsors: * Maryland Relay * Maryland Center for Women in Computing, University of Maryland * Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) * Mid-Atlantic ADA/TransCen * College of Behavioral & Social Sciences (BSOS), University of Maryland * College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (CMNS), University of Maryland * College of Education, University of Maryland * Counseling Center, University of Maryland * College of Information Studies (iSchool), University of Maryland * Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education (CHSE), University of Maryland * Division of Information Technology (DivIT), University of Maryland * Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI), University of Maryland * Office of Graduate Diversity and Inclusion (OGDI) - the Graduate School, University of Maryland * Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland * University of Maryland Libraries Accessible Sponsors: * Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering (CMSE), University of Maryland * College of Arts and Humanities, University of Maryland (ARHU), University of Maryland * College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR), University of Maryland * Office of Undergraduate Studies (UGST), University of Maryland * Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland * School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, University of Maryland * Swenor Research Group, Disability Center, Johns Hopkins University Thought Partners * RespectAbility * Ontario Tech University * Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC), University of Maryland ________________ Organizing Committee Paul T. Jaeger, PhD, JD (he/him/his) Co-Chair Professor, College of Information Studies, Director Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC), Co-Chair UMD President’s Commission on Disability Issues (PCDI) University of Maryland, College Park A lifelong member of the disability community, Paul has spent much of his career writing and teaching about the ways in which laws and policies shape the experiences of disabled people, as well as advocating for improvements to those laws and policies. Paul is an unshakable mentor to nontraditional students in higher education and has won multiple awards which only begin to scratch the surface of the support he offers students. Paul is also a renowned scholar in his field of Library and Information Sciences, bringing Critical Disability Studies and Accessibility to the forefront of conversations around information justice. Paul co-founded the Disability Summit with Dr. Stephanie J. Cork. ________________ Stephanie J. Cork, PhD (she/her/hers) "notable alumni" Co-Chair Faculty Development Coordinator, Teaching and Learning Center, Ontario Tech University An intrepid and outdoorsy Canadian with an international, interdisciplinary background. Her work complements her experiences and expertise in qualitative research, public health, community-based advocacy, and years of teaching. Stephanie is a proud co-conspirator with many across the disability community. Stephanie co-founded the Disability Summit with Dr. Paul T. Jaeger. ________________ Ron Padrón, MS (he/him/his) Director of Operations Interim Director of Undergraduate Operations, College of Information Studies Facilitator, Words of Engagement InterGroup Dialogue Program, Office of Diversity and Inclusion University of Maryland, College Park Ron Padrón is a transplant to Maryland from the sweltering swamps of South Florida. He began working in higher education as an academic advisor serving at-risk student populations and, in his current role, centers justice, equity, diversity, inclusion (JEDI), and accessibility more broadly: from course and curriculum development to student services and shared governance. He has previously presented on advocacy in student services and diversity work in higher education, and also serves as a facilitator for social justice education programs on the UMD campus. Ron is an unwavering advocate for those with disabilities and has been a vocal supporter of disability justice and queer history in all facets of his work and life. Ron joined the UMD Summit team in 2020. ________________ Joseph Williams (he/him/his) Information and Data Specialist National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Joseph Williams received his BA from Bowie State in Music Technology in 2014. He is a Maryland native and currently lives and works near Washington, DC. Joseph previously worked at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Office of Diversity, and Inclusion (2015 – 2019) before moving to his current role. In his time at the UMD he became a fixture in disability advocacy across campus. He co-chaired the international UMD Disability Summit, sat on the President’s Commission on Disability Issues, coordinated programming and events for Disability Awareness Month, and Rise Above Week. His advocacy work continues, through his ongoing involvement in the RADAccess Training. Joseph co-chaired the UMD Disability Summit in 2019. ________________ Alex Peterson (she/her/hers) Director of Fundraising and Finance Graduate Student, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences PCDI Graduate Assistant University of Maryland, College Park Alex Peterson received her BA in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017, where she dabbled in research at the Center for Healthy Minds and the Learning Cognition and Development Lab. Alex is passionate about the intersection of public health, equitable education, and health care, and accessibility; which she plans to apply as a future speech-language pathologist. Alex is the Graduate Assistant for PCDI, a member of the PCDI Student Advisory Committee, and a committed disability advocate. Alex joined the UMD Disability Summit Committee in 2020. ________________ Amanda Strausser, BA, MPH (she/her/hers) Director of Communications and Logistics Assistant to the Dean, Graduate School University of Maryland, College Park Amanda Strausser is a current staff member at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a vocal advocate for the disability community, using her own experiences within higher education to mentor and support others who are pursuing their degrees. Her research focuses on health literacy and looks to establish more effective advocacy networks for those with visible and invisible disabilities within the American health care system. Amanda is one of the founding members of the UMD Disability Summit but also works with many units across the campus to help promote programming that is both inclusive and accessible for all. Amanda is also a dog lover and a passionate gardener. Amanda joined the UMD Disability Summit in 2016. ________________ Tim Hackman, MLS, MA (he/him/his) Director of Professional Outreach Associate Director of Public Services, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery University of Maryland, Baltimore County Tim Hackman was formerly Director of User Services & Resource Sharing for the University of Maryland Libraries and was a long-time member of the President's Commission on Disability Issues at UMD. In his time serving PCDI Tim was a stalwart supporter of policies, programs, and practices that champion disabled students, staff, and faculty, including his ongoing commitment to inclusive excellence through the UMD Disability Summit. He has published on management in academic libraries, project management, e-books, and open access. He holds his MA in English and MLS from the University of Maryland. Tim joined the UMD Disability Summit Committee in 2018. ________________ Nedelina Tchangalova, MS, MLS, AHIP (she/her/hers) Director of Digital Initiatives Public Health Librarian, STEM Library University of Maryland, College Park Nedelina Tchangalova is a librarian passionate about teaching students life-long searching skills. A strong advocate for open access research, she collaborates with faculty on public health-related issues. Her professional work surrounds the IDEA concepts of inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility for all people with different abilities. Originally from Bulgaria, she immigrated to the United States with her family. She loves traveling, being in the parks, and walking in the woods. Nedelina uses her insight into the deep need for inclusive technology to facilitate open and accessible communication for the disability community. She artfully crafts into her work, weaving information, and disability justice together. Nedelina joined the UMD Disability Summit in 2019. ________________ Sara Olsen, MPH, PhD Candidate (she/her/hers) Director of Content Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health Crossroads Adaptive Athletic Alliance, Co-Founder University of Maryland, College Park Sara Olsen grew up surrounded by people who dedicated their lives to the service of others despite challenges or sacrifices involved. The Navy seemed a natural choice to continue the family tradition of service before self. The combination of adventure with the mission to protect personnel and property inherent in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community drew her in. After nine years of active duty as an EOD Officer, Sara transitioned to the Reserves, where she has risen to the rank of Captain having commanded three units, and served in multiple staffs. In her civilian life, she co founded Crossroads Adaptive Athletic Alliance, a nonprofit designed to increase inclusive fitness for all people with disabilities. Working with people with disabilities in fitness opened Sara’s eyes to all the social and environmental barriers to participation. As a result, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health. Sara joined the UMD Disability Summit in 2018. ________________ Honorable Mentions (past and present Summit supporters) * Katherine Grady * Sue Johnston * Austin Ferraro * Mollie Greenberg * Courtney Douglass * Kelly Hoffman Page