National Leadership Program, Spring 2019
Michelle Adams
Michelle Adams was a Communications Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for and with people with disabilities. She worked on outreach to members of Congress and political candidates about the importance of inclusion of people with disabilities. She also worked to improve disability inclusion and perception in the Jewish Community.
As of 2019, Adams was a senior at George Washington (GW) University where she majors in Organizational Science and minors in Philosophy. Organizational Sciences ties managerial and executive success to the integration of knowledge in three key areas: Strategy & Change Management, Communication and Leadership, and Performance and Talent Development. On campus, she was the Vice President of the American Marketing Association GWU chapter and played on the GW Women’s club volleyball team.
Adams combines her experiences working in both the entertainment Industry at “We are The Mighty” and her political activism. In high school she worked on a California Gubernatorial race organizing youth volunteers and interning for her state party political office. Both experiences have armed her with the knowledge and skills to be an effective advocate for and with people with disabilities. Advocating for the advancement of diversity and disability issues is woven into the fabric of her identity and that is why she was an Fellow at RepectAbility.
Her personal experiences with learning disabilities and educational history mark her motivation for advocacy and awareness to facilitate better understanding of the disability experiences. Observing the large discrepancy between the understanding and awareness of disability and the social stigmas against people with disabilities has fueled her motivation for advocacy and political outreach. Understanding the manifestation of stigmas on policy, opportunity and culture are points of particular interest for Adams.
She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She witnessed firsthand the evolution within the entertainment industry and its slow response to include the more than one in five Americans with disabilities. All individuals can learn more about the issues facing the disability community simply by being informed and listening to a new narrative. Adams hopes to hone her skills at RespectAbility to reshape reality by reshaping the language and stories about individuals with all kinds of disabilities.
In her free time, Adams often can be found in nature. She enjoys hiking, surfing and playing most sports. She also enjoys music, dancing and comedy. Her adventurous spirit has found its home in her love for travel. Adams has traveled to almost 30 countries and hopes to continue to explore the beauty of our world.
Adams wrote one piece during the Spring 2019 Fellowship. Check it out on our website:
- How My Judaism Helped Me Accept My Disability – Shabbat Smile (March 1, 2019)
