National Leadership Program, Summer 2019
Nemo Charlton was a Policy Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2019. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities. Charlton graduated from University of Maryland, College Park in Spring 2019 as a sociology major with a minor in history.
Charlton’s interest in disability advocacy as well as social justice stems in part from having autism. Given their experiences with special education and services, Charlton has become well connected to the disabled community. These networks have enabled Charlton to better understand and support people with disabilities.
Charlton worked as a summer camp counselor with many children with disabilities from low-income families. Charlton also has a background in activism. At the University of Maryland, they advocated for Title IX funding, which prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education programs, through coalition building and a social media campaign.
Charlton’s long-term goal is to find the best niche within the nonprofit field from which to positively make a difference in the world and to achieve personal fulfillment. They hoped to acquire applicable writing and networking skills through this extremely valuable program and learn more about nonprofits in the area of disability rights.
Charlton has a great interest in religious studies and classical history. Charlton is also an experienced dancer and likes to dance in an improvisational style.
Charlton wrote two pieces during the 2019 Summer Fellowship and contributed to a Maryland press release. Read them on our website:
- Learning From Judy Heumann, Disability Legend Advancing Inclusion from Physical Accessibility to Media Portrayal (August 6, 2019)
- Make the Initial Push for Change: Positive Advocacy with Steve Bartlett, Philip Pauli and Lauren Appelbaum (August 19, 2019)
- Uniting Together to Advance Disability Rights (September 17, 2019)