National Leadership Program, Spring 2023
Kayla Dunlop
Kayla Dunlop was a Nonprofit Management Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Spring 2023. RespectAbility is a national nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Dunlop resides in Southern California and graduated from Cal State University, San Bernardino with her B.A. in Child Development. She volunteered as a teacher’s aide for several years in Kindergarten, K-1 Combos, and 1st grade classrooms. This is where she interacted with children who had different learning styles and some who had learning and physical disabilities. She enjoyed working with children because they are so curious about their environment.
Dunlop has a chronic lung condition that requires supplemental oxygen, but that doesn’t stop her from goals she wants to accomplish in life. She wants to give back to the community and one way is to be part of this program.
Before the pandemic, Dunlop volunteered to run activities for her local Pulmonary Hypertension support group; a rare lung condition that she has. She enjoyed giving the support group members a creative outlet instead of always focusing on medical issues. She hopes one day soon that the support group can meet in-person again!
As a RespectAbility Fellow, Dunlop hopes to gain more confidence in the workplace and have more of an understanding of what goes into running a nonprofit organization. Someday she would like to open her own small nonprofit that provides resources for children and adults living with Pulmonary Hypertension.
In her free time, she likes to go thrifting, bake desserts, and do diamond painting. She enjoys sunsets at the beach, and her orange tabby cat named Orangey.
