National Leadership Program, Spring 2024
Jessica Hetzel
Jessica Hetzel (she/her) is an Operations/Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Spring 2024. RespectAbility is a national nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Hetzel is a disability activist with a passion for encouraging individuals and society as a whole to be more socially conscious through public relations, public speaking, event management, and mentorship. Her ultimate goals are focused on accessible education, access to inclusive live entertainment/music, and policy change. She began her disability activism at 15 when she became the state of Michigan’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. With this position, she found her passion for public speaking.
Hetzel holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Public Relations with a concentration in Event Management and Disability Studies from Central Michigan University. Hetzel enrolled in her first disability studies course in her first year of her undergraduate degree, which unlocked her passion for disability studies and equal rights. Much of her undergraduate work focused on making the local community accessible and inclusive to disabled members of society. Hetzel published an article in Quest Magazine called “Smashing Stereotypes” which discussed her experience of being a disabled women going through Panhellenic requirement. She also spent a year serving as the first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Collegiate Panhellenic Council where she wrote curriculum to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of Greek Life on campus.
Hetzel also participated in a TedX conference where she debuted her speech “Disability Studies: How to Create an Inclusive Society.” In her speech she drew upon her experiences of studying abroad in London, England and immersing herself in the city’s inclusive society and culture. Hetzel plans to pursue a Master of Disability Studies degree and specialize in making the educational system and live entertainment industry more accessible to the disability community. In the future, she would like to become a disability studies professor. Outside of work, Hetzel is a travel enthusiast and avid Swiftie. She enjoys attending concerts and hanging out with her friends, and service dog, Emerson.
