National Leadership Program, Spring 2024
Madeleine Hutchins
Madeleine Hutchins (she/they) is a Faith Inclusion and Belonging 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.
Hutchins completed their B.A. in philosophy at Yale University focusing on bioethics and wrote a thesis titled “Dignity, Dementia, and Decision-Making.” They then completed a Master of Arts in Religion at Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music, Worship, and the Arts, where they focused on the power of story and completed a thesis titled “Language and Lament: Story Medicine in Madeline Sayet’s Where We Belong.” Hutchins is an active member of her Mohegan community and spends a great deal of time learning about Mohegan culture, language, lifeways, and history. Hutchins worked as an educator at the Tantaquidgeon Museum—the oldest Native American owned and operated museum in the U.S.—and has worked with several institutions of higher education on matters related to Indigenous people. She’s had the privilege of collaborating on various Indigenous storytelling projects since 2015, including an anthology of young Native writers published in 2021. Hutchins has also trained as a hospital chaplain and is training as a death doula. Her learning from various sources over time coupled with the experience of her own disability and passion for envisioning and pursuing a better world have led her to access advocacy.
Hutchins enjoys cooking (and eating), watching TV, listening to podcasts, crafting, writing, walking, plants, and spending time with loved ones and with her partner, Kaiser. Hutchins is driven by the conviction that a better world is within our reach, we just need enough courage to go for it.
