Laura Hertzog was a political science and sociology student at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin. She participated in a semester-long program with American University. Being an older sister to a brother with Down Syndrome, Hertzog has a passion for disability rights.
As a Fellow, Hertzog worked as an in-house writer, as well as on government affairs. She is a passionate advocate for the rights of people with disabilities.
Jenny McCosby
Jenny McCosby graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying Psychology and Global Studies, while minoring in Social and Economic Justice. She spent a semester abroad in Spain, where, as an intern, she assisted in the creation of the first comprehensive review of the field of Global Mental Health. At school, McCosby served as the president of her sorority, an operational assistant for the Marching Tar Heels, a committee member for the UNC Dance Marathon, a research assistant, and an after school volunteer for a local elementary school. McCosby is currently exploring ways to merge her interests of psychology, culture, and human rights into one cohesive career path.
At RespectAbility, McCosby was working on Research and Message Development in order to start changing the perceptions and stereotypes associated with people with disabilities.
Garrett Patterson
Garrett Patterson is a 2013 Political Science Graduate of St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. Prior to his arrival at RespectAbility, he worked for a marketing company and had been an intern for Congressman Lloyd Doggett. Patterson was thrilled to be a part of RespectAbility and our movement: Helping Americans with Disabilities Achieve the American Dream. He coordinated many of the office projects, including fundraising, press and initiatives to meet with governors in 2014. Although RespectAbility introduced him to the complexities of disability policy, Patterson hopes to continue contributing to the field by focusing on employment discrimination while in law school.
Pilar Pastor
Pilar Pastor graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. Before joining RespectAbility, she volunteered at various NGOs in Spain, a shelter for street children in The Philippines, a development project with street children in the slums in India, an orphanage in Brazil, and several development projects in Morocco. Most recently, she worked preparing and evaluating different development projects, as well as fundraising projects, for Kenya and Ethiopia. While at RespectAbility, Pastor continued focusing on development and fundraising efforts in support of our still ongoing projects.
Donald Minor
Donald Minor graduated from Montgomery College where he studied General Studies and Web Design. In addition to his web design skills, he is well versed in social media. Most notably, he created a Facebook page entitled “People With Disabilities Rock,” which has reached more than 30,000 likes in less than four years. While at RespectAbility, Minor handled all social media responsibilities and worked to provide periodic updates to the website. In the future, he hopes to continue working in the nonprofit sector, specifically in the communications field.
Daniel Shaffer
Daniel Shaffer graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 2016 as a Political Science major. He was particularly interested in the field of Security Studies, which is prominent in Dickinson College due to its close connection with the nearby Army War College. As a student, Shaffer was a member of the Dickinson College Debate Club and loves to discuss the latest political issues with his peers. He is a avid reader who particularly enjoys reading alternate history books.
At RespectAbility, Shaffer managed the portfolios of the presidential candidates and the governors. He is eager to gain practical experience and is very excited to be working with skilled professionals in the field of advocacy.
