Laquana Lightfoot
Laquana Lightfoot was an Entertainment and News Media Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Fall 2021. RespectAbility’s mission is to fight stigmas and advance opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. [continue reading…]
Mary McGill Lucas
Mary McGill Lucas (they/them) was a Communications Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Fall 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. [continue reading…]
Ari Katz
Ari Katz (she/her) was one of the inaugural Philanthropy Fellows in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Fall 2021, a paid internship funded by the MacArthur Foundation for people with disabilities who are interested in bringing their experience with disability to the philanthropic sector. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. [continue reading…]
Claudia Run
Claudia Runk was a Public Policy Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Runk earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Sociolegal Studies from Loyola University Chicago. Through her time at Loyola, she was a member of Active Minds, a club dedicated to educating students on mental health and de-stigmatizing mental illness on campus. She hopes to pursue a career in public health policy with a specific interest in mental health advocacy. [continue reading…]
Alexandra Seddon
Alexandra Seddon was an Entertainment Media and Communications Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Seddon received a Bachelor’s degree in Television Film and Media from California State University Los Angeles in the year 2020. She also attended and studied abroad at The University of Arts London, also known as UAL.
Mary Elizabeth Mellon
Mary Elizabeth Mellon was a Nonprofit Management Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Mellon was previously a Fellow with RespectAbility in 2015. Her main tasks include researching donor prospects, writing op-eds, and other print material. She has worked in fundraising in Washington, D.C., and New York City, interned at Mental Health America of Illinois, and volunteered at numerous nonprofits including Sarah’s Circle, an organization that serves homeless women in Chicago. [continue reading…]
Kiah Amara
Kiah Amara (they/she) was an Entertainment Media Fellow with RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Based in NYC, Amara is a filmmaker, consultant, educator, producer, Production Accessibility Coordinator, and media industry activist. Their work focuses on identity, fluidity, commonality, misconception, and all things “deviant from normal” – stories from the Disability, LGBTQ+, and Underrepresented Gender Communities as well as Accessibility as a production need for all. [continue reading…]
Taylor Easley
Taylor Easley was a Civic Engagement and Coalition Bulling Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
As a teen, Easley moved from Baltimore to Richmond to receive a better education and to have more opportunities. She has earned an Associate of Social Science degree with a minor in pre-social work, a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree, and is working on both her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and certification of nonprofit management at L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs school. [continue reading…]
Nicole Olarsch
Nicole Olarsch was a Jewish Inclusion Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer and Fall 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Olarsch is from New York’s Hudson Valley, but has found a home in Lancaster, PA after attending Franklin & Marshall College. Olarsch graduated from F&M in the Spring of 2021, with a BA in Sociology and Gender and Sexuality Studies. [continue reading…]
Nakia Hillary Sims
Nakia Hillary Sims was a Public Policy Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Sims is a policy analyst, motivational speaker, advocate for affordable housing and a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. She received her B.S. from the University of Houston and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to starting Hillary Consulting Services, her work as a Mickey Leland Congressional Intern and a Texas House of Representatives Business and Industry Committee Clerk allowed her to keep a pulse on policy and regulatory changes. She honed legal research and writing skills while working as an Administrative Law Judge and a summer law clerk in the litigation department at Vinson & Elkins LLP. [continue reading…]
