Transcript

Hi everybody! My name is Ollie Cantos and I’m Chairman of the board here at RespectAbility. And I am excited to have this opportunity to join with others in celebrating Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This is a really wonderful time of year for us to celebrate the accomplishments, in this particular context, of members of the AAPI community who also happen to have disabilities. [continue reading…]

Ariel Simms (they/them or she/her)

Washington, D.C., May 10 – As the disability community continues to feel the transformative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disability advocacy nonprofit RespectAbility announces that Ariel Simms (they/them or she/her) has been named President and Chief Executive Officer. In this role, Ariel will foster new growth and opportunities, as part of a renewed vision to deepen RespectAbility’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

“I am incredibly excited to join RespectAbility as its next leader, building on the powerful work of the organization’s co-founders, board, staff, Fellows, and Apprentices. As a diverse, disability-led nonprofit, RespectAbility has advocated to increase opportunity and decrease marginalization of individuals with disabilities and the stigma that persists in every facet of our society. I am eager to renew partnerships and build bridges, ensuring that RespectAbility centers those within and across the disability community who face the most barriers. Coming into RespectAbility at this critical time, we are undergoing transformational change inside and out to become a more just, equitable, and inclusive organization, and one that is deeply trusted by the communities we serve,” Ariel said.

A social justice advocate, leader, and educator, Ariel has worked to promote equity, justice, and meaningful inclusion of marginalized communities throughout their career. Ariel has been a life-long member of the disability community, growing into their first disabilities in childhood, while also supporting disabled family members. As a multiply disabled person, Ariel understands firsthand the challenges faced by those whose disabilities are not always readily apparent. [continue reading…]

Riccardo Ricciardi

The summer after my first year in college, I went to Switzerland to visit my relatives. When I got there, I recognized my great aunt Rebecca. She was visiting from Bolivia. This was a wonderful surprise. She possessed an aura of warmth and love for all of us, and that is something I take with me to this day.

I had flown in from New York just in time for Friday night dinner, as I promised the host, my cousin Marcia and her family. The dinner setting was typical: two loaves of bread covered with linen and two candles sitting on the table. Before dinner, we read Psalms. After dinner, my cousin and I decided to question my great aunt, “the keeper of the family secrets,” on her knowledge of the ins and outs of the strange bag of Addams Family type mysteries which had been our childhood. For example, not being allowed to eat pork or shellfish under any circumstance. We also had questions about reading Psalms before having a meal, never mixing dairy and meat, and the most bizarre of them all, how they used to take it upon themselves to eat a ram’s head once a year. After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath and said with solemnity, “somos Judios. We’re Jews.” The second I heard that, I felt as if I were struck by lightning. [continue reading…]

As I was reading Shelly’s introductory note, I couldn’t help but reflect on the deep significance of building a house of worship that draws everyone into belonging. I think many of us have probably noted the inherent dichotomy between the Torah’s exclamation that we were all designed in the image of God, with the observable range of difference of humanity. Growing up in a post-Enlightenment Reform household, we were taught that this referred to the best parts of our natures, our love, our altruism, our morality and nobility.

It wasn’t until I got to college that I studied a rabbinic discussion about the treatment of the body that had been executed in a judicial proceeding that I realized that for them the image was quite literal. It begs the question then: how can this be both literal and true? [continue reading…]

“For My House Shall Be a House of Prayer for All Peoples”
Isaiah 56:7

Many faith traditions highlight this text from the book of Isaiah as a longstanding declaration of welcome and inclusion. Perhaps your congregation or organization has a plaque near the main entrance to your building with this quotation, or maybe it’s part of your mission statement or website.

Several years ago, as I prepared to give a keynote talk at a conference on inclusion in faith communities, this line from Isaiah took up residence in my brain, practically begging me to frame my presentation around it. [continue reading…]

Toronto, May 6 – Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), in partnership with the Canadian Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada, is launching a Disability Screen Office (DSO) in Canada to eliminate accessibility barriers and support and amplify disabled creatives.

“It became apparent that there is currently no single program, incentive, or regulation that can cause the screen industry to be fully inclusive for people with disabilities,” said Andrew Morris, Manager, Independent Production, AMI-tv. “The only way to create meaningful real opportunities for people with disabilities in the media industry is to address the systemic barriers relating to education, industry regulations, insufficient and/or inaccurate representation, public beliefs and attitudes, and full accessibility throughout the media industry.” [continue reading…]

To celebrate Mother’s Day, RespectAbility Communications Apprentice Madison Essig spoke with Dani Izzie, advocate, activist and mother with a disability. Izzie’s journey to motherhood is the subject of the upcoming documentary film Dani’s Twins. [continue reading…]

Hi everyone, I’m Wally Tablit and I’m the Director of State Policy with RespectAbility and I’m a gay Asian man with a disability. Today, I want to share with you some reflections on power, practice, and pride. Now, when I think of myself and all of those intersecting identities, we have to remember that those are all pieces of me and you can’t intersect and break those up in any shape or form. [continue reading…]

Shelly Christensen

Hello Members of the RespectAbility Faith Inclusion Family,

When was the last time you started something new? Was it a new job, a new relationship, or a new stage of your life? Did a new opportunity come into your life unexpectedly?

A month ago, I was happily running my consulting business, working on a new book, and collaborating with colleagues in my Jewish and interfaith work.

And then RespectAbility called me. Would I be interested in talking about the new Director of Faith Inclusion position? The small still voice inside of me called out, “yes!” My practical mind, however, suggested that I think about what a new job would mean for me and for my family, and for the work I have done for over 20 years. I never imagined I would work full time for another organization again.

That small still voice was insistent. “This is bashert,” it said. “Follow the process and get on with it!” I listened to myself, and, just a few weeks later, here I am! [continue reading…]