Baksha Ali (she, her) was born in Bangladesh. Her family moved to the United States when she was six years old because she was diagnosed with Retina Pigmentosa (RP).
Ali was a Community Outreach Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program (Spring 2020). During her Fellowship with RespectAbility, Ali identified more than 100 organizations nationwide that serve people who are low-vision and blind. They were then invited to two townhall-style virtual gatherings when COVID-19 first erupted to discuss their specific challenges due to the pandemic. As a co-facilitator with two board members who are blind, the first gathering gleaned that some people who are blind and users of SNAP (food stamps) cannot safely purchase food during the pandemic (online use was not permitted). This led to a Herculean, nationwide effort by RespectAbility’s team to secure the use of SNAP to safely purchase online food, for more than 11 million people with disabilities.
During summer 2019, she served as a Work Force Development Intern at VISION, a nonprofit organization that assists people with disabilities in attaining employment and finding alternative ways to live an independent life. Her role consisted of conducting online research and locating job fairs and networking events for a client case load of 30 job seekers with disabilities.
Ali is interested in working for nonprofit organizations that works with people with disabilities because she is passionate about helping others. Her passions include listening to audio books and 90’s music. Her all-time favorite book is Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling. She loves chocolate and spending time with her friends and family, meeting new people, and travel.