3/6/24: Disability Inclusivity for Candidates with League of Conservation Voters
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
1:00 P.M. Eastern
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Summary: Disability advocates and environmental organizers are concerned about the threat of climate change and share a desire for a more sustainable world. However, we sometimes disagree about how to address these challenges, leading to debates about everything from plastic bans to city planning.
But there is a clear intersection of environmental and disability justice, and there are leaders working at this intersection every day as elected officials, government employees, nonprofit leaders, and activists.
On March 6 at 1:00 Eastern, we’re partnering with the League of Conservation Voters to learn from some of these disabled leaders, and we’ll discuss how to design a policy platform that reflects awareness of your disabled constituents, and some features of a campaign that is inclusive for disabled staff and volunteers.
Featuring:
Sarah Young Bear-Brown, Chair of the Native American Caucus for the Iowa Democratic Party
Pennsylvania State Representative Jessica Benham
Maddy Ruvolo, Principal Transportation Planner for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Germán Parodi and Shaylin Sluzalis, Co-Executive Directors of the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies.
This event will have American Sign Language interpretation and CART captioning.
This event has concluded. Join our mailing list to be informed about upcoming events.
About The Panelists:
State Rep. Jessica Benham took office on a platform of fighting for the interests of residents in the 36th Legislative District and solving the critical problems that her constituents face: lack of access to quality health care and to economic opportunity, poor air and water quality, and failing infrastructure. Benham’s background is in advocacy for health care, education and worker’s rights, with experience advocating for legislation on the federal, state and local levels.
Prior to holding public office, Benham was Director of Development for the Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy (PCAA), a grassroots self-advocacy project run by Autistic people for Autistic people. She co-founded PCAA after moving back to college, and it remains the only LGBTQ Autistic-led advocacy organization in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.
Through her work with PCAA, Benham has worked to ensure that individuals with disabilities are treated fairly in the legislative process. She has provided feedback and consultation for legislation including the Autism CARES Act on the federal level and health care efforts at the state level. She advocated strongly for Paul’s Law, which states that an individual can’t be deemed ineligible for an organ transplant simply because of a disability and was signed into law in Pennsylvania in 2018.
However, her advocacy efforts are not limited to health care. Benham also has experience fighting for workers’ rights, notably during her time as a graduate worker at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was involved in efforts to organize a union of graduate student workers through the United Steelworkers.
Benham has B.A. degrees in Political Science and Communication Studies from Bethel University, an M.A. in Communication from Minnesota State University, and an M.A. in Bioethics from the University of Pittsburgh. She currently resides in the Southside Slopes with her cat, Ravi.
Maddy Ruvolo (she/her) is a Principal Transportation Planner in the Taxis, Access & Mobility Services Division at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), where she leads the Access Planning team in the improvement of transit, streets, taxi, and emerging mobility accessibility.
In 2022, Maddy was appointed by President Biden to the U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency that provides leadership in accessible design and develops accessibility guidelines and standards. Maddy began her career in disability rights organizations and brings her lived experience with disability to all facets of her work.
Shaylin Sluzalis (she/her) and Germán Parodi (he/him) are the Co-Executive Directors of The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies - the U.S. Disability and Disaster Hub, led by and for Disabled people throughout disasters. They both come from independent living and disability rights backgrounds, and are both persons with disabilities. Both their experiences led them to be powerful advocates and activists. Shaylin and Germán's journey responding to disasters and emergencies began in 2017 when they were deployed to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria as disabled first responders meeting the needs of disaster-impacted people with disabilities. Which now fuels their dedicated and focused work in inclusive emergency management and community resilience.
Sarah Young Bear-Brown/tti-ka-mi-ge-a is a member of the Sac&Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa - the Meskwaki Nation. She currently resides in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Sarah is a mother of two young children. She went to Iowa School for the Deaf and attended United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, ND. She walks in two different worlds; as a Meskwaki and Deaf woman.
Sarah is currently Chair for Native American Caucus for Iowa Democratic Party, a former Vice Chair for NAC for IDP from 2020-2022. She was former member of the Deaf Poor People Campaign. She believes in Human Rights.
Sarah has been an Activist/Advocate for the Indigenous Deaf Community since 2014. She founded “Gathering of Deafatives” for the Indigenous Deaf Community. Also advocated and protested with the No DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) at Standing Rock, Line 3 in Minnesota and supports the MMIW (Missing and Murdered of Indigenous Women) Movement. She is working as ASL storyteller, Deaf Interpreter, and Motivation speaker. She was invited to White House’s Roundtable for Native Disabled on September 2021. She was awarded for leader for Hamilton Relay in 2016. And She was one of Native American 40 Under 40 Honoree for National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development for 2021. On March 18, 2022, Sarah was invited to go to The White House for Women History Month. She got invited to White House on September 28, 2022 again for 32 years anniversary for ADA. Third time she was invited to White House on September 28, 2023. What an amazing honor.
Sarah owns a small business called SAYBB Creations Beadwork and she has been creating beadwork for 24 years, starting at age 15. She is a 5th Generation beadworker, following her mother, Mary Young Bear’s path as a beadwork artist. Mary is one of Iowa women Hall of Fame in 2020.