Welcome to 2018
Welcome to 2018. As we enter into our 3rd year, we are reminded of the importance of creating stories that reflect the diversity of the disabled community. Sometimes that easy, sometimes not so easy.
For this edition the stars aligned and we have some great stories about women in our community who are making things happen. Jo Crawford continues to make a difference for PwDs in and around Phoenix. Her work at the Barrow Connection (we got it right finally) gives us all a great sense of community. Brenna Bean personifies what Daring Adventures is all about. Bright and outgoing, she is constantly showing up out in the wild where few would expect a lady in a wheelchair to be found.
Advocacy is that often unsung frontier that too many in the disabled community fail to appreciate. Fail to participate. Yet in the heels (pun intended) of Amina Kruck’s retirement from the VP of Advocacy position at Ability360 comes April Reed. Our cover story is a simple Q&A with the former head of our volunteer program who now leads our quest for more acceptance and representation from our policy makers and the community at large.
Finally, we introduce Gina Shuh. Hang on because she doesn’t sit still for a moment. She’s none too shy about taking a position regarding the realities of life as a woman with a disability and she’ll always be one of the first to step up regarding when and how the government should work for the PwD community.
Not to be biased we have included the boys too. Check out Scott Daravanis’ story on the Paralympic hopes of 12 year-old Gabe Scanlan or Aitanna Yvette Mallari’s story on Phoenix Fire Chief, Ernie Lizaragga’s expression of art following a tramatic brain injury.
In this edition we up our game with two tech reviews. One from a young Floridian, Mason Ellis, who has an extraordinary YouTube channel about life as a quad. We are expanding our reach!
Speaking of expanding, so too is the marketing department. Once a forgotten storage room, we are adding a studio that will allow us to add more multimedia programs and stories to the mix. Stay tuned!
Happy New Year! We hope you enjoy this edition. We’re already cooking up our Spring edition.