Thursday, June 20, 2024 | 1:00-2:30 PM ET
Register for the webinar
ACL’s Grassroots Project was launched in 2023 to support national, state, and local disability advocates in building networks to stay informed about the policies that affect people with disabilities and to work together to ensure their perspectives, priorities, and preferences are reflected in disability policies and service systems.
This national webinar — the first hosted by the Grassroots Project — provides an opportunity to hear from advocates about the steps they took to find their disability advocacy community, the challenges they faced, tips for success, and strategies for maintaining a sense of connection in their advocacy work.
The webinar’s featured speakers are listed below.
- Allilsa Fernandez is a mental health and disability advocate, activist, and consultant. They have worked with a number of national companies.
- Cody Drinkwater is the regional self advocacy specialist for the Eastern Shore. In addition to his role at the Developmental Disabilities Agency, he works as the policy coordinator for People on the Go of Maryland.
- Eric Washington is an advocate for people like him — people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) — especially those who are also unhoused. He is co-lead and member of the TBI TARC TAL-Group.
- Lola Kernell is working as an intern for the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities. She is a senior at Bishop Miege High School and is involved in the Down Syndrome Innovations ACE program.
- Santa Perez is the active president emeritus of the People First of Nevada. Santa is a former member of the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and sits on many state and national committees.
ASL interpretation, Spanish interpretation, and live English captions, will be provided during the webinar. Please note, due to a recent Zoom update, full accessibility including ASL interpretation may not work if you are joining with a mobile device. ASL interpretation and slides can no longer be viewed simultaneously via phone or tablet. We have been in direct communication with Zoom to communicate this limitation and advocate for this barrier to be removed. ASL interpretation during this webinar will be available to those who join via desktop or laptop computer. In response to this accessibility limitation, we are engaging in a national advocacy effort with our partners to elevate this systemic accessibility issue in an effort to ensure Zoom makes the needed changes to their user design.
Contact grassroots@hsri.org with questions.