April 29, 2024
Self Advocates Becoming Empowered and ACL's Administration on Disabilities are pleased to announce the 2024-2025 Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (SAR-TAC) award fellows.
Seven fellows were chosen based on the policy or leadership project they wanted to do to help the self advocacy movement. Fellows are listed below with their state, host organization, and project summary.
Learn more about SAR-TAC, and learn more about the winners and the past fellows. The next fellowship opportunity will be in October 2024.
2024-2025 SARTAC Fellows
- Ashley Mathy, WI
Fellowship project: “My Advocacy Journey.” She will write the book in plain language about her journey as a person with autism and other disabilities.
Host: Cindy Bentley, People First Wisconsin
- Amee Shah, WV
Fellowship project: “Healthy Living: Advocacy through Artwork.” Using art, Amee will showcase how to use art for a healthy life. She will discuss healthy eating, balanced nutrition, and good choices.
Host: Brandon Gress, Art Beat Studio, Wood County Society
- Cindy Kerr, CO
Fellowship project: “Fairness in Employment for People with Visible and Invisible Disabilities” will help develop opportunities for new employment experiences.
Host: Blake West, Dungarvan, CO
- Connie Chu, CA
Fellowship project: “How the Printed Word Becomes a Small Business.” Connie plans to host a group of writers with disabilities and then teach this group and others in the disability community how to self-publish their work.
Host: Melissa Crisp-Cooper, The Arc San Francisco, with community support from Peter DeHass from the San Francisco Disability Business Alliance
- Erin Compton, IL
Fellowship project: “The Accessibility of Wellness.” Erin will use the definition of “wellness” to show how many disability systems make wellness inaccessible for people with disabilities.
Host: Mariel Hamer-Sinclair, Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities
- Laura Lillian Davies, NH
Fellowship project: “Inclusive Housing in Walkable Communities.” Laura will advocate for affordable, inclusive housing in walkable communities for those with disabilities.
Host: Rebecca Bryant, Lakes Region Community Services
- Marcus Aguliar Pauli, CO
Fellowship project: “I See U ‘ICU’.” Marcus will make films after he collects surveys on topics that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities pick. These videos will show us challenges and how they advocated for themselves to succeed.
Host: Lorraine Snow, The Arc of Larimer County