Making Presence Count

Making Presence Count Latavia Sturdivant is an educator, licensed speech-language pathologist, professor, podcaster, disability advocate—and Ms. Wheelchair America 2026. A Yonkers, New York native born with cerebral palsy, Latavia has built a career around communication and access while using her platform to make sure people with disabilities are not simply present in conversations, but heard […]

Engineering Access Through Lived Experience

Engineering Access Through Lived Experience Dr. Ted Conway has spent his career at the intersection of engineering, research, disability, and accessibility. A biomedical engineer who also lives with cerebral palsy, Conway brings something particularly valuable to the field: technical expertise informed by firsthand understanding of the environments people with disabilities are expected to navigate every […]

Rewriting the Joke, Reframing Disability

Rewriting the Joke, Reframing Disability Tina Friml is a stand-up comedian, speaker, writer, and disability advocate whose comedy puts assumptions about cerebral palsy exactly where she wants them—on stage. Rather than allowing audiences to decide what disability means before she speaks, Tina frequently gets there first, using humor to expose the awkwardness, misconceptions, and ableism […]