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| Byline | Expertise | Bio |
|---|---|---|
| Jo without E | Sciences, Medicine, Music, Ethics, Philosophy, Criticism, Education, LGBQT, Disability, Travel | My name is Jo without E and I enjoy throwing words into my imaginary blender, mixing them and then glueing them back together. On my blog, I write about everything. The ugly moments and the beautiful moments. The moments when I would prefer to be dead and the moments when I’m over the moon about life. About the colourfulness of the day and the colourlessness of the night. About loneliness. And community. About monsters and that they don’t always live under your bed. I write about life and how damn hard it can be sometimes. But sometimes… Sometimes it’s also just extremely beautiful. There are endless reasons to write. I write because there might be that one person in the world who reads it. I write because I enjoy writing. I write because sometimes people need to know things. I write because writing is easier than talking. I write because it sometimes makes life easier. Besides, I want to contribute to a more realistic image of the life of people with disabilities. Having several disabilities myself, I want to tell people what my life looks like, and what it entails to be a disabled student, a disabled friend, a disabled peer. |
| Katherine Yoder | Law, Politics, Ethics, Disability Culture, Disability Rights, Americans with Disabilities Act, Disability, Technology | Katherine Yoder is a person with disabilities herself, and she has worked with people with disabilities in various capacities throughout her career, from direct care to investigating crimes against people with disabilities across the state of Ohio. This work revealed the glaring gaps in the different systems when a crime is committed against a person with a disability. After co-authoring the Advanced Forensic Interviewing Individuals with Disabilities (Project FIND) protocol, Katherine founded the Adult Advocacy Centers to serve crime victims with disabilities in March 2019. She also co-authored the Project FIND Adapted protocol for individuals who do not speak. She is a certified forensic interviewer and has been an advocate for people with disabilities for 20 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in social psychology from Park University and a Master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati. Katherine has previously served on the Mortality Review Committee for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. She is a Nonviolence 365 Ambassador with the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. In 2018, Katherine received the Equality in Advocacy Award from Ohio Victim Witness Association, and in 2021, the Social Justice Award from the Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission. The Adult Advocacy Centers is a victim services organization for adult crime survivors with disabilities. We work with law enforcement and state investigators around the country to provide specialized forensic interviews, including all necessary accommodations, and we also provide training for professionals. As far as we can tell, we are the only organization in the world doing this work right now, and we are also disability-led, which is rare in disability organizations. Law enforcement agencies from around the country request our help for their difficult cases, especially when the victim or witness doesn’t speak in a traditional way. People with disabilities are very often discounted as untrustworthy witnesses in the abuse that happens against them, no matter how egregious. We’re working to change that by showing that you *can* provide legally admissible forensic interviews, even for people who don’t communicate well. We are happy to talk to reporters as a source or to write guest columns. Contact Katherine through the AACs' Director of Communications and Outreach, Stacy Brannan-Smith at the posted email address. |
| Soph Myers-Kelley | Medicine, Disability Culture, Accessibility, Disability Rights, LGBQT, Disability, Relationships, Sexuality, Lifestyle | Soph is a queer, disabled, neurodivergent, and trans Herbalist, Medical Librarian, Speaker, Writer, and Creative. With personal and professional experience in the health sciences, they work to overcome systemic inequities with their words and actions. |
| Mandy MacKearney | Ethics, Military, Disability Culture, Accessibility, Disability Rights, Americans with Disabilities Act, Feminism, Race, LGBQT, Disability, Sexuality | I am an Autistic woman with ADHD, OCD, sensory processing disorder, and emotion dysregulation. My pronouns are She/Her/They, and I identify as a Queer bisexual. Two of my six children are officially diagnosed as autistic, and at least two of my others are self-diagnosed due to limitations in obtaining a formal assessment. I have a BSc in Geography from the University of Victoria. My studies included an equal concentration of GIS/Remote Sensing, Human and Physical geography courses, and electives in Health, Political Science, and Sociology. I carefully selected my courses over the four years to achieve a broad education and a well-developed worldview of social issues. I am now at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), in year 2 of the Environmental Public Health program. Because I was dissatisfied with the BCIT policies and procedures regarding accessibility services and how my peers and program faculty treated me because of my disabilities, I campaigned for and won the Vice President of Equity and Sustainability role at the BCIT Student Association. This SA role supports my work to advance disability rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Working toward anti-oppressive/anti-racist policies in academia/healthcare, advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, changing how disability is viewed in society, and creating an inclusive work and school environment where students and staff have genuine feelings of belonging, are critical to me. With the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, I have worked as a peer researcher with lived experience on a project exploring women fleeing violence who are/or are at risk of becoming homeless. The objective of this project was to identify supports and organizations and add them to a centralized network for quick and easy access because they are needed during the most vulnerable time period of an abused woman's life, which is when she has decided to leave her abuser. |
| Lori Adams | Pop Culture, Sciences, Medicine, Poetry, Fiction, Ethics, Disability Culture, Accessibility, Disability Rights, History, Criticism, Education, Americans with Disabilities Act, Feminism, LGBQT, Disability, Relationships, Sexuality, Lifestyle | I'm a disabled woman from the southern US who survived a pineal tumor, incomplete spinal cord injury and massive neurological injuries. I work to raise awareness of disability and public health issues, but also write a variety of things. |
| Delia Harrington | Pop Culture, Books, Film, Television, Art, Music, Disability Culture, Disability Rights, Criticism, Feminism, LGBQT, Disability, Sexuality, Travel | Delia Harrington is a Boston-based queer nonbinary arts and culture journalist, focusing their writing on this area since 2017. They have a background in grassroots activism and over a decade in communications work for human rights/social services nonprofits and state government. They have bylines in Artnet, ARTnews, Healthline, Bezzy Migraine, Xtra, Paste, Dame Magazine, Tor.com, Polygon, Nerdist, Ravishly, The Rumpus, Den of Geek, and more. They are a member of GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and their entertainment reviews are listed on Rotten Tomatoes. |
| Ken Kansky | Media, Pop Culture, Law, Film, Television, Poetry, Fiction, Art, Disability Rights, Criticism, Americans with Disabilities Act, Disability, Relationships, Technology, Travel, Lifestyle | SAG-AFTRA Actor 51 6’ 240 lbs Blue collar typecast white collar F29 disabled mind. |
| Kathy Flaherty | Pop Culture, Law, Politics, Sports, Disability Rights, Americans with Disabilities Act, Disability | Kathy Flaherty ATTORNEY, BIPOLAR, ADULT ADOPTEE, MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION, SOURCE, WRITER, EXPERT SOURCE Image: A head and shoulders picture of a woman with short brown/gray hair, glasses, and a big smile standing in front of a column in a government building. The picture is off center and there are blurred lights in the background. She is wearing a gray patterned sweater over a gray, blue and black patterned dress. Contact Kathy: kflaherty at clrp.org Since 2015, Kathy has served as Executive Director of Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc. (CLRP), a statewide non-profit agency which provides legal services to low income individuals with mental health conditions, who reside in hospitals or the community, on matters related to their treatment, recovery, and civil rights.Kathy spent 12 years as a Staff Attorney at Statewide Legal Services of CT, Inc., the centralized intake hotline for all the Connecticut legal services programs. A graduate of Wellesley College (Class of ’88) and Harvard Law School (’94), Kathy has dedicated her professional life to advocating for the rights of the underserved. In January 2013, Kathy was appointed to Governor Malloy’s Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, a 16-member panel of experts created by the Governor to review current policy and make specific recommendations in the areas of public safety, with particular attention paid to school safety, mental health, and gun violence prevention. Combining her personal experience as a recipient of mental health services and her legal background, Kathy is able to speak to issues affecting those living with mental illness from a multi-faceted perspective. Kathy is a member of the Board of Directors of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers-CT (the state’s lawyer assistance program), and the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement (CABLE). Kathy is currently the co-chair of the Keep the Promise Coalition, a coalition of advocates (people living with mental health conditions, family members, mental health professionals and interested community members) with a vision of a state in which people with mental health conditions are able to live successfully in the community because they have access to housing and other community-based supports and services that are recovery oriented, person-driven and holistic in their approach to wellness. She is also a member of the steering committee of the Connecticut Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance, an alliance of people of all ages with all disabilities who pursue a unified agenda. You can find Kathy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter @ConnConnection Clips: Hartford Courant, September 2018: Connecticut — Newington included — needs more affordable housing Hartford Courant, May 2018: Hartford's Minor League, Let's Embrace It Hartford Courant, March 2018: My birth certificate is ‘fake news’ Kathy is available as a source and for personal essays and opinion editorial Additional communication availability: Phone, text, chat, videoconference Languages: English (Fluent) Law, Housing, Employment, Medicaid/SSDI, SNAP, State Benefits, State Budgets, Legal Aid, Disability Rights |
| Sunny Sanders | Media, Pop Culture, Books, Film, Television, Theatre, Poetry, Fiction, Art, Dance, Music, Disability Culture, Accessibility, Disability Rights, Education, Food, Feminism, LGBQT, Disability, Relationships, Sexuality, Travel, Lifestyle, Beauty | I'm an editor from the Massachusetts area. I'm 29 years old and I've been in the business for about 6 or 7 years. I've mostly done work for marketing clients so far, but I'm interested in branching out and editing novels, magazines and nonfiction, as well as, well, anything. As a queer individual on the autism spectrum, I've always found comfort in reading, especially books about people like me. I also love horror, weird fashion and pushing the boundaries of what is socially normative, especially when it comes to my own gender non-conformity. I also love to bake! |
| Jodie L. Guerrero | Media, Medicine, Books, Film, Television, Theatre, Poetry, Art, Ethics, Philosophy, Disability Culture, Accessibility, Disability Rights, Religion, Disability, Relationships, Travel | Jodie’s Journey BIO I am an active 'Consumer Health Advocate' and my story is well known throughout the world. My story has progressed throughout the years and is now being read by top politicians, world royals and national figures. My full memoir is soon to be published worldwide and then hopefully an inspiring film/doco may follow. By telling my story to those who make bigger decisions, I wish to change particularly the GP or primary health system, becoming a safer place from the false declaration of being called a 'Hypochondriac' when real, present & dangerous systems prevail. GP dismissal of critical symptoms really is a worldwide issue. Here in Australia, there does not seem to be any standardised 'safety tools' inbuilt into the standard 10 minute GP visit. Our GP visits are now rushed and patients are often scared to challenge their GP's opinion or lack of it. Stepping into a regular GP office can be intimidating for some: diplomas, medical encyclopaedia's, diagrams & charts can make a health consumer feel like 'a grain of rice' in terms of his/her own health intelligence. This feeling of inadequacy can be worse for older Australians & Indigenous people. When a patient leaves a GP office - he/she is rarely given the opportunity to resist or disagree with the medical opinion offered. Sure medical experts may disagree with me and add that there is plenty of opportunity to do this. However, this is far from reality - as a patient: your in his/her medical office, his/her medical practice with overhanging medical degrees and books that make no sense to the average consumer. One is made to feel that there is no formal welcome to disagree and press on with investigative testing. Due to an extended 'Delayed Diagnosis' in 2006 - I almost lost my life. Since this time, I have spoken to literally hundreds of fellow patients who all have a similar story. We need to do something about this and I am passionate about stopping this 'fobbing off - of patients'. A simple mandatory question @ the end of each GP consult could remedy this issue. Something like 'Are you happy with my opinion today?' would give the patient a 'green light' to question the GP's opinion and further discuss the symptomatic concerns of a possibly very sick individual. Here is my story: My website is: www.jodiesjourney.com I am a Mum with two beautiful special needs girls, who has fought cancer three times and in total have dealt with six medical traumas. Proven Medical Negligence | Lymphoma 01 | Lymphoma 02 | MDS (RCMD) | Bone Marrow Transplant & GVHD Rejection Disease (Mouth, Throat, Skin & currently: Eyes, Lungs). During my search for an answer to my initial symptoms, I experienced a delayed diagnosis - Nov/05 to Sep/06. I visited 7 doctors - 21 doctors visits, but was basically told I was a hypochondriac. Close to death, I discovered in desperation via the RBWH ER that I had extensive and profuse Stage 4 Follicular B-Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, eating into nerves | bone & muscle. NHL is a blood cancer that (in me) was caused by two random & common viruses - Glandular Fever and Epstein-Barr Virus. As a result of the extensive disease - I was loosing my R leg mobility - my R leg is still weakened and I have Atrophy of the R leg muscles, due to tumour scarring. Because of this, I wear a full leg brace. I absolutely believe that had I been diagnosed sooner, I would have avoided almost all of my pain and suffering, by wrestling with cancer three times. One of my former doctors was found guilty of medical negligence by my state medical board. I truly want to change our medical system, so that more cancer patients are diagnosed sooner - too many die as a result of a 'delayed diagnosis' - amazingly, I skipped that boat several times, but only just. Since that first encounter with blood cancer in 2006, I relapsed again in 2008 and had to then leave work. In another blow, I then developed another new cancer, caused by the toxicities needed as chemotherapy for Lymphoma 1 & 2. The new cancer was Myleodysplasia or Pre-Leukaemia and I needed a transplant to then save my life, once again!! In 2014, I had an Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant to save my life. I am now in recovery mode and writing my autobiography. All up, I have endured 94 doses of chemo & radiation and now take 48 pills a day, with monthly plasma infusions. It is a miracle I'm still alive. I enjoy writing for publications, magazines and blogging. I also have several years experience as a radio announcer, with TV/Media experience. My story has been seen and heard all over the world. Royalty and world leaders have listened to and read about my journey through trials and suffering - my journey is still continuing and it inspires thousands of people. Thank you for reading and please tell your friends/family to always question their doctors - no-one knows your body better than you. Warmest regards, Jodie Guerrero Consumer Health Advocate. www.jodiesjourney.com |