Disability Power Series Featuring Xian Horn

CLARE KILLY:

Hello, thank you for joining us, and welcome. This is our annual celebration of disability leadership, and we are thrilled to have you with us today. We're so glad that so many of our members, fellows, and friends like you could join us this afternoon, especially our featured guest, Xian Horn. This is Clare Killy speaking, and I'm the Education and Learning Services manager here at Disability Lead. I use she-her pronouns, and I'm a white woman with brown, slightly gray hair. And I'm joining you from my home office. Prior to this event, we shared a guide outlining the accessibility of this program, and I wanna remind you that both CART and ASL interpretation are available. You can view captions here within the Zoom, or you can utilize the Streamtext link in the chat. And you can use that to view captions in a separate browser. Please don't hesitate also to message our staff in the chat should you have any issues at all. So, this is an especially, excuse me, exciting program for us because we're thrilled to recognize our current and future fellows.

As the manager of our institute, it's an honor for me to get to know and learn from each of our phenomenal fellows every year, and I look forward to sharing a special video with you at the end of this program, which will announce our new class of 2025. For now, I'd like to invite our Executive Director, Emily Blum, and network member Whitney Hill to join me on screen and help in congratulating our class of 2024. Emily and Whitney, please join me.

EMILY BLUM:

Welcome, everybody. It's so... in a very, very special welcome. And congratulations to the graduating class of 2024. My name is Emily Blum, and I have the privilege of being the Executive Director of Disability Lead. I use she-her pronouns, and I'm a white woman with brown hair. I'm wearing tortoiseshell glasses, and I'm also in my home office. I am so proud of our growing network of positive disruptors, all people with disabilities, including myself, who are using our power to create an equitable and inclusive society. We believe our experiences, ideas, and leadership as people with disabilities are vital to achieving justice. Disability Leads Institute is a unique opportunity for emerging and established disabled professionals to hone and develop their leadership skills among a network of passionate and dedicated peers. This particular 2024 class of fellows worked incredibly hard to strengthen their knowledge, learn from one another, and build community, while also seizing on opportunities for civic and professional growth.

Whitney, please do us the honor of recognizing our 2024 fellows.

WHITNEY HILL :

Thank you so much, Emily. My name is Whitney Hill. Pronouns, she-her. I am a black woman with short black curly hair, wearing a black little throw. I'm a Disability Lead member and also a member of the selection committee that helps select each fellow class. Congratulations to the following 2024 fellows. Atta Zahidi, Benjamin Saylor, Bernardo Gomez, Dane Heights, Doctor Lisa Elliott, Eli Brotman, Elizabeth Johnson, Irma Gomez, Jerome Pellissier, Jeyton Taylor, Lauren Galloway, Lauren Wilkie, Mary Bucklin, Miriam Bohmani, Peru Aurora, Patrick Andrada, Richa Singhal, Reika Kim, Sadaf Ajani, Taylor Matthews, and Tim Granzow.

CLARE KILLY:

Thank you both for joining us, and congratulations again to the class of 2024. We look forward to having you continue on in our network. Thanks for joining. At this time, I am pleased to welcome our featured guest, Xian Horn, to join me on screen. Xian, please, join us here on the webinar. Xian is a self-described as a joyful, half-Asian woman with cerebral palsy. She is a beauty and disability advocate, speaker, educator, Forbes contributor, and founder of the nonprofit Give Beauty Wings. Xian's wide-ranging advocacy includes transportation, self-esteem, assistive tech, inclusive design, fashion, and beauty. Xian, I will invite you to kick things off by telling us more about yourself in a moment. And I'd also like to invite my colleague, Risa Rifkin, our Senior Director of Programs and Strategic initiatives, who will join Xian in conversation. We look forward to hearing from you both. Thank you.

RISA:

Hi, everyone. This is Risa. Xian, we're so glad to have you in conversation with us today. And I'll turn it over to you to do a brief intro, then I'll introduce myself and we'll get going.

XIAN HORN:

Amazing. Thank you so much for just allowing me to be a part of this. I'm so thrilled with the work that you're doing, and congratulations to all the inductees. I'll do a brief description of myself today. I'm wearing an emerald green shiny satin blazer with my half-Chinese, half-Jewish hair. It's really curly right now, looking more like my dad's today. Yeah. Anyway, I'm just so thrilled to be here and so grateful. I also wanna point out, I normally traverse the world. I don't know if you can see, those of you who, you know, can, that I have two shiny ski poles right here behind me as well. And I, you know, being an advocate was not my plan. I really thought I was an only child growing up in New York with artist parents, and I really thought... and actually, it would be great. I know we have some slides to maybe give some context, and I will give a visual description of the images that we are about to see. But, you know, I can't really talk about my advocacy without talking about my incredible parents.

My mom was a, she was an art director for Estee Lauder as her first job ever out of FIT. I'm not seeing the slides. Is everyone else seeing the slides?

RISA:

This is Risa. I can see them. Yeah, I can. I wonder if it's the view? You might need to go to the side-by-side Xian. But I do see the photos of your beautiful pin.

XIAN HORN:

Oh, aren't they? Aren't they? Oh, I see them now. OK, great. OK. Yeah. So, I love this as sort of the intro because the left panel is me on some gymnast rings, and I think is emblematic of the kind of parents that my parents are, which is, when I wanted to be a ballerina, they just got me a ballerina costume for Halloween. I also forgot to mention that I have cerebral palsy. And so, I went to UCP for preschool, and I was able to, you know, have the best schools and the best support systems. And I think when it comes to the work that I do, I'm really trying to be the love and support that others may not have had, because, obviously, we don't have control over whether we have great parents or we have the right school systems. And so, I just have to give a shout-out to my parents every time, because I really... my parents always made me feel like I was different, special, like, you know, that I was extraordinary because I was different. And they always made me feel like more, not less. And so, I really have to give them and their uniqueness that we're all a little strange.

My family is very strange, but it's wonderful, isn't it? I think it's, you know, the fact that, you know, they prized uniqueness over homogeny is part of the reason why I grew up believing my disability was a blessing of my life. I was not aware of what Judy Heumann and those who came before me fought so that I could sit, that we have the ADA. And I could say that my disability was the blessing of my life. So, you know, was not my plan to be an advocate. I was just, you know, I think also this is a generational thing, that when I was growing up, whoever was different, it was our job to be scrappy. I think in the last ten to 15 years, that's really changed. Now, it's this idea. I'm here. It's your job to welcome me. But I don't think when I was a kid that that was the case. You know, we all... I mean, it's good to be adaptable, and I think there was some benefit to that. But I think in a lot of ways met, a lot of the way I grew up was showing people that we weren't that different, right?

That we all want the same things. We all want to know that we're lovable, that we have a purpose, and everybody wants to feel acknowledged in some way. And so, I really was always trying to minimize how I was different because when you walk around with two shiny ski poles, you're very noticeable. And yeah, especially in New York City Street. And so, I always felt like there was already too much attention on me. And, so when people wanted to make me their poster child, I was like, no, you know, no, I'm just like you. But, you know, obviously with the caveat that not exactly, right? Everybody's got something and we're all different, and that's something to be celebrated, you know? So, anyway, so, it wasn't until my second job ever for a theater in New York with 45 members total, 15 with disabilities, hearing everybody kind of read their journals and share their stories. I heard suicide attempts. I heard people saying they wanted to tear themselves out of their bodies because of their disability.

And it really jarred me because this group of Actors Studio actors, Kennedy Center Award-winning playwrights, these were the most talented people I had ever met. And if this is how they were doing, I really wondered, how's everyone else doing? And so, I think this is a perfect time to go to the next slide. So, I ended up pitching the Dove campaign, I know Risa you're gonna ask me a little more about that later. I ended up pitching the Dove campaign, asking people, them to include people with disabilities in their advertising. And from that ended up being handed classes at NYU on self-esteem. Because the main teacher for this project that I was working on with my theater was called True Story Project, and I was helping girls 14 to 21 tell their stories. And the next semester, the main teacher couldn't do it anymore. And so, they said, ''Is there anything you want the girls to know?'' And I said, ''I want them to know how beautiful they are.'' And so, she said,''Great, can you make a six-week curriculum out of that?''And I said, ''Well, I've never done this before, but I can try.'' And I really based it off my own journey as a girl, becoming a woman, and the things I had to overcome in terms of insecurity.

You know, I think, you know, the one area of my life you could never touch was disability. But as a girl, becoming a woman in every other way, I was like, the most stage-frightened person you could imagine. The most, yeah. And it's really wonderful'Cause I think once you realize that it's not about you. There's something really freeing about that. And it's no longer about, how's my hair? And do people like me? It's really, you know, once I realized that lives were at stake and that I saw this beauty around me, and I just wanted to be able to reflect that beauty back to the people that I was meeting. It freed up so many things. So, yeah, I think this might be a good place to kind of let you, Risa, take over. You know, I'm excited. I'm ready.

RISA:

Definitely, Xian. Thanks so much for getting us started with your story, your journey that led you to your career. Your life career. So, hi, everyone, I'm Risa. My pronouns are she-her. As I mentioned, I'm the Senior Director of Program and Strategic Initiatives at Disability Lead. But today, I'm just really excited to be in conversation with Xian. Just a quick description of myself. I'm a brown woman with long brown hair. I'm wearing gold glasses, red lipstick, and holiday Berkeley earrings. We all need to bring some joy and beauty to our lives. And I'm in a very volatile office. You know, Xian, we have so much in common. You know, I used to work and celebrate my parents with all that they have given me. Especially those early years when it was so, you know, important to be encouraged as a young adult with a disability, right? So, thank you for bringing your parents into this. I also wonder, though, if we can, if my first question can be really candid and just leave work, right? Our vision is that people with disability will lead with power and influence, and we are celebrating so many of our leaders today, both on 2024 fellow and incoming 2025 fellow alongside new members and just would love to hear from you about how you lead with power and influence.

What does that mean to you? What is that look like?

XIAN HORN:

So, it's such an interesting, juicy question because, you know, I think when we think of influence now, a lot of people think of influencers and it's very interesting for me because I, you know, in terms of social media, I may not have as big a following as some other disability advocates or people in general. But I think leading with power and influence, I'm gonna quote a couple of people that I really admire to answer this question, I think. I think influence is really about, I think it all starts with relationships, first of all, you know, and even from self-love. Like how we lead is completely determined by how we feel about ourselves and how we feel about humanity, you know. And yeah, so I'd love at this point, to quote two of my favorite people, George Takei, in his autobiography, his father said to him that leaders know when to break the rules. And also, since we're talking about parents, I wanted to also, quote my dad where he actually... So, he's an immigration lawyer and has his own firm.

And he told me once, he said,''If ever anything goes wrong, I always assume it's because I didn't delegate properly.'' And I always thought that that was an incredible thing to share because, as, you know, when you have an organization or community, it's very easy to blame others or to, you know, pass the blame to somebody. And I think that real leadership is about accountability, is about integrity, and is about connection and never forgetting why you're doing it and who you're doing it for. And I don't think you can lead if you are thinking of yourself only. I mean, you might be a part of, you know, if you wanna improve health care for everyone, but that includes you, obviously. But I just think that it's really important when we think about leading. It's like, how can we put ourselves in an empathetic position so that we're really listening? Because that's what true allies do. They listen well and they incorporate that feedback. You know, if you don't understand, like for me, I will say, when I pitched the Dove campaign, for example, I will be really honest.

I was thinking about mobility disabilities. And also this is before technology got really good. It's not captioned. It's not audio described, the video. I'm gonna call myself out for that in 2010. Because I just wasn't even thinking about how large our community truly is. And so, then I started getting letters from the Philippines, Australia, Japan, from people with rheumatoid arthritis and Aids. I didn't even realize this is how, again, being an only child and an only child bubble. I didn't even realize that those are disabilities, too. You know, and so I, as an ally to my friends and colleagues, I think it's really important for me to listen to my friends who are blind and low vision, to my friends who have ADHD or other disabilities that I might not have. And so, that's part of why I joined the ReelAbilities film selection committee, too, was to learn. Every film, whether good or bad, I learned something new about whatever that condition is, or I learned what not to do in a film, by the way.

But the point is that none of us know everything, and that's why we need each other. And so, going back to your question about power and influence, I think you have the most power and influence when you empower someone else and when you're not looking to have power and influence, but just to make change. So, that's the short answer. But I think, you know, it's really important, you know, when you think of yourself in service, I think that's when you lead the best and you can change the most.

RISA:

I love how you also brought in, like, the concept of bringing the full community and the spaces in which you (UNKNOWN) By listening and learning from other members in the community. I think we're getting a couple of shoutouts in the chat about that, so just highlighting that. As we continue, please feel free to submit questions that you might have with Xian in the Q&A feature. And in the webinar, I will be asking some questions live in a little bit. So, as you think of them, please put them in the Q&A feature. But, so, we've heard a couple times now about the Dove beauty campaign. I'd love to ask you a little bit more about that. Maybe, if you could just describe it a little bit more for everybody to learn more about. You know, as I... ...thinking of family and influence. My Nana Lydia was like a firm Dove body, like body wash, like committed. I was too bad we didn't have stock in Dove because I'm pretty sure she would've like, made us be really wealthy (LAUGHS) from her commitment. But I really love learning about what your challenge to the Dove beauty campaign, when in your pitch you said, I used to think to be a role model, you had to be perfect, or at least to always say the right thing.

But I realized maybe it's enough to just be honest. So, can you tell us about how you think honesty and authentically play into your leadership success?

XIAN HORN:

Well, I think to go back to George's quote of leaders know when to break the rules. Also, I think it's important to know when it's time to change the rules. So, one of the things that I realized after being in this wonderful theater with the most beautiful and talented amazing people that I've ever met was that just because we are beautiful doesn't mean we always see ourselves as we are. And so, I said to myself, OK, why is it, at least with regard to my disability, that I know it sounds weird. We have so many challenges as a community that still need to be done and we need to, we'll unpack those things later. But really in my only child bubble, I was like, you know, the disability part of my life was the one thing that was untouchable and it was mine. But I wondered why it was that I seemed to be the only one in that room that felt that way. And I wanted to have conversations with my friends about how beautiful they were and kind of understand more. But one of the things that I realized is I wanted to talk to kids and parents because I felt the sooner you could get to them, the less likely it would be to, you know, that they would get messed up because that, you know, as soon as you go out into the world and you see how people react to you, and if you give power to that, you know, if it's, let's say, maybe not, I'm saying for anyone that has sort of like a very apparent disability, you, you know, I always, and I think it's really interesting when you have invisible disabilities, you sort of have the opposite problem of almost having to prove that you're disabled.

And so, I wanna acknowledge that that's not always the case. But one of the things that I realized is I wanted to talk to kids and parents didn't know how to get to them. And so, I said, where else do we get our sense of self-esteem? And there are a lot of answers to that. There's media, there's so many different parts to this. But one answer that came to me at the time was the beauty industry. And I realized that Dove had already celebrated women of all sizes and they had celebrated older women as well. And to me, it seemed like disability was the next natural frontier. And it's funny that you say the grandma thing because my Jewish grandmother, her skin was always so soft. And I'd ask her like, "How do you do it?" And she'd say, "If you want skin like mine, you gotta have Dove soap." So, we should have gotten stock. But I will say that this is part of why when they passed on it twice without ever talking to me, I was disappointed. But it was actually a very freeing thing to realize so many people that video didn't go Justin Bieber viral but I did hear from thousands of people all over the world.

And I realized in that moment, it was, in a way, it was a good thing that Dove passed because I realized it was not about one beauty company, right? It's about our value as human beings. And anyway, so long story short is that it was kind of a freeing thing to think bigger. And that's when the self-esteem program happened. And that's when I ended up judging an assistive technology competition and working with Parsons and FIT. And I thought I'd be doing the self-esteem program for the rest of my life at NYU and I'd be perfectly happy and live happily ever after. But there's so many aspects when you're talking about advocacy and leadership, I realize that really my job is shifting culture around disability and also our oneness as human beings and our ability to love. So, anyway, long story short is that it expanded my world 'cause then, yeah, I'm on the ReelAbilities film selection committee. I'm on the New York Tech Alliance board. I'm not a technologist, but I got to work with developers and help them develop their technologies.

And so, I wanna share with anyone who's not sure where they stand with leadership right now, is to just go where you find the need and start somewhere because again, I mentioned I was the most stage frightened person you could imagine. I forgot to mention that six months into grant writing for this theater, I was asked to perform in a show, playing myself, telling my story. And I said, I've never done this before. And they said, "It's OK. Not everyone will make it to the end. It's a year long writing process." I was a writer who was not writing, so I figured at least I'll have something on the page every month and whatever happens. And I ended up actually taking singing lessons 'cause I figured if I could learn to sing, it would make speaking easier. And so, anyway, I'm so grateful to that experience because it kind of opened up my world. So, even if you don't feel like a leader right now, if you have something you're passionate about, that is what should lead you and will make you a leader if you lean into that and feed the seeds of that.

So, you might look at some of the presenters here and think, "Oh, they've got it all figured out." I can tell you I'm still figuring it out. None of us do and none of us, again, know everything and we need to hear from you so we can learn more.

RISA:

That's for sure. I'm learning new things every day, every hour. Xian, I'm gonna do a little bit something different because I feel like we're on the topic. And as you mentioned, you know, shifting narrative and culture, I think we got a question from the audience that relates to that. So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna plug it in now.

XIAN HORN:

Absolutely.

RISA:

The question is, what advice can you share when it comes to preparing a pitch for a project that intersect with disability?

XIAN HORN:

Well, it depends on who are we pitching. I need to ask the follow up question.

RISA:

I don't know if we'll get answers, but I can, I mean, feel free if we got it, ask anonymously. So, if anyone...

XIAN HORN:

OK. So...

RISA:

But I imagine because when disability intersects with something, it can feel like we have to make justification argument, you know, demand got present, got perspective. So, if that's wrong, whoever ask a question, please let me know. But I don't know, Xian, if that gives you maybe (CROSSTALK)

XIAN HORN:

Well, I think what I can do is give a multi-pronged answer. Like, if you are pitching a corporation, then I would go with the flagship dates, like National Disability Employment Awareness Month. And kind of, I mean, in certain cases, you're going to have to feed into like what is the more expected things. If you're pitching a person that you're having coffee with, then it's really about finding that kind of, that little foot in the door, not literal, by the way. That might connect this person. Maybe they have a grandparent or maybe there's a connection there. I think, honestly, even thinking that way sometimes we're already assuming we're gonna get rejected because disability's part of it. I think that like when I talk about myself, you know, being Chinese and Jewish is just as important to me as being disabled and being a woman I'm so proud of. So like, when I'm pitching myself, yes, of course, disability inclusion is probably like one of the most important things that I do, but I'm a whole person.

So, like, whatever your endeavor is, like look at the whole picture of why is it important and how does it apply to the non-disabled community? How is it for everyone? I always try to bring universal themes into it. Even in describing my disability, I might use a metaphor that, so like, I don't know, like for... I'll give you a silly example. A lot of times when I'm trying to explain what my experience of disability is on a New York City street or in interaction, and this is purely for me by the way, I say that it, I've never actually been pregnant, I wanna be really clear about this, but it's kind of like being perpetually pregnant because people ask me to be careful. They give me their seats, they open doors for me that like very, you know, kind of delicate with me. And so, that is a metaphor that obviously if you're not disabled, I mean, or I mean, it probably is controversial, right, because I haven't been pregnant. But the point is that I think that there's always ways to make disability relatable and finding those things.

And the thing is, disability issues aren't just for disabled people. So, as long as you can kind of show the bigger picture of like, why is this important for humanity, period. And that's why so many of us talk about if we live long enough, you know, we will join the disability community at some point. And how that is, that is... And a lot of people think that that's how we get people to care about disability. I personally think that if you lead with your whole self and the whole why, which includes disability, then it becomes something that everybody can care about. Does that make sense? I hope it makes sense.

RISA:

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Yeah. I had never thought of my pregnancy experience as being a metaphor for like my disability experience, but it is that theme that everybody else thinks they know what's best for you when it is still like your body, right, and your choices. So, it was...

XIAN HORN:

It's right.

RISA:

Yeah, an interesting reframe for me. So, I appreciated that. (CROSSTALK)

XIAN HORN:

Yeah. And to be clear, oh, no, to be clear, that may not be everybody's experience of disability, but for having one that is very apparent to people and people have shown me, total strangers have shown me a lot of care. But I think it's kind of similar sometimes to probably mothers who get strangers touching their belly. I think people that wanna help, they sometimes can take over and fuss over you. And so, that's kind of my daily experience in New York City of having cerebral palsy. Again, everybody's experience is different. So, I'm not trying to make that an overarching thing, but that's just an example when I'm trying to explain what my life is like. That's one of the examples. But I do use, and it makes me laugh anyway.

RISA:

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think we hear this a lot from members who have a diverse range of disability experiences of just, you know, whether disability is obvious or they disclose, and then other people's reaction to them. Sometimes, like universally can be paternalistic, can be crafting that what you would think would be a societal boundary of invading space, privacy, whether it's asking questions or physical touch or whatever it might be, I feel like a lot of us have had the more moments to what you're describing though.

XIAN HORN:

Yeah. And I just wanna also add the fact that when someone stares at me, I expect that because I would also look if somebody were, you know, seven foot seven or had purple hair. So, I don't assume just'cause someone's looking at me that they're necessarily thinking anything negative. And I actually use that moment to... And this is not everyone's reaction, you know, and not everyone, you're not required to have a reaction at the ready. But I try to use that moment as a moment of connection and then a human moment. So, that if someone is feeling awkward, you know, you, if you look back at them, a lot of times people will realize, "Oh, I was staring", or "Oh, oh, it's not a big deal." Right? This is not like necessarily newsworthy, but I always look, I think it's really important as people with disabilities that we control our narratives and we don't let other people take our narratives from us. And so, that's a small way that I'm able to do that. OK, you're gonna stare. OK, let's make it worth your while and maybe I'll make a friend because that person ends up saying hi, or, you know what I mean?

Again, not everybody's reaction and you're not required to make friends wherever you go, but it is fun.

RISA:

(LAUGHS) Yeah. I don't know if I've ever made friends with someone who's staring at me. So, maybe I'm from New York too, Xian. And maybe I'm just to Brooklyn for that. (LAUGHS) Yeah.

XIAN HORN:

We need that stuff. We need that stuff.

RISA:

Yeah. Yeah. It's worked for me for now. I'll say growing up, my mom's reaction was to chase people down, which I think was probably not letting me control my own narrative, but she was controlling the narrative when I was a kid. Right. But I like the point of making it explicitly clear that it is an individual choice and it is a decision of like what we wanna do. And I say this all the time, we don't owe anyone anything either, right?

XIAN HORN:

Exactly.

RISA:

So, in that moment, it's about what I wanna do, not what other people expect.

XIAN HORN:

Right, right.

RISA:

No. So, we got a question in the registration in advance, women and (UNKNOWN) about joy. So, how do you keep joy when the barriers of society trying to go hard can push both narrative on to you?

XIAN HORN:

Well, I think we talked about this a little bit in the pre-call. And what came to mind for me, again, George is my neighbor. So, he's on my mind. He's in town right now. George Takei. They asked him in an interview that I saw recently, because he was at age four placed on a train with his family, with all their belongings, everything they had to leave so much behind. And they were interred by the US government simply for looking "like the enemy", right? And he was four years old and he was there with his sister and his parents. And so, somebody asked him, do you, like, "How do you feel being on trains?"Because they spent days on trains getting to Arkansas from LA where he was born. "How do you feel about trains today? Do you hate trains?" And he is like, "I love trains." And I kind of realized in that moment that, you know, I think there are people with, even within the disability advocacy community that may find me, they, you know, kumbaya or I don't believe that positivity means anything without truth.

So, I think real positivity is like, wow, life is hard. And because of that, I'm gonna choose to be the light and I'm going to choose to make what I can out of the life that I've been given. And because so many people outside of my family used to assume, they would literally come up to me. I'm sure there's people on this call that have had this happen to them. I'm sorry. And I'd be like, don't be, I'm not. And I think, when I think of George, you know, he was accused as a four-year-old of not being patriotic. That's why his whole family was labeled anti-patriotic. And I think that's part of why he's such a patriot today. It's like, oh, you don't think that I'm a patriot? Well, I'm gonna be the most patriotic person on the planet. Oh, you think my life is gonna be terrible? Well, I'm gonna have the best life I possibly can. And I think that we have to fight for joy. And I think that, even if it's just for ourselves, not for anyone else, but I realized only recently that positivity is kind of my default, the way my brain works.

I will be honest about that. But I think there's also part of me that is really defiant to all those people that assume my life must suck because I have a disability. My life is better because I have a disability. That doesn't mean it's easier, but it's certainly richer. And I've met more people and connected on such a deep level. And that is one thing too when you have a very obvious disability, people will share with me, oh, my son is disabled. I'm trying to figure out how best to parent him. What advice do you have for me? Or they might open up about disabilities they've never shared with their own families. And I think that is a blessing and like a privilege to have. And so, in terms of keeping your own narratives is like I hunt for those moments of beauty, those moments of brightness. And because it is a dark time that we're living in and there's still so much that we need to do, and all that stuff that we need to do is what motivates me every day to keep going because we can't stop.

That's why Judy Heumann, it would be great actually if we could show the picture of Judy while we're talking about her. But Judy Heumann, I mean, she was working till the day she died because there was still so much to do. She could have said, "OK, I helped bring about 504 and the ADA and I'm done." But no, there is so much to fight for. But within that, I think it's important that we keep in mind that, that let us, let the things that still need to be done motivate us and keep us. It really excites me what's next And the amount of work can be so overwhelming, but we've gotta find the moments of beauty within that. Maybe it is being able to connect with another person with a disability, going through the same thing. Those moments of connection, that there's beauty in that, even if we haven't reached the destination of where we wanna go. And I don't think there's one solution for the disability community. It's a multi-pronged solution. And I think that's why when you look at my resume, it looks like it's all over the place.

But what it's really trying, I really believe that it is my job to uplift and shift culture as much as possible to get people thinking more inclusively, more lovingly about every kind of difference, but especially disability. So, there's so much to say about this, but I think it's really important that we don't let others co-opt our narratives. Our stories belong to us, and they're there to be mirrors onto other people's experiences and be points of connection. And don't let anybody steal that from you. And that even means celebrating the pain too. And being honest about what isn't working and speaking up when you see that people are not being treated well at TSA or they're not getting the healthcare they need, all those things are a part of that. But anyway, I just let all the things that we need to do motivate me because it's very easy to wanna curl up. There are definitely those moments too. I wanna be honest. There are definitely those moments. But I think in those moments, we have to make the decision because it isn't about us, it's about all of us, you know, how are we going, what are we going to do next so that this doesn't happen to somebody else?

RISA:

Yeah. I mean, I'm looking at this slide. And if you wanna do a brief description of it, I think we'd love to hear (CROSSTALK) the slide. But it also makes me wonder, like, what has been your favorite advocacy moment?

XIAN HORN:

Oh my God, there's so many things, and it's not, I can't pick just one because it's still happening. Like, I love watching all the ReelAbilities films. Good, bad, or ugly films are, I learned from every single one. I loved taking on the MTA for our same day travel program because that's still something. There's 600 of us that prevailed on that program, but there's a million New Yorkers with disabilities, so that's still something. We all need to fight for, right? And every part of the United States, people should have same day travel options. If you are, if you have a mobility disability or need to travel by any kind of paratransit, you should not be required to book 24 48. I remember the state of Indiana said that it takes... When I was in Indiana, they said it takes a month to book a car there. So, nobody should be dealing with that wherever they are. And that's globally too. So, I think the transportation advocacy I find really, it gets my engine running because there's so much still to do architecture, you know, I've been yeah, blessed to work with that.

I worked with Architectural Digest to talk about what makes the space welcoming. I don't know. So, it's not one moment. So, I'm gonna keep thinking about that. I'm probably gonna pop up with some, a few more, but there's just so much. And I think representation, and not just any representation, but empowered representation. I mean, we get literally thousands of films a year that include disability, but they're not always progressive or nuanced or accurate. Sometimes they're coming from a very sort of ableist framework or just someone who really doesn't know. And so, that's a really juicy question that I could really spend an hour on. But yeah, there's so much. And I think one of the joys of my advocacy is that I get to meet people who are making a difference in their spaces every single day. To go back to the slide, the fact that, Anastasia Somoza in this picture, she asked a question of the Clintons when she was eight years old, and it changed her life and they stayed in her life. And that's the reason I got to meet him.

But I love meeting cab drivers and doorman and security guards too. So, I love all the people that advocacy has brought into my life, and I'm so in... I know we don't like the word inspiring, but I'm so motivated by the people that I meet with this disabilities who are making a difference. And yeah. And I get to be friends with my heroes and sheroes.

RISA:

Can you just add some quick description of the (CROSSTALK)?

XIAN HORN:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I actually was in a mode now where I can't see it, so I'm gonna go back to that. That's why. OK. So, on the left, on the left, we've got somebody that has literally changed the world, President Bill Clinton and Anastasia Somoza, who I just mentioned, and I know each other since preschool. Her mom was really the driving force at a young age of her advocacy. And I came to advocacy quite later in life, I would say, not till my twenties. So, it's never too late to start, I wanna say. But on the left picture, I'm wearing blue with my shiny ski poles and matching bill for some reason. And Anastasia is wearing white and smiling wide. And I wanna tell a quick story about this photo. They shoved us in a corner so quickly. I didn't even think that we would be looking at the camera smiling eyes open. So, I'm just thrilled that we were all looking in the same direction because it all happened so fast. And then, of course, our beloved, Judy, this was my first meeting with Judy one-on-one.

And it was at her favorite bagel place in DC that had kind of New York style bagels. So, she was introducing me to that. I'm wearing black with actually a necklace that is pieces of the planet, actually. It's the globe. And then she's wearing her favorite Picasso pink kind of windbreaker sort of raincoat thing. And yeah, the picture makes me really emotional now. I miss her every day. So, that's what we have. We're both seated in that picture on the right and smiling wide. You don't see the, I will say you don't see the bagels there, but they were really good. OK. So, I'm really bad at short descriptions. So, there you have it.

RISA:

Thank you. No, that was great. I think what I'm gonna do is remind everybody that we are looking forward to the question that you are submitting in the Q and A. And I will get to those shortly. So, please continue to, sorry, submit question in the Q and A and we'll get to them. But Xian, are there any other photos you wanna share with us before I go to the next question? You're back, but you're on mute.

XIAN HORN:

Oh, I pressed the wrong button. OK. I was gonna say, why don't we just go through the slides quick and yeah, that would be great. Next slide. OK. I'm the founder of Give Beauty Wings on the right. I'm there at my last event for Give Beauty Wings, which is a kind of fundraiser of on inclusive fashion and beauty. To my left is Natasha Caudill. She has 1.3 million followers. She's a colorblind beauty influencer, and an incredible speaker and human being. I'm so grateful. And to my right is Jessica Cox, a woman that I stalked for years before we became friends. She is literally the first pilot in the United States to have her pilot's license without arms. Many of you may know who she is. I know that I literally stalked this woman, so I'm just so grateful she was willing to fly in from New York. And then Ramy Gafni, a cancer survivor and makeup artist who also survived traumatic brain injury. But he has made over everyone from Taylor Swift and Rihanna to all the, every housewife of every county.

And literally Joan Rivers told him that he should be a standup comedian. And I was like, "Why didn't you say mentor me, Ramy, seriously?" But so he is one of the kindest and funniest people I know. And then on the left, we have an appearance that I did on behalf of ReelAbilities. Rochelle Boone is in the middle with black and white on. I'm in a pink blazer. And this wonderful the band leader of this incredible ASD Band. They have an incredible film that we was closing night a couple of years ago for us. And we appeared on New York one to promote that film and promote ReelAbilities and promote disability inclusion in film. And Michelle Boone unfortunately passed away about a year ago, so I'm sorry. We miss her. And I think that, oh, and I didn't do visual descriptions of everyone on the right. So, I'll say that Natasha picked out a very sparkly jacket. I think that's gold. And she's wearing sunglasses and kind of kneeling as I'm seated. And the rest of us are seated there. And Jess looks gorgeous in a silver floor length dress.

And Rami is wearing, I'm not sure what he's wearing, but he looks like he's wearing navy and his gorgeous big smile. So, OK. Next slide. OK. Yeah, this is just a panel that I did for L'Oreal last year, at the end of last year, a staff training. They had us come in. And really it was not a disability related panel per se, it was just a DEI panel. How do we think more inclusively? But it was one of the highlights of my year for sure. We got to talk to about 210 L'Oreal employees. And here we are on stage. And that's Aubrey with the mic. And all the rest of the panelists are looking at him. It says, inclusive marketing, the experts behind us. Next slide. OK. Yeah, so we can keep this slide here. But I just couldn't resist. This is my mom and I about, I don't know how many thousands of feet above our cruise ship, but we're parasailing. And I normally am very afraid of heights, but not when I'm, apparently, when I'm secured in, we were very secure up there. And we got about two minutes there, said a little prayer together, and then my mom looked around and goes, it's kind of boring up here.

I thought that was really funny. But the reason I like to show this at the end of presentations generally is that I think it's a great representation of anything is possible. And if you want something, go for it. So anyway, I gave you some BTS, but there we go. (CHUCKLES) Do we have any other questions? I think I'm seeing little notifications here.

RISA:

Yes. So, sorry, this is Risa. I didn't realize you had finished the slides. So, I think we can take the photos down at this point in time. We are getting some question in the little box there, so I'm gonna put those, I'm start asking them. But the last question I'm gonna ask you before going to some audience question knowing that we have so many disabled leaders on this call with us, what advice would you give to them, to us on how to lead with our disability identity? It's so clear to me that in everything you do, you lead with your full identity, including your disability identity.

XIAN HORN:

Yeah, I think everything in life is about authenticity. And obviously, if you're on this call, then you probably have some desire or seed for leadership. I will say that, again, we've talked about this, that people with disabilities are not obligated to lead, but if we are not leading, then usually somebody else is leading us. And so, I think, if you're scared to do it or you're not sure how to do it, I would just say start, start anywhere. Like, I started by taking singing lessons, which in theory has nothing to do with leadership, but it helped take me out of my shell a bit. And I started by just noticing that my friends and colleagues were in a position of, you know, I saw friends and people that I cared about suffering and I wanted to help. And so, I didn't know how to do that at first, but I just tried to figure it out. Ask yourself those questions of, you know, 'cause everybody has a different place also in leadership. Like, I'm not an organized person, so that's not a strength that I have, and I think it's important to know that.

So, that's why I hire really good people that can kind of offset that weakness that I have, because then I can focus on my strengths, which are connecting with people and being able to make those changes that we wanna see. I think it's really important to know both your strengths and weaknesses. And sometimes it takes time to figure that out too. Like what you're good at and how, and what's the best use of your time, because we all, you know, especially as people with disabilities, maybe we have, we might have limited energy. And so, where are we gonna put that energy towards? So, I think that you don't have to... A lot of times you can look to the left and look to the right and say, "Oh, Emily Ladau is doing this, so I don't, like, she has a book already." Well, she's not gonna tell her story the way you are gonna tell your story. So, everybody's voice matters. And it doesn't matter how you see yourself. There's someone out there that needs to hear your story or needs your leadership.

If you're the only one in that town that can make this change, then you've gotta start. And it's not about, you know, I think a lot of times, it's, we go into our feelings and we think because we don't feel good enough that we aren't. And I'm here to report that everybody, like, and this is like captain obvious stuff, right? Everybody matters and everybody has leadership in them, but sometimes you have to feed those seeds, you have to water them, right? And so, you might, you and many people on this call may already be doing way more than I'm doing and should be... I have a feeling that the majority of these people could be doing what we just did, which is this presentation. So, first, I wanna say thank you to those for whatever you're doing, whatever size of contribution you're making, it all matters. And I think that it's really important that you don't compare yourself to others except to figure out how you can contribute. Our differences are there not so that we can feel like, figure out who wore it better or who's a better advocate, or taller or smarter or skinnier or whatever it is.

It's to figure out, OK, what hasn't been addressed. And that's give beauty wings. I'm having conversations through Give Beauty Wings that I don't think anybody else is having, disability and money, disability and dating, inclusive beauty and fashion, bringing together the fashion community and the beauty community to meet the disability community because those things aren't happening enough. They probably are happening somewhere, but they're not happening enough. So, like, figuring out where this, where your need is or where the need is, I think is the best advice. And to also know that you're already built in enough. And if you have a desire to lead, it's there for a reason and you shouldn't ignore it. And do whatever you can. And I'm here to support you too. Please reach out to me if you have, if anyone feels shy to ask a question right now, please don't, please reach out to me. I'm happy to work with you. I'm happy to support you in who you're becoming. And we're not supposed to do this alone.

You have a huge community, literally one in four people. And we need to find each other and support each other. And so, I would love to just get away with like, the competition aspect. It's fake. It's fake. There's room enough for everyone. We just need to make the room and the space, and to make sure that when we are at the top, it's not just about us.

RISA:

Yes. I love that. I could go on a whole tangent. I truly believe in the power of white supremacy in that world and (UNKNOWN) model being in that, and your comment that it is not a competition and there's enough room for all of us being so true. When we got to question that I feel like are similar, so I'm gonna combine them a little bit, recognize Xian, that, you know, you talked about so much, like positivity and joy, but we all have those hard moments too, right? And so, what do we do with those hard moments? How do we deal with that? And we got a question around how do you deal with burnout, especially when we all know progress is not happening. Maybe feed an area in which we would like to see.

XIAN HORN:

Yeah. So, I think there's a couple of questions within that question, so I'm gonna try to pick each one through. One is, I think, you know, when I was running the workshops on self-esteem, I always had a playlist. So, that way you could feed your beauty every day and feed your sense of authenticity and have celebratory, like I was always very conscious of each song, having a kind of celebratory message so that you could kind of reclaim that place of joy. You're having a bad day. But burnout, I think is natural. I think you have to put self-care first. And some of the burnout might be because you can't put self-care first. Maybe transportation is really horrible or you haven't been able to get like the care that you need a PCA. I know that my friends who have 24-hour care of a PCA, like if someone quits, that's a huge thing. And so, I think first thing I would say is put in self-care rituals. Maybe reading a book calms you down. For me, I pray, I talk to God a lot. I do, I do. I don't wanna think that I'm doing this alone.

I'm not. I am. And so, I'm like, I'm just really honest with my friends and with my friend upstairs, like, what is working, what's not working? And I just talk it out. And I think having someone to talk to, so that could be therapy, that could be, you know, just a really good friend. Obviously, you need to figure out what you already have that's working for you, but also if you're feeling depleted, like there's usually something that you're prioritizing beyond yourself that is causing that. So, like recently I've been getting up like six, seven o'clock in the morning every morning. And I've been doing that for weeks. And I can see it in my face that I'm just not as rested. And so, like, I'm trying to make almost like a New Year's resolution early this year, just to get better sleep. And like, I'm really good at staying up because I'm really interested. I get stuck in a YouTube rabbit hole or whatever. So, like, kind of eliminating the stuff that, you know, there are certain things as people with disabilities that we're required to do, that's part of the burnout every day.

So, whatever is outside of that, that's where I think, you know, if you can, like, I don't need to be on YouTube for two hours every night, right? I don't need to be on it. So, like, eliminating those things that you know might be draining your attention or your sleep. I'm speaking to myself just as much as I'm telling everybody else too.

RISA:

You don't need to be on YouTube as long as you're not watching our program, right? Like, you can watch. No, I'm just kidding, everyone.

XIAN HORN:

Yeah. Is this going on YouTube? OK. Well, then you need to be on YouTube for this hour and a half, and then you can go (CROSSTALK)

RISA:

And then to move on. We have so many, we have a couple really good, great questions left, and I'm gonna try my back on...

XIAN HORN:

Great. Let's do it.

RISA:

..to get (UNKNOWN) ask you a couple more before wapping up from how we already got to that time. And we got a section from a fellow, and I wanna do my best to answer it a little bit, but essentially he relates to so much that you have shared, but as someone with an invisible disability. So, what advice do you have on how to educate people about invisible disabilities and to point out people's unconscious bias towards them?

XIAN HORN:

Well, I think it's very similar to what I would say to my students who are dealing with very apparent disabilities is like, only you know exactly what you need. And sometimes you may not too, by the way. A lot of times someone might be helping me up the stairs and they'll say, what do you need? Well, every staircase is different. So, I might say to them, oh, I just give me a second. I don't even know yet. I need to figure this out. And then I'm saying, well, actually, can I hold this arm? And can you hold this stick? And I think it's sometimes it can take, you know, as we're doing it to figure out exactly how to articulate it. But I think, you know, whatever you can do, and it's not on you as well to necessarily know. But I think it's important that if you can kind of get sort of an elevator pitch of what your conditions are that are relevant. So, you might say something different on a date than you might at a job interview or you might say something different. You might have to customize it a little bit to the moment.

I think it's just important that you get it to a place that you feel comfortable. And if you've articulated that and people still don't get it, that's on them. But I think it goes back to what I was saying, how I like to talk things out. I think as you talk things out, you kind of figure out, oh, this is exactly, this is exactly what I need in this moment. And you may get very good at that, but if you don't practice it and start doing it, and by the way, people may not react the way you want them to, it's not about that. It's, again, going back to our narratives is like, this is what my disability is, this is what I need. If that person still doesn't get it, and it might be apparent, by the way, it might be somebody you love most in the world, and that can be really heartbreaking when you've articulated, I have this condition, or you may not even know what your condition is. Some people are not diagnosed, but they know they need these two things. And people have varying reactions to that.

It is not about their reaction. I think it's just getting very clear for you about who you are. Going back to that authenticity piece. And like I, for example, this is sort of off the question, but I think relatable in the sense that I remember my mom saying to me, and by the way, she was the most supportive mom, but she said, she was trying to get me to do therapy, you know, more PT. And she said, well, Xian, don't you wanna dance with a boy at prom? And I said, well, first of all, I don't want to be with a guy if he doesn't wanna, if he like, you know what I mean? If he wouldn't wanna be at prom with me, whether I'm dancing or not, like, I'm not interested. And she wasn't trying to say, I don't even think she realized what it sounded like. I think she was just trying to get me. I was so happy as a kid that I really was not motivated in PT and OT. I was like, my life is great. And when I saw doctors, I was like, oh, it's a friend. I get to make another friend. And I know that's not everyone's experience, but I think, you know, having the ability to state what you need it, that's your responsibility and how people react.

Hopefully, you can share resources with them if they don't get it. But I think it's just important to like practice and get a sense of like, OK. And it may change too'cause disabilities change. Some disabilities are fluid. So, you may have to keep, you know, kind of adjusting that message. But I think the most important thing is to make sure the message with you is clear about who you are. And when you share that with people, hopefully, it will be received well. But that's the extent of your job. And I do think that a lot of times we expect people to be mind readers and they're not. So, I think finding cl... And also, I think we can get so emotional about things that it's hard to feel clear and to say things clearly. I learned that for me, with my writing and everything I do, I used to just like things to sound beautiful. And then people would be like, that's great, but what does it mean? And so, I think whatever makes you feel clear about it and being able to communicate that is, is the most important thing.

I hope I answered that question. It's a really deep one. I feel like that could be an hour long answer. So, it was just about.

RISA:

I mean, I feel like we could talk more about anything we've talked about, but much longer than we have. I think this is gonna be the last question if you have, like, a one-minute answer, and this is an intense question, but if you wanna ask it.

XIAN HORN:

Go for it.

RISA:

The question is I have been looking for a job since the layoff in July. How do you navigate entering new spaces with new identity, especially because of the changes we see happening in real-time? With DEI, I am afraid to answer any questions related to disability and race. I feel limited despite my experiences.

XIAN HORN:

Yeah. Well, I just switched healthcare providers and they asked if I would like to disclose my race. And for the first time, I did not disclose my race because knowing who we have coming in as president, I did not want, you know, this is the first time that I've not declared something like that very proudly. And I think you're right to be careful. I think, I guess I would like to know more about that question in terms of, is this in a job application? Was that...?

RISA:

I'm not sure. I did not cut anything out, but I imagine either application and/or interviews or the hiring process but...

XIAN HORN:

Right. OK. Yeah, I mean, I think that I would disclose in that case because you wanna work in a place that wants you. So, any place that would disqualify you for, I think it's different with healthcare because if you don't have coverage, you don't have coverage. But like, but in a workplace, you want somebody that's going to see all the things that make you different as an asset.

RISA:

Yeah, I always say that the interview process is an interview of a candidate and the company, right, as a candidate. And like, you need to feel like you wanna work there as well. I can't believe we're out of time. But Xian, thank you so much. This has been an incredible and a privilege to be in conversation with you. At this time, I wanna invite Clare to join me back on screen and I'm gonna hand it over to Clare. I'm gonna go away. And again, Xian, thank you so much.

XIAN HORN:

Oh, it's my joy and pleasure and just thank you. Thank you. These were great questions and I love what Disability Lead stands for and I'm so happy to support you going forward. And since we did run out of time, I'd love to do it again sometime if I'm invited back. But cheers to everybody and thank you, Clare.

CLARE KILLY:

Thank you so much, Xian, it was a pleasure having you. I know the audience got a lot out of it, so we'd love to have you back. So, thanks for joining us and please feel free to stick around off-screen for our next exciting announcement, which we'd love to share. So, again, I just wanna extend thanks to Xian and Risa for this very engaging discussion. I personally think this is a very energizing and positive thread to move into the end of our year and into our 2025 with. So, as we close this portion of the program, we would really appreciate your time completing the feedback form that we are including in the chat now, so you can let us know what you thought about this program. And now, at this time, I am thrilled to share a few exciting announcements with you. In just a moment, we'll be showing a video. So, you may be seeing that getting queued up on the screen here. You will hear firsthand from our newest fellows class. But first, while we're pulling that video up, I'd like to recognize three new members.

We are welcoming to our network. So, I wanna congratulate and welcome Justin Houcek from ASD with me, LLC. I'd also like to welcome Nicole White from Emerge the Soul LLC and Dr Zoie Sheets from the University of Chicago. So, welcome to those three new members. We are thrilled to have you in our network. And now, I will go off-screen and mute so that we can welcome our amazing group of change-makers. Here is our fellows class of 2025. (MUSIC PLAYS)

ALLAINA HUMPHREYS:

Hi, I am Allaina Humphreys and I use she her pronouns. I'm a self-employed graphic designer and advocate. I am excited to network with other leaders with disabilities to develop my skills, get better at long-term goal planning and work collaboratively to expand inclusion in Illinois. (MUSIC PLAYS)

ALY EASTON:

Hi, my name is Aly Easton. My pronouns are she hers. I am an artist activist and I am so excited to participate in the institute this year to be in community with other disabled creatives and people who are pursuing disability justice and accessibility in their respective fields. (MUSIC PLAYS)

BRITTNEY SYMONE GRANT:

Hi, my name is Brittney Symone Grant and my pronouns are she/her. I work for Disability Lead as their programs coordinator and I hope to gain more confidence in myself as an emerging leader, all while uplifting disability justice and immersing myself in this amazing community of powerful leaders. (MUSIC PLAYS)

CHRISTENA GUNTHER:

Hi, I'm Christena Gunther and my pronouns are she/her. I'm the Assistant Director of Disability Services and Student Affairs at Adler University and the president and founder of the Cultural Access Collaborative. I'm so excited to be a part of Disability Leads Fellowship program this year. Thank you for selecting me and I'm most excited to really grow my network as well as own my disability identity. (MUSIC PLAYS)

ELIZABETH L:

Hi, I am Elizabeth. I use she/they pronouns and I'm a Program Associate on Start Early Consulting Team. I'm excited to connect and find belonging with others with disabilities in the Chicago community. And I also really want to learn how to better advocate for disabled employees uplifting their voices and spaces where they are not heard. (MUSIC PLAYS)

ELON SLOAN:

Hi, I am Elon Sloan. I use they/them pronouns. I'm a facilitator and educator and I'm really looking forward to meeting other professionals with disabilities. (MUSIC PLAYS)

GUADALUPE PINZON:

Hi, my name is Guadalupe Pinzon. My pronouns are she/her. And something I hope to gain from this fellowship is build up my advocating skills. (MUSIC PLAYS)

IGNACIO BALCAZAR:

Hello, everybody. My name is Ignacio Balcazar. My pronouns are he/him/his. I am mathematics researcher at the DePaul University. I'm excited to be in the disability fellowship because I will be able to connect with people with disabilities and gain knowledge and leadership skills in order to have more confidence in promoting and making more inclusive and accessible to the community. (MUSIC PLAYS)

ISABEL M VIRGEN:

Hi, my name is Isabel M Virgen and my pronouns are she/her. I'm a master of social work candidate and graduate assistant at UIC. I'm most excited about connecting with other people with disabilities and learning from the community how to foster leadership. (MUSIC PLAYS)

JASMINE S DESKINS:

Hi, my name is Jasmine Deskins. I'm a grant writer and advocate. I use the she/her pronouns and I'm most excited about building a community with people whose lived experiences are similar to mine. (MUSIC PLAYS)

JESSICA PLUMMER:

Hi, I am Jessica Plummer. I use she/her pronouns. I currently work at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as a guest service associate. And something I'm hoping to gain from this fellowship is more confidence in my identity as someone with a disability and also creating more opportunities and inclusion for people with disabilities in my industry. (MUSIC PLAYS)

JONATHON HAVEN:

Hi, my name is Jon Haven. My pronouns are he/him/his. I am a disability rights advocate and a personal care attendant. One thing I really hope to get out of this fellowship is further clarity on how I can use my skills to push for disability rights. (MUSIC PLAYS)

LILIANA SCHILLER:

Hi, my name is Liliana Schiller. I use she/her pronouns and I'm a civil rights analyst with the US Commission on Civil Rights. I'm excited to join the new class of Disability Lead fellows and hope to connect with others who understand the challenges of living as a disabled person. And I hope that we can work together and learn from each other to affect meaningful change in Chicago. (MUSIC PLAYS)

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

Good day. I am Michael Solomon. I use he/him pronouns. I am the Director of Media Relations at Lyric Opera of Chicago and I'm very much looking forward to joining this fellowship and to learning so much from my other disability experts and activists and becoming more of one myself. And I hope we all can work together to make Chicago an even better place to live. (MUSIC PLAYS)

OLIVIA FARRELL:

Hi, my name is Olivia Farrell. I use she/her pronouns. I am a Program Analyst at Crown Family Philanthropies. And something I hope to gain from this fellowship is strengthening my application of a disability justice framework within my everyday work. (MUSIC PLAYS)

RYAN MCGRAW:

Hello, my name is Ryan McGraw. I use he/him pronouns. I am the healthcare or community organizer at Access Living. One thing I am looking forward to with the institute is to connect with other fellows and have the chance to collaborate with them on future projects. (MUSIC PLAYS)

SYDNEY BARTA:

Hi, everyone. My name is Sydney Barta. My preferred pronouns are she or they. I am a foster home licensing supervisor with Lutheran Social Services at Illinois. During my time in this fellowship, I really hope to learn how to become the type of leader that helps others like me feel they are safe, valued and respected in the workforce. (MUSIC PLAYS)

THOMAS DREIXLER:

Hello, my name is Tom Dreixler. I go by he/they pronouns. And I'm an infrastructure engineer at the MacArthur Foundation. I'm excited to be part of this institute to grow my leadership skills and to learn the nuance areas of leadership and to better serve my community. (MUSIC PLAYS)

WILL CORCORAN:

My name is Will Corcoran. I use he/him pronouns. And I'm the development director at the Post-Landfill Action Network or PLAN. And I'm most looking forward to building community with folks in Chicago living disabilities through this fellowship. (MUSIC PLAYS)

CLARE KILLY:

Hello, this is Clare speaking again. Thank you all for sticking around for our announcement of our new class of 2025. We are thrilled and congrats again to our 2024 class and the newbies coming in. So, thank you all for sharing in our celebration of disability leadership today. Please consider supporting our work in programs. The institute is one of those programs and you can help make those programs possible by making a donation on our website or by using the donation link that's found in the chat now. As we wrap today's program and celebration, we wanna send a message to our current and new class of positive disruptors. Please know that your disruption, which is really your ability to question how things are done, innovate, lead the charge, and create something entirely new is very needed in this moment. It's how our communities will evolve to be more equitable. It's how our businesses will grow and survive. And your voice is rooted in this positive disruption. It is needed and it is valuable.

So, thank you all for your continued work and advocacy and your continued support. With that, I wanna thank you all for joining and please join us in 2025 for our Disability Leadership Summit. You can catch early bird registration deals now via the link in the chat. Until then, wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season and happy new year. Thanks for being with us and have a great day.

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