The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is teaming up once again with Tome Gnome, Tucson Agenda, and an excellent panel of local experts to host the seventh Solutions-Focused Community Book Club! Panelists include Jean Parker, Ph. D., founding Executive Director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition; Kate Elliot, MSW, from the Autism Society of Southern Arizona; and Dr. Amanda Kraus, who serves as Executive Director of The University of Arizona’s Disability Resource Center.
This book club aims to bring together interested community members from all walks of life to bond over a shared desire to make our community better for all – and be inspired by a shared reading experience!
When: May 23, 2024 | 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Where: Community Foundation Campus
Book: Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong
Please RVSP using the form below. Light refreshments will be provided.
About the Book
One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture.
From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love.
“Disability rights activist Alice Wong brings tough conversations to the forefront of society with this anthology. It sheds light on the experience of life as an individual with disabilities, as told by none other than authors with these life experiences. It’s an eye-opening collection that readers will revisit time and time again.” —Chicago Tribune
The Disability Visibility Project
Alice Wong founded The Disability Visibility Project as an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Visit disabilityvisibilityproject.com/about to learn more about Alice and upcoming events and to view other works published by disabled people, including essays, reports, and blog posts about ableism, intersectionality, culture, media, and politics.
About Our Panelists
Jean Parker, Ph. D., is the founding Executive Director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, which has become one of the state’s most powerful lobbying groups. She currently serves on the Board of the National Federation of the Blind of Tucson and teaches nonprofit management and development practice at Regis University in Denver.
Kate Elliot, MSW, earned her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago, specializing in Family Support. She managed a Family Support Program and later worked with families at the Domestic Violence Alternative Center at the Juvenile Courts. Katie works at the Autism Society of Southern Arizona, where she shares her experience with two children on the spectrum. She supports the families and individuals in their programs while strengthening the Autistic community, advocating and promoting Allyship in Southern Arizona.
Dr. Amanda Kraus has worked at the University of Arizona (UA) for over twenty years. She currently serves as Assistant Vice President for Campus and Executive Director of UA’s Disability Resource Center. One the largest in the nation, the Disability Resource Center is an international model of progressive service delivery uniquely positioned to approach campus access systemically. Through her research and teaching, she challenges the dominant deficit or tragedy narrative on disability and promotes models and tools to increase access and equity and ultimately reframe concepts of difference in higher education. Dr. Kraus is regularly invited to speak and consult and colleges and universities and organizations around the country and internationally.