Ensuring People with Disabilities to Have Equality

Dear Friends,

My name is Ariel Simms, and I joined RespectAbility this past May as the new President and CEO. As a life-long member of the disability community, I was proud to join this disability-led organization, advocating with and for those with all types of disabilities from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Working alongside our incredible team of staff members and apprentices, I have a vision to deepen our organization’s commitment to advocating for the full diversity of the disability community by centering equity and inclusion in all that we do.

I am joined in my leadership by Ollie Cantos, RespectAbility’s Board Chair, who loves being a part of RespectAbility because of its historic and ongoing role as a force multiplier and positive disrupter within the disability space. Bound by a deep and abiding philosophy and commitment to bring together people with visible and non-visible disabilities alike, we meaningfully represent a broad cross-section of society and are drawn together and driven by our shared commitment to increase access by people with disabilities to every facet of community life.

Together, we remain committed to RespectAbility’s high-quality programs that fight stigma and advance opportunities for people with disabilities from all walks of life:

• Our Leadership programs, including the National Leadership Program and Labs for Entertainment Professionals, train diverse people with disabilities in the skills needed to take on decision-making roles in their careers and in their communities.
• The Policy team promotes best practices in education, employment, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and access for people with disabilities.
• Our Entertainment and News Media team increases diverse and authentic representation of disabled people in media, in front of and behind the camera.
• Our Faith Inclusion and Belonging programs ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith-based communities, and this year, we have expanded to serve even more faith and spiritual communities!

2022 National Leadership Program apprentice Lex Paul, who recently moved on to a full-time job after our program, shared this after his first days on the job: “I put in a reasonable accommodation request for the first time in my life - it was a little nerve-racking to be honest! The RespectAbility apprenticeship equipped me with the tools in how to communicate my needs and the understanding of what accommodations should be available. I would not have been able to do this without my time with you, and I cannot express how grateful I am for the skills gained in my apprenticeship.”

Another 2022 apprentice, Gabriella Helkowski said, “Being part of this Apprenticeship has given me a different perspective and respect for my colleagues. The honesty and freedom that occurred during our chats has been a wonderful experience. It was free of judgment which was priceless for me.”

You have been an important supporter of RespectAbility, and we are grateful for your engagement this year. Thank you for helping make our impact possible. But RespectAbility is not stopping now! People with disabilities still face too many challenges: ongoing disparities in the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer employment opportunities than people without disabilities, barriers to earning higher wages to provide for themselves and their families, lack of access to their faith community, and persistent stigma that prevents them from achieving their dreams.

As we look to the future, we plan to foster new growth and opportunities, uniting under one banner to serve more than 61 million youth and adults with disabilities through partnerships that impact law, media, employment, leadership development, faith inclusion, and broad-based attitudes toward people with disabilities.

In 2023, RespectAbility will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our founding. With your support, we can fight stigmas and advance opportunities for people with disabilities for another 10 years. If you would like to support us in our mission, please consider contributing to RespectAbility. To learn more, visit RespectAbility.org, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or sign up for one our newsletters.

Sincerely,