The Munroe-Meyer Institute’s JaToya “Toya” McIntosh recently received a DREAM Fund Scholarship through the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), MMI’s network representative association in Washington D.C.
 |
From left, MMI staffers Kim Falk, Annie Pope and JaToya McIntosh at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities annual conference. |
McIntosh, part of MMI’s AmeriCorps program and a member of the University Centers for Disabilities team, was the inaugural recipient of the scholarship, established by AUCD in an effort to mobilize and lift up the voices that matter in the disability movement. The fund brings emerging leaders to Washington, D.C., where they can be a part of important events and bring their first-person perspective to national conversations about the lives of people with disabilities. It allowed her to attend AUCD’s annual conference in D.C. last month.
At the conference, McIntosh attended several small-group sessions, including one focused on communication and self-advocacy skills for people with disabilities. Many nationally recognized disability advocates were in attendance, as well.
“This meeting helps you learn how to be a good self-advocate: have a voice, be yourself and learn how to do things for yourself, network,” McIntosh said. “I got to meet other national leaders and learn from them.”
McIntosh also met with Nebraska senators Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse, as well as officials from Rep. Brad Ashford’s office, to discuss transportation issues and barriers for people with disabilities.
She also met with officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation to share her personal challenges, which arise from a genetic disorder that mimics the symptoms of cerebral palsy. She has had problems with using metro buses, with the lack of curb accommodations for wheelchair use and other obstacles.
She was excited for the opportunity to meet with Nebraska leaders.
“That’s what we need to do,” she said. “We need for people to tell their stories.”
With MMI as a University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, McIntosh’s award of the inaugural Dream Scholarship is something the entire institute can be proud of, said Sarah Swanson, consumer/family program specialist at MMI, who, along with other MMI staff members, joined McIntosh at the conference. MMI sent the largest group of professionals that it ever has to the annual conference to learn about innovative initiatives working to promotes disability policies and projects to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
“One of the themes I heard throughout the conference is that we really need to reach out and be more inclusive,” Swanson said. “We need to be more deliberate in our strategic thinking and planning to reach out and involve people with disabilities in all aspects of planning and to target other under-represented groups.”