A’ishah Hils is 24 years old. She is from rural South Georgia and lives in Lawrence, KS. She has physical, developmental, and mental health disabilities. Her academic background is in Tibetan and Religious Studies. She works as a web designer and consultant. She also does social justice work around disability, queer, youth, and interfaith issues. She loves to make art, cook, read, dance, and learn new languages. Her website is http://resistdance.wordpress.com. She serves as chair of the NYLN Education and Media Committee.

Amy Doherty is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. She is currently a research assistant at Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, MA working to develop devices and technologies to help people with vision impairments. Amy is passionate about supporting people with disabilities to reach their full potential. She is part of the team of trainers for NYLN’s Reap What You Sow: Harvesting Support Systems curriculum. In 2008, she served as the Chair of the National Council on Disability Youth Advisory Committee. In her spare time Amy enjoys traveling, knitting, and spending time with friends and family. Amy serves as the NYLN Vice President.

Andrew Collins is from Rhode Island. He plans on studying Medieval History and Philosophy when he attends college later this year. He is involved with the regional special education department in his area, and is currently leading a policy reform to increase student participation in the creation of an Individualized Education Program. He is also involved with helping to develop a chapter of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network in RI. In the future, he would like to work in Education Reform, though he is not sure what position this will lead him to. He is currently publishing his first Fantasy novel and working on the second. He is passionate about advocating for people with disabilities, especially in education.

Cara Liebowitz is a blogger, activist and student working towards her teaching certification at Kutztown University in rural Pennsylvania. Cara is involved with trying to create a Disability Cultural Center at Kutztown. She is also one of the youth founders of the I Am Norm campaign. The “I am Norm” campaign promotes inclusion for people with disabilities in all areas of life. Cara hopes to get her Master’s Degree in Disability Studies. Her dream is to work in the field of disability in some way. You can read her blog at http://www.candidlycrippled.blogspot.com She is NYLN secretary.

Cynthia “Cindy” A. Singletary is an Independent Living Specialist at LIFE, Living Independence For Everyone Center for Independent Living (CIL). She has been with LIFE for eight years. She is also a student at the University of Southern Mississippi. She has a major in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. She plans to go to law school after USM. She plans to be a civil attorney. Cynthia also serves on some boards and councils. These boards include the USM-TRIAD Youth Advisory Council, USM-TRIAD Outreach Council, the STEPS Board of Directors, and the Self-Advocacy Council of Mississippi. She also serves as Chair of the Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) Advisory Council and Secretary of the Youth Advisory Council for the CIL of Mississippi. She is serving as chair of the Outreach and Awareness Committee.

Darian Smith currently serves as a part of the NYLN Governing Board. Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Darian is a Student at City College of San Francisco where he plans to transfer and eventually study recreation management or student affairs and go on to receive a masters in Orientation and Mobility. Darian has served on his college’s student council, as a corps member of the National Civilian Community Corps of AmeriCorps, and a delegate and staff of the California Youth Leadership Forum for people with disabilities. He also holds several leadership positions in the National Federation of the Blind; currently serving as 2nd Vice-President of the National Association of Blind Students, 2nd Vice-President of the California Association of Blind Students, and Chairperson of the Community Service Division of the National Federation of the Blind. When he is not studying or on conference calls, Darian enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, listening to music, watching wrestling, baseball and football.

Dolores T is a proud disabled, fat, queer, Latina who lives in the Bay Area. She has worked with an Independent Living Center for 3 years as a community organizer. She works with a youth empowerment group called Disability Action Network for Youth, or DANY for short. With DANY, Dolores has fought to get disability history taught in schools and fought to keep job training programs for youth with disabilities. Dolores looks forward to another great year volunteering with NYLN. In her spare time, she likes to take her family out on new adventures, go to concerts, and read non-fiction books.

Jessica Croner graduated from Idaho State University in 2009 with a Bachelor degree in University Studies with an emphasis in Occupational Therapy. During her college years, Jessica became heavily involved in advocacy and Universal Design. Since graduation, she has worked with many state disability advocacy organizations. Two years ago, Jessica began working with NYLN as the coordinator for the state partnership in Idaho. She is serving as NYLN President.

Justin George lives in Chesterfield County, Virginia. He has Asperger’s and ADHD. I am a junior (11th grade) at Northstar Academy, which is in Henrico, Virginia. He has been involved in I’m Determined, a state directed project for disability summits and advocacy in the State of Virginia. He looks forward to continue the statewide work and continue my advocacy work with I’m Determined as a youth leader and NYLN. Justin hopes to continue his advocacy work in the future as well. He blogs at www.justindylangeorge.blogspot.com. Some of his favorite activities include being outdoors, trying new things, bicycling, and hanging out with my family, friends, and girlfriend.

Kathleen Downes is nineteen years old and currently studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. She was born with cerebral palsy, and enjoys playing an active role in the disability community. In addition to her work with NYLN, she serves on a student committee for people with disabilities at the University of Illinois. She co-hosted this year’s campus disability awareness panel. Other interests include reading, writing, and spending time with her family. She lives in Floral Park, New York. She is passionate about disability culture and thrilled to be involved with NYLN.

Laura Spoerl has done extensive youth advocacy work in the past. She was a founding member of WI’s Youth Leadership Council, and has also been heavily involved in WI’s Youth Leadership Forum for many years. Laura will graduate in May from UW-Milwaukee with a B.A. in Psychology. Eventually she would like to obtain a Master’s degree. She currently works as a Program Assistant on campus at the UWM LGBT Resource Center. Her goal after graduation is to find a job with a non-profit organization directly interacting with and serving youth from all backgrounds with various disadvantages. Laura is from Appleton, Wisconsin and lives in Milwaukee. She would love to move to a warmer state one day. In her free time she likes to cook, run, listen to music, and support local arts groups. She is very excited and proud to be a part of the Governing Board for NYLN.

Micah Fialka-Feldman, 26, recently completed the OPTIONS program at Oakland University in Michigan. It was the latest in a series of “firsts” for Micah. Since beginning school, when he told his parents he wanted to go in the same door as all of his friends, he has been fully included in his school, community and eventually a college campus. Micah’s national service includes KASA (Kids as Self Advocates), the National Youth Leadership Network and the Project Advisory Committee for the Center for Postsecondary Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities. Professionally, Mr. Fialka-Feldman has spoken at major conferences before hundreds. Along with Micah social and political commitments and pioneering spirit, he has a cognitive impairment, He is a representative of the post ADA generation. To learn more about Micah, visit his website www.throughthesamedoor.com.

Ryan Mercer, a long time Georgian and inspirational public speaker, graduated from South Gwinnett High School in 2005. He felt inspired by his heavenly father to speak openly about his disability and capabilities. At the age of 10, his grandfather and Ryan organized a gospel concert to raise funds for people with disabilities. He continued to do this until May 2008. Throughout the years, he has participated and spoken at numerous engagements, such as Disability Day at the Capitol, Georgia Voices Count, Gwinnett County Transition Fair, and several local churches. He has also been featured on the front page of many articles in the Atlanta Journal, Constitution, and the Gwinnett News. He runs a website called Ryan’s Resources (ryanresources.org) so that people can access disability resources to live independently. His personal mission is to bridge the gap between society and disability community as much as he can.

Savannah Logsdon-Breakstone started advocacy work at age 12, when her mother got her involved with conference panels, but it didn’t become her passion until she turned 19. Her current involvements also include Self-Advocates United as 1, Pennsylvania’s OMHSAS Youth committee, PA Families Inc., Youth Outreach Union, as well as a freelance advocate. She currently lives in rural PA. She is a blogger an active part of the Neurodiversity/ Autistic Self Advocacy Movement. Outside of advocacy, Savannah’s interests include Anthropology, Social Histories, Victorian Romanticism, and the Histories of Oppressed populations.