A Conversation with Sandy Ho

Description

Sandy Ho, community organizer, director of the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy, and former White House Champion of Change, speaks with Dr. Peter Blanck about how younger people with disabilities, often called the ADA Generation, view the modern disability rights movement. They discuss the need for disabled leaders to take advantage of the opportunity to come together and find the next steps for advancing disability rights.

Ms. Ho discusses the importance of thinking more about intersectionality and how all people with disabilities occupy different positions on the power scale. Intersectionality allows people to understand where power is concentrated and how to address the problems different people with disabilities face due to race, gender, disability type, education level or other identity markers. Moving forward, the disability community needs to work for change by listening to experienced activists and by focusing on the most ignored or marginalized people.

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Summary

• Sandy shares how younger people with disabilities, often called the ADA Generation, view the modern disability rights movement.
• She discusses the need for disabled leaders to take advantage of the opportunity to come together and find the next steps for advancing disability rights.
• Ho discusses the importance of thinking more about intersectionality and how all people with disabilities occupy different positions on the power scale. Intersectionality allows people to understand where power is concentrated and how to address the problems different people with disabilities face due to race, gender, disability type, education level or other identity markers.
• Moving forward, the disability community needs to work for change by listening to experienced activists and by focusing on the most ignored or marginalized people.

More about Sandy Ho, White House Author, community-organizer, activist, and policy researcher – Borealis Philanthrop

Sandy Ho is an Asian-American disabled community-organizer, activist, and policy researcher. She was born, raised, and educated in Massachusetts. Sandy is the founder of the Disability & Intersectionality Summit and claims residence in three communities: disability, queer, and Red Sox nation. Her favorite places are the libraries in the cities she visits. Sandy recently traveled from Chicago to San Francisco on a train so that’s all she ever dreams about: train travels and baseball season. She collects sand from all around the world but it’s not because her name is Sandy.She graduated from Lesley University with a degree in Global Studies. As a student, she served as President of Students for Social Justice, an intern on the Service Nation campaign, a research assistant at the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Kennedy School of Government, and was a research associate in the area of human trafficking for the Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University. Following graduation, she dedicated a year of service through more than 1,700 hours as an AmeriCorps member by developing a mentoring program for first-generation students at Roxbury Community College in Massachusetts. Sandy continued her dedication for youth advocacy by developing and expanding the Easter Seals Thrive Mentoring Program for young women with disabilities, and founded “Letters to Thrive,” an international project where disabled women around the world share life experiences through letters to their younger selves.