2020 Disability Futures Fellows

Purple and teal lines form a loose triangle repeated into a three dimensional shape, gently curving down then up. Behind is a blurred image of clouds at sunset.

Meet the Disability Futures Fellows

A Black woman leans forward and smiles brightly, teeth showing and eyes closed, as she rests her chin in her palm. She has light brown skin, curly shoulder-length hair with subtle highlights, and wears a black blouse and sleek gold necklace.

Alice Sheppard – Disability Future Fellow

LOS ALTOS, CA
A Chinese-American woman wearing lipstick and a translucent mask over her nose and attached to a tube smiles warmly at the camera. She has cool light skin, short black hair, wears a dark shirt with a geometric pattern, and folds her hands on the control panel of her power chair.

Alice Wong

SAN FRANCISCO, CA
A smooth, white television monitor attached to a robotic arm extends into an empty art gallery and plays a daytime talk show. Caption reads: "After 8 hours, ah" and "Oh look at that."

Carolyn Lazard

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA
A Korean-American woman sits at her studio desk in a chair and looks coolly at the camera. She has warm light skin, long straight black hair, blunt bangs, and wears dark lipstick, round glasses, a casual black button-down, and long striped shorts.

Christine Sun Kim

ORANGE COUNTY, CA & BERLIN, GERMANY
A white nonbinary trans person with a blond buzzcut, oval glasses, and earring poses among wooden logs on a misty beach. He wears an dark fleece and smiles brightly.

Eli Clare

BURLINGTON, VT
A white-presenting man with short combed dark hair, light skin, and a cleft chin poses in front of a brick wall and stares at the camera with a focused expression. He wears a dark button-down shirt.

Jeffrey Yasuo Mansfield

BOSTON, MA
Jen, a Two-Spirit, Cherokee person with warm light skin, shoulder-length dark hair, narrow square glasses, and defined brows, smiles at the camera. Jen wears lipstick, colorful beaded earrings, and a bright top.

Jen Deerinwater

WASHINGTON, DC
Bathed in light, a shirtless bearded Black man with dark brown skin, a short hi-top fade, and a patterned headband gazes intently into the camera.

Jerron Herman

NEW YORK, NY
A white man smiles warmly at the camera. He has a grayish-white goatee and mustache, curly dark gray hair, and wears a light-colored geometric patterned button-down.

Jim LeBrecht

BERKELEY, CA
Image description: A white man with dark short hair wearing a T-shirt with a logo on his chest, which is the written ASL name for Superman. Tactile impressions: Short hair of feline softness, warm and smooth hands, a scent of patchouli.

John Lee Clark

HOPKINS, MN
Wearing a sleeveless black t-shirt with a shark graphic, a Sri Lankan, Roma and Irish nonbinary femme with tan skin, curly shoulder-length hair, lipstick, and tattooed arms, smiles brightly at the camera in front of a blooming jasmine vine.

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

SEATTLE, WA
A Korean woman with warm light skin, long dark hair, big square glasses, and wearing a denim shirt sits casually outside in a wooden chair backdropped by foliage and stares confidently into the camera.

Mia Mingus

OAKLAND, CA
Leaning back casually with a serene expression, a Black nonbinary trans person with medium brown skin, and short curly black hair gazes into the camera. He has a defined brow and wears an unbuttoned white shirt.

Navild (niv) Acosta

BROOKLYN, NY
A Japanese-Haitian nonbinary person with tan skin, narrow square glasses, lipstick, and arched brows smiles at the camera. They pose in a grey knit sweater.

Patty Berne – Disability Future Fellow

BERKELEY, CA
A white nonbinary person with styled short hair poses on stage. They're seated on the floor with their legs folded under them. They lean on their silver cane with their left hand and hold a microphone with their right hand. They wear a black top tucked into a sleek black skirt with black boots.

Perel

NEW YORK, NY
A white woman with short white hair with subtle lowlights, geometric earrings, and a crisp white collarless shirt poses seated, resting one arm on the back of her chair and smiling warmly.

Riva Lehrer

CHICAGO, IL
A Black man with warm medium brown skin, hair faded on the sides and back with twists on top, is wearing a plaid shirt with a black jeans jacket against a white background. He smiles enthusiastically at the camera.

Rodney Evans

BROOKLYN, NY
A man of Lebanese descent with light warm skin and short black hair is wearing square glasses, a t-shirt, shorts, and lower leg braces. He poses with his metallic walking frame and smiles brightly at the camera.

Ryan J. Haddad

NEW YORK, NY
A Filipinx nonbinary person throws back their head and smiles joyously. They have tan skin and wear a reflective headpiece made of metallic scales. They're wearing a radiant chain link top with protruding sculptural shoulders, colorful gloves with metallic scales, and dark lipstick.

Sky Cubacub

CHICAGO, IL
A Black nonbinary trans person with a high bun of dark brown hair, eye shadow, and dark lipstick poses in a wooded area. She looks softly into the camera with one hand placed on her chest and wears a one-shoulder white top that showcases her tattoos.

Tourmaline

NEW YORK, NY