Spring 2025 Accessibility Learning Series

Spring 2025 Accessibility Learning Series: Going Beyond Etiquette: How to be an Ally in Everyday Life

The goal of this series is to think about how we move through everyday life as allies to disabled people who desire to participate in higher education, recreation, and travel.

The purpose of the yearly Accessibility Learning series is to advocate and educate about accessibility issues affecting the disability community. The series are meant for anyone who has a desire to deepen their professional and personal knowledge and experience of accessibility and disability so they can implement strategies and tools in their own organizations or communities.

These series feature curated content by Elizabeth Ralston, MPH, an accessibility consultant, a deaf individual who is passionate about bringing people together to be inspired to take action for change. For the first time, this spring series features experts in each of the subject areas who share personal experiences and strategies on how to be an ally.

These sessions are Wednesdays at 9:00-10:15 am HST | 12:00-1:15 pm PST | 3:00-4:15 pm EST 
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Session 1: March 5, 2025
Transforming Higher Education for People with Disabilities
In conversation with Annie Tulkin, Accessible College

During the 2023 school year, Elizabeth and her son went on several college tours. As a parent who spent a lifetime advocating for her children who are deaf, Elizabeth realized that the tours were not always accessible for folks with hearing loss, including herself. After making a LinkedIn post about her experience on one particular college tour and suggesting some solutions, she caught the attention of Annie Tulkin from Accessible College. Since then, Annie and Elizabeth have talked about how to make higher education more accessible. Did you know that when a student with a disability goes to college, the student has to request accommodations and self-advocate independently? This can be a huge shift for both the student and the guardian! In this session Annie and Elizabeth will discuss what accommodations and accessibility look like in college, and how you can be an ally in this process.

In this session you will:

· Learn about barriers in higher education for students with disabilities
· Learn steps to get started in preparing for disability advocacy in college
· Get tips on how to be an ally to college students with disabilities

About Annie:

Annie Tulkin is the Founder and Director of Accessible College, as well as an educator, author, and public speaker. She is an expert in the area of college preparation and transition for students with physical disabilities and health conditions. She supports students and families across the country. Annie was the Associate Director of the Academic Resource Center at Georgetown University for nearly 6 years. In that position she supported undergraduate, graduate, and medical students with physical disabilities and health conditions and oversaw academic support services for the entire student body. Annie has worked in the disability field for her entire professional career including positions as a Regional Disability Coordinator for Humanitas, Inc. working on the Job Corps disability support contract for The Department of Labor, and as a Project Specialist with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) where she worked with both the National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) and University Centers of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Technical Assistance projects. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education from DePaul University, a Masters in Special Education from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Certificate in Health Coaching from Georgetown University. Annie was a Peace Corps Volunteer (Mongolia, ‘03-’05) and a Fulbright Fellow (Mongolia, ‘07-’08). She resides in Silver Spring, MD with her husband and daughter. 

Website: www.accessiblecollege.com

Facebook: @AccessibleCollege

Instagram: AccessibleCollege

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Session 2: April 2, 2025
Accessible Recreation: Making the Outdoors Accessible for All
In conversation with Syren Nagakyrie, Disabled Hikers

Elizabeth is fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the United States, where the outdoors is an important part of peoples’ lives. Being outside and engaging in fitness activities allows us to connect with our communities and is a way of bringing people together. However, many of these activities are not accessible to people with disabilities. And all too often nonprofits engage in events that may exclude people with physical disabilities, such as fundraisers involving the outdoors, e.g. a climb or a 5K run. There are resources coming out of the woodwork, such as an accessible hiking book, accessible summer camps, and of course, the Paralympics. In this session Elizabeth and Syren Nagakyrie, founder of Disabled Hikers, will discuss how we, as allies, can work to shift the narrative of disabled people being limited in their recreation choices to one of resiliency and empowerment.

In this session you will:

· Understand examples of what accessibility in the outdoors is and is not
· Learn strategies to organize accessible events
· Get tips on how to be an ally to people with disabilities in the outdoors

About Syren:

Syren Nagakyrie is the founder of Disabled Hikers, a nonprofit organization building disability community and justice in the outdoors. Syren grew up with multiple disabilities and encounters numerous barriers to outdoor recreation but has always found nature to be a place of belonging. As a long-time disabled activist and community builder, Syren is committed to building a movement of Disabled leadership in the outdoors. They are the author of The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Northern California: outdoor adventures accessible by car, wheelchair, and foot (2024) and The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Western Washington and Oregon (2022), both published by FalconGuides. They also work with parks, organizations, brands, and government agencies to improve access and belonging of the disability community.
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Session 3: May 7, 2025

Accessible Travel: Planning Considerations for People with Disabilities
In conversation with King Khazm, artist, producer, community organizer

This summer, while on a trip, Elizabeth noticed some examples of how other international cities are making their tourist sites accessible to all. She frequently reads about the difficulties of air travel for people in wheelchairs, who often bear the brunt of costly equipment damages. In this session, Elizabeth will speak with King Khazm, a wheelchair user, about his trip to Costa Rica and how he worked with a travel company that centered his needs and interests as they planned for accessibility. We will discuss what allyship looks like when you are traveling with a person who has a disability or when you see examples of inaccessibility during your travels.

In this session you will:

· Learn about challenges people with disabilities experience when they travel
· Review examples of accessibility and inclusion in other countries
· Learn planning strategies for traveling that people with disabilities use
· Get tips on how to be an ally to travelers with disabilities

About Khazm:

King Khazm is an emcee, producer and community organizer who has become a prominent figure in the Hip-Hop community within Seattle and around the world. His work to engage and empower communities is demonstrated through over 25 years of music, art and community service.

Khazm has performed all around the country and world including the World’s Fair & Expo (Dubai), The IBE (Netherlands), Galpao Aplauso (Brazil), Festival de la Juventud (Guatemala), Strictly Street (Malaysia), Folklife Festival (Seattle), collaborating as an emcee and producer with artists such as Abstract Rude, Killah Priest of the Wu-Tang Clan, Kurtis Blow, Planet Asia, and Sean Price.

Khazm serves as a board member of paralysis support organization The Here & Now Project, board member of King County arts funding agency 4Culture, manager of the historic venue Washington Hall and executive director of Hip Hop community organization 206 Zulu.

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About Elizabeth Ralston, moderator

Elizabeth Ralston is a consultant who guides organizations in the strategic development of an accessibility roadmap, with an emphasis on equity and inclusion. She has over 25 years of experience working with nonprofits, government agencies, and academic institutions. She has a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan and a certificate of Nonprofit Management from the University of Washington.

Elizabeth’s expertise is in maximizing organizations’ success through program development, strategic communications, and event implementation, all with an eye on accessibility. She is a published writer, engaging educator, and a seasoned storyteller committed to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.

Elizabeth is also the Founder of the Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium, a grassroots effort to help arts and cultural organizations improve accessibility for their audiences. Her creation of the Consortium emerged from deep listening to the arts and disability communities about the gaps in accessibility. She brings a unique perspective to her work, through her lived experience with a disability.

As a deaf woman who uses cochlear implants to hear, Elizabeth faces accessibility challenges every day. Her hearing loss never stopped her from achieving her life goals. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, Africa, she saw first-hand the powerful impact a person can have on others’ lives. She has devoted her life to public service ever since.

You can check out Elizabeth’s offerings at her website: www.elizabethralstonconsulting.com as well as the Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium: www.seattlecac.org.

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COST

$150 for the series. Sessions are 75-minutes long and are intended to be engaging and interactive. You’ll get worksheets, pre-work, PowerPoint slides, and a recording. You will meet people from all across the nation who are interested in learning more about accessibility and being a disability ally.

$55 for each session.

You are encouraged to register for the full series to get a holistic perspective; you may register for just one of the sessions if you prefer.

All sessions will be recorded. Registrants will receive the recordings and have access for 3 months. If you are unable to attend the session, we encourage you to register anyway so you receive all of the related materials. Because the sessions will be recorded, we are unable to offer refunds.

Accessibility:
Captioning through Zoom is available for all sessions. We will be sending materials in advance and the PowerPoint slides will be accessible. Please let us know when you register if you have any additional needs and we will do our best to accommodate.