With gratitude and a humble heart, I present myself, my name is Nakia S. Wiley, M.S, I am a native to Chicago Illinois (South-side). My pronouns are, she, her, hers, and I identify as Black-disabled woman and sometimes I get angry. I have served in education since 1999 in various capacities and lands. I am a wife, mother, grandmother, and community advocate. I am the Coordinator of Professional Learning for Madison Metropolitan School District. I accepted the call at MMSD in the summer of 2016 as a Cross Categorical Teacher and I continue to serve  with joy and gladness. I am dedicated to supporting marginalized children and families so they can achieve their dreams, goals, and aspirations. 

Kate Moran has been inspired by Beachtree the disabled lesbian land collective,The Women's Braille Press, other women at DART and the periodicals Dyke, Disability and Stuff and the Madness Network News.  I joined the DPM board the first year and have been with it long enough to be given "The Relentless Badger Award" from the Wisconsin Coalition of Independent Living Centers (WCILC). I credit my work with Disability Pride Madison for making me comfortable in my own skin as a disabled person whose disabilities are not always apparent. It has also brought many wonderful people into my life.

Jason Glozier is currently the Program Coordinator for the Wisconsin State Independent Living Council. Having a brother who has Cerebral Palsy, Jason grew up in a family where disability is a natural part of life. In 1990, his parents got involved with a disability rights group known then as Americans with Disabilities for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) and Jason was exposed to a community where people with and without disabilities organize and commit civil disobedience together toward a model of inclusion and equality. Jason is one of the founders of the festival.

“I fight for inclusive education. I am part of this work because every student is unique and is deserving of a Public Education that is built to accommodate their individual needs.”  

Martha S. and her daughter Jasmine are from Madison, Wisconsin. Martha is a single mother who is very involved in Jasmine’s education. She is president of the mother-led organization, Madtown Mommas & Disability Advocates. Martha is a well-known community leader and has been Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin 2020/21. She is now becoming state co-coordinator of the Wisconsin Ms. Wheelchair Program.  Because Martha sustained a spinal cord injury back in 2002 and uses a manual wheelchair, prior to last year she would not have been able to access Jasmine’s classroom on the second floor to volunteer or assist when Jasmine had epileptic seizures if not for an elevator that was installed 3 years ago.  Martha has been a tireless advocate for access and programming that complies with state and federal laws, while always encouraging folks to move beyond the required baseline.

Katie Sullivan (she/her/hers) is a disabled organizer and health equity and linguistics student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Committed to Disability Justice, mobilizing for equitable change, and cultivating inclusive networks of care, she serves as a student intern and coalition member for the UW Disability Cultural Center, a City of Madison Disability Rights Commissioner, and an active member in her community. Engaging with critical disability studies and reframing harmful narratives surrounding disability are primary foci for Sullivan, and she integrates these practices within and beyond the disability activism circles.  

Helen Rottier (she/her) is the Program Coordinator of the Disability Cultural Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD candidate in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is multiply disabled and identifies with the autistic, mad, and chronically ill communities. Her work explores disabled knowledge production in and beyond academia, and she is enthusiastic about snail mail and soap operas.