• Sexuality & Relationships
• Nutrition
• Breast Care & OB/GYN
• Wheelchair Check-ups
• Fashion Tricks & Tips
• Bra Sizing & Measuring
• And much more….

Plus Come see “From Within” Award Honoree & Guest Speaker Ginny Thornburgh Director of the American Association of People with Disabilities Interfaith Initiative.

• Able to Travel, A program of United Spinal Association
• Allergan
• Barrier Free Living of NYC
• Bayada Home Health Care
• Coloplast Corporation
• Hollister
• Independence Care System (ICS)
• Initiative for Women with Disabilities (IWD)
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
• Metro SportsMed
• MS Society of NYC
• NSCIA (National Spinal Cord Injury Association)
• New Mobility
• See & Be Safe
• The Greater New York Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association
• Town Shop
• UsersFirst Alliance
• Wheelchair Medic

KEYNOTE SPEAKER – GINNY THORNBURGH

Ginny Thornburgh has spent the past forty years as an advocate for people with disabilities. She presently serves at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) as Director of the AAPD Interfaith Initiative, the mission of which is to support people with disabilities and their families as they seek spiritual and religious access.

Previously she served for nineteen years as Director of the Religion and Disability Program of the National Organization on Disability. She co-authored and edited the award-winning publication, That All May Worship, now in its seventh printing, and From Barriers to Bridges, a guide to community action, as well as editing Loving Justice: The ADA and the Religious Community.

Ms. Thornburgh is a member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton Theological Seminary and a former member of the American Bar Association Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law. She majored in Philosophy and Religion at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts where she received a four-year scholarship from the Alcoa Foundation. She earned a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University, after which she taught third grade in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has also been granted eleven honorary degrees.

In 2002, Ginny Thornburgh received the Henri Nouwen Award from the American Association on Mental Retardation and the Distinguished Service Award from Easter Seals. And in 2005, she received the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. From 1988 to 1989, she served as Coordinator, Programs for Persons with Disabilities, at Harvard University where she edited Resources for Persons with Disabilities.

Ms. Thornburgh is married to Dick Thornburgh, the former Governor of Pennsylvania, Attorney General of the United States and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. In 2003 the Thornburghs were joint recipients of the Henry B. Betts Award presented by AAPD and in 2003 received awards from The Jewish Foundation for Group Homes and the Western Law Center for Disability Rights. They have four sons and six grandchildren, all of whom live in Pennsylvania.

As parents of a son with intellectual and physical disability, Ginny and Dick Thornburgh have worked worldwide to maximize opportunities for persons with disabilities in their communities, jobs, schools and congregations. In 1992, both were featured speakers at the Vatican Conference on Disability and at the Eastern European Conference on Disabilities, held in Prague. They have also made two visits to Korea addressing disability issues.

Luticha Andre Doucette

In a car accident just shy of her second birthday in May of 1985, Luticha Andre Doucette not only sustained a spinal cord injury, causing her to be an incomplete quadriplegic, but also a traumatic brain injury. In middle school she joined the Rochester Rookies under the guidance of Paralympian Jo Ann Armstrong, where she competed at the regional and national level. She also had the pleasure of joining Jan Whittaker in Jan’s quest in popularizing adaptive outrigger canoeing and participated in the very first Rochester River Challenge.

Her passion for advocating for disability rights was kindled when she was able to travel to Costa Rica for Mobility International USA in 2008. While there she learned of the similarities and differences of the kinds of struggles faced by people with disabilities not only in the United States but also abroad.

At RIT she helped to successfully advocate for adjustable height Organic chemistry hoods to better accommodate those who have different wheelchair heights in the organic labs.

It is in 2011 that she saw her advocacy skyrocket. In March she won the Ms. Wheelchair New York pageant on a platform of science education and inclusion for people with disabilities. She also co-founded the young professional group, RocCity Young Professionals with Disabilities, with the COO of the Center for Disability Rights, Chris Hilderbrant. The goal of the group is to get more young professionals with disabilities connected to the growing young professional scene in Rochester where philanthropic endeavors are the focus of many groups. She also became a member of the RocCity Coalition, which is an umbrella group for all the young professional groups in Rochester.

In summer of 2011 she was appointed the lead on the Coalition’s Education Initiative. The Coalition adopted a city school, John Williams School 5, and became PENCIL partners with the school. As lead, Luticha is coordinating efforts to get speakers and mentors in an effort to help grades and overall school performance as well as helping the students. Every week she volunteers in the 7th grade science classroom.

Luticha has traveled not only to Costa Rica but also Hong Kong and has her sights set on volunteering abroad in Africa. She also has gotten back into sports after a long hiatus, but this time with wheelchair fencing.

Currently, Luticha attends the Rochester Institute of Technology and is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Bioinformatics. Her current research focus is in structural biology and is working on a protein surface algorithm. After her undergrad, she plans on attending graduate school to obtain a PhD in BioPhysics.

“FROM WITHIN”
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

ADVOCACY

Access to Healthcare
Presenter: Kelly McAnnany, Esq.; Disability Law Center – New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

Understanding and navigating through today’s health care system can be cumbersome and confusing. Becoming an advocate for your health care and rights is crucial. But, where do you start? This session will explore today’s health care system with information and resources about community advocates, while providing practical tips on how to become a self-advocate.

Disability, Benefits & You
Presenter: Don Rickenbaugh, Director of Services, CIDNY Queens

Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, SSDI –Benefits programs are helpful and supportive and also can be maddening! Can you get Medicaid and work? What is the best way to do it? Get some advice on the best ways to navigate the system in a way that works best for you.

FITNESS

Let’s Get Physical!
Presenter: Millie Miraglia, Consultant – Fitness, Yoga and Stress Management

Staying fit and active is important to maintaining a sense of self-esteem and empowerment. Learning to understand the physical dynamics of what you and your body can to do is both self-fulfilling and gratifying. This workshop session will explore the importance of staying fit and provide examples of exercises that you can do to improve your health and sense of well-being.

Beat It!!!
Presenter: Linda Hickman, NYC Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society – Adult Day Programs and Therapeutic Music & Program Consultant, Golden Gate Health Care & Rehabilitation

Drumming is accessible It provides successful experiences to everyone – All ages, people with physical challenges, people with no music experience. Drumming is good music. It involves improvising beautiful music. Drumming is expressive It helps to control and release emotions and stress. Drumming is physical. It involves coordination of the body and mind, and is good exercise. Drumming is powerful. The drum represents power so people feel empowered to play it. Drumming is communication. It’s a universal language. Drumming is bonding- It creates a feeling of support and connection in the group setting.-Drumming is cognitive It requires perception, attention, and memory.

Instruments will be provided.

ZUMBA Everybody!
Presenter: Yvonne Puckett, Certified Chair Zumba Instructor

Yvonne Puckett is a certified chair Zumba instructor with over 10 years of teaching experience and teaches at several fitness clubs in NYC as well as the Initiative for Women with Disabilities (IWD). Zumba is a cardio-based total body workout combining fast and slow rhythms that tone the body in an aerobic/fitness fashion. An easy to follow aerobic fitness and toning program inspired by Latin Music. This class will be adapted to all levels and abilities and done in a seated position.

OM!!! Yoga & You
Presenter: Millie Miraglia, Founder/Director of the EXERCISE STUDIO
Fitness/Yoga Instructor; Reiki II Practitioner/ Stress Management Consultant

A longtime fitness enthusiast with several sports related injuries, Millie’s life was transformed by her first yoga class in 1981. Becoming aware of the “mind/body” connection, she founded The Exercise Studio in 1983 inspired by her visions of creating a fitness center where students would not only learn about their bodies, but also about themselves. Today’s workshop will address the basic principles of yoga and how they help to connect you to breathe, movement and body awareness.

WELLNESS

Save the Ta-Tas
Presenter: Carole A. Baraldi, RN, MS; Private practice Public Health Nurse Educator

Understanding the importance of proper breast health care is crucial to the well-being of women, especially women living with disabilities, where accessible medical equipment and services are often few and far between. This session will provide information on breast health and provide you with the relevant tools to empower and enlighten you to become your own breast health care advocate.

Our Bodies, Ourselves
Breast and Gynecological Wellness for Women with Physical Disabilities
Presenter: Susan C. Wolf, MD, PhD – Clinical Director of ICS’s Access to Women’s Health Care Program Presented with support from the Greater New York Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

Join us for a workshop in breast and gynecological health for women with physical disabilities. Learn about breast self-awareness, screening recommendations, gynecological health and wellness and much more!

Let’s Talk About Sex (and Relationships)
Sexuality, Sensuality and Intimacy
Presenter: Eva Margot Kant, LCSW

Having a physical disability does not mean you stop being physical in those most sexual, sensual and intimate ways. It does not mean you stop living and loving, touching and being touched. You do not cease to be a sexual person. Too many people (medical professionals included) assume that sex and intimacy are not important when you are challenged by a physical disability . . . boy are they wrong! But many people are too embarrassed to talk about this very important subject with their clinicians or even their loved ones and friends. So let’s talk!

It’s All About Control!
Presenter: Kristi Latham, PT, CLT
Program Director- Pelvic Health and Lymphedema at Metro SportsMed

This workshop presentation will focus on pelvic floor muscle training to improve bladder control. Urinary Incontinence is prevalent in women and especially the neurologically compromised individual. She will speak about pelvic floor strengthening and coordination as well as urgency suppression techniques and urinary hesitation. Physical Therapy treatment includes the use of biofeedback and electrical stimulation. Kristi with explain their use and importance in regaining bladder control.

Learn more about sponsoring this event.