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Join Us To Learn More About
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The program’s purpose is to enhance the self-esteem and self-awareness of women with disabilities of all ages through self-acceptance, realization of their attributes, capabilities and true beauty.
Plus Come see “From Within” Award Honoree & Guest Speaker Ginny Thornburgh Director of the American Association of People with Disabilities Interfaith Initiative. |
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EXHIBITORS
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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”
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