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Join NEADS on the State of the Schools Tour – Ottawa Stop!

Join the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), Carleton Disability Awareness Centre (CDAC), and CU Care on February 27th from 12-4pm ET in Richcraft Hall (RB 2224) at Carleton University and on zoom for our Ottawa State of the Schools Tour stop!

As part of NEADS’ Virtual Access for All Project and Back to School National Advocacy Campaign, the NEADS Team is partnering with CDAC and CUCare for this hybrid event focusing on accessibility, accommodations, education, and employment for disabled post-secondary students.

Contact tracing, social distancing, and masking will be enforced for in-person participants and pre-packaged lunch will be provided, and closed captioning and ASL interpretation will be available through zoom. Both in-person and online participants are encouraged to share their lived experience, questions, and concerns during the discussion period.

All participants must register for this free event – please register here:  Please indicate any accessibility requirements through the registration form, or email carly.fox@neads.ca

About CDAC

CDAC is a peer support, advocacy, and community space for students who experience disability, chronic illness, neurodiversity, or inaccessibility. CDAC is designed to act as a forum for disability issues, and advocates about issues important to students with disabilities at Carleton University. CDAC runs events such as Destress with Pets, fidget toy workshops, discussion groups, and much more!  

Instagram Handle: @cusacdac

About CU Care

The CU Care Act was established in 2021 after disabled students were denied a return to campus for the Fall semester. They hosted a walkout in response to that issue, and have since used the platform to advocate for care programs like Carleton's Attendant Services to become standard practice for post-secondary institutions, as well as recentering care, to become increasingly client-centered.

Instagram Handle: @cucare.act

Meet the Speakers

Emilie Cryderman

Emilie Cryderman (she/her) is in her final year of a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights with minors in Law and Women and Gender Studies. She works as the programming coordinator at the Carleton Disability Awareness Centre. When not working, she enjoys bothering her cats, playing video games and watching true crime documentaries. 

Alex Revell

Alex Revell (she/her) is in her final year of a Combined Bachelors of Arts in Psychology (with a concentration in Forensics) and English. She is currently the administrative coordinator for the Carleton Disability Awareness Centre, which provides event programming and disability resources for students with and without disabilities at Carleton University, along with operating an accessible lounge space for students to hang out. She also co-presides over Access Carleton, a disability club on campus that advocates for students with disabilities. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing stories, petting her cats and watching X-Files!

Kimberly Chiasson

Kimberley Chiasson (she/her) is a 22-year-old senior Journalism student at Carleton University.  She focuses her reporting toward uplifting marginalized communities and highlighting cracks in society’s foundation. Born in Sudbury, Ontario, she has always had a passion for the relationship between access and education, raising awareness from a young age. Throughout her undergraduate career, she has been an advocate and representative for accessibility on and off campus. In 2021, she founded the CU Care Act - a grassroots movement to emphasize the importance of caregiving services in the lives of disabled students. Long-term, she hopes her efforts will contribute to a future where disability is not only accepted in academia, but welcomed.

Meet the NEADS Touring Team

Carly Fox, Communications & Partnerships Director

Carly Fox (she/her/elle) is a queer, neurodivergent, and disabled young woman based out of Algonquin Anishinabe Territory (Ottawa, ON). Fox is NEADS' Communications & Partnerships Director, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities' International Chair, a disability advocate, and recently attended the 15th Conference of State Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a member of Canada's Delegation. As a disability advocate and blogger, Fox aims to raise awareness on different types of invisible disabilities and the interactions between them, and aims to use her privilege to dismantle systemic forms of oppression to create space for others to share their lived experiences. Fox is currently in her third year at uOttawa, where she majors in International Development and Globalization and minors in Human Rights and Conflict Studies. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter (@ItsCarlyFox), or on her blog https://CarlyFoxDisabilityAdvocacy.ca   

Chloée Godin-Jacques, Research Consultant

Chloée Catherine (she/they) is a white settler disabled queer person. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Education at Western University. Chloée is an activist and strives to generate awareness about accessibility, disability, and intersectionality and dismantle preconceived notions by sharing her own diverse lived experiences through the means of blog posts and social media posts. She is also a Lead Consultant at Chloée Catherine Consulting, where she supports businesses and other organizations to further foster inclusive spaces for disabled persons. Chloée’s personal and professional interests lie within the realms of accessibility, activism, community-building, disability, higher education, intersectionality, and sexuality.

You can follow Chloée’s journey via @chloeecatherine_ (on Instagram) and chloeecatherine.com

Katja Newman, NEADS Student Awards Programs Director

Katja Newman (she/her/elle) is the director of the National Educational Association of Disabled Students’ Student Awards financial assistance programs, the NEADS Student Awards Program and Accessibility Resilience Program. A resident of Halifax Nova Scotia, she recently completed an online Masters in Grant Writing and Program Evaluation from Concordia University Chicago. Prior to her Masters, Katja received a Bachelor's of Social Work from Carleton University and a Child & Youth Work Diploma from Georgian College. Outside of her role at NEADS she enjoys hiking, tandem bike riding, baking, cooking and educating audiences on the accessibility and inclusion related highs and lows that come with living life as a blind Nova Scotian who navigates the world with the help of a guide dog.

Elizabeth Mohler, Research Consultant

Elizabeth Mohler currently works for NEADS as a Research Consultant, where she leads the Virtual Access for All Project and writes its quarterly publication, State of the Schools. She also works for Left Turn Right Turn as an accessibility specialist; sits on the Canadian Institute for Health Research external advisory committee on systemic ableism and accessibility; and, is an experienced presenter, keynote speaker, lecturer, and published writer. Elizabeth is currently a doctoral candidate at Western University in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Program. Her work explores how discourses and practices within Direct Funding shape how disabled persons access services, and in what ways service users resist and negotiate these discourses. Follow Elizabeth’s work at: elizabethmohler.ca   

Aliyah Petzak-Grant, Website Manager

Aliyah Petzak-Grant (she/her/elle) is NEADS' Website Manager, a creative and driven website designer, and a passionate disability advocate. Aliyah aims to educate others about online accessibility and assistive technology through her work. As NEADS' Website Manager, Aliyah oversees multiple sites including disabilityawards.ca - the largest online directory of disability-specific financial aid.  When time permits Aliyah also does freelance and on occasion volunteer website design and accessibility consultations.  Past work experience includes Researcher for the Accessible Career Transitions Project (now ACT to Employ) at Carleton University. While earning her degree in Psychology at Carleton focusing on Human Computer Interactions (HCI) and accessible technology user experience, Aliyah also volunteered with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities. Outside of work, Aliyah enjoys playing board games, Dungeons and Dragons, and spending quality time with her dog.

About NEADS 

About NEADS’ Virtual Access for All Program

NEADS' Virtual Access for All Project provides educational support and awareness aimed at students with disabilities transitioning into post-secondary education. Accessibility and accommodations resources are provided through our quarterly State of the Schools publications, while our regular webinar series addresses topics such as self-advocacy, accessing accommodations at work and school, and transitioning into the workforce. Further, financial support is available through NEADS' Student Awards Program and Accessibility Resilience Program. Virtual Access for All is generously supported by Employment and Social Development Canada's Goal Getters Program, and has recently received an upward amendment in response to positive reception.

About NEADS’ Back to School National Advocacy Campaign

As vaccine and mask mandates lift and online learning options are rolled back, the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) has launched a national advocacy campaign to support disabled post-secondary students' rights to safe and accessible education.

Disabled students are asked to provide written submissions detailing their thoughts, feelings, and anxieties as they prepare for an unsafe and inaccessible Fall term, and submissions will be shared in a final report and social media campaign. Submissions are being accepted on an ongoing basis for the social media campaign, and a follow up report will be published upon the completion of the campaign.

Carly Fox (she/her/elle), carly.fox@neads.ca, NEADS Communications and Partnerships Director |Directrice des communications et des partenariats de NEADS

National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), Rm. 514 Unicentre, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, tel. (613) 380-8065, ext. 201

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