Disability Inclusive Marketing for Global Leaders

The future is inclusive. If global leaders today don’t get on board with disability inclusion prepare to be left behind. With a global population of 1.3 billion and growing and strong purchasing power. In the U.S. alone the total disposable income for working-age disabled people is about $490 billion. Why wouldn’t you ensure that your…

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The Essential Guide to Winter Travel with a Wheelchair

Some love winter travel; I generally don’t. Winter often feels like a long season to be survived than enjoyed. I should clarify here that I live in an area that gets cold, snowy winters so I don’t have to travel to a destination to have a winter adventure. It happens every year for about 5…

Beyond Good Intentions in International Development

The field of international development is full of stories of good intentions gone wrong. Many of these shortcomings have stemmed from cultural misunderstandings. Overall, there has been a shift in understanding that good intentions are not enough. Good intentions on the part of volunteers, program directors and even government agencies are not enough to sustain…

Disability Inclusion as Part of Your Business

Disability is a natural part of diversity. But could it be that it's such a natural part that we've nearly forgotten it at times? Or perhaps there is an unconscious bias that influences the lack of disability inclusion? Why is it that even when diversity is discussed the conversation rarely addresses disability? Why is that…

The Emotional Risk of Advocacy

Seeking new opportunities is hard. I think we can all agree on that. But when you have a disability there are often a multitude of factors that make seeking new opportunities hard in ways that the non disabled world around us doesn’t seem to pick up on. Low expectations as discussed over here is part…

Supporting International Students with Disabilities

Everyone has something to gain from going abroad and that includes people with disabilities. This is probably a very agreeable statement when read in black and white by itself. But do our actions show a belief that everyone, including those with disabilities, has something to gain from going abroad? In talking with many International Student…

The Power of Expectations

Expectations are powerful, really powerful. But they are more than just powerful on an individual level. Expectations permeate all levels of relationships. Expectations shape how society as a whole views people. We tend to view people through the lens of our preconceived expectations based on outward appearances. People with disabilities are typically viewed with low…

Beyond the Single Story Presentation

Picture this scene. You’re at a professional conference for study abroad professionals. You’re eager to connect with colleagues and be reenergized to continue making the field a more welcoming place for students from diverse backgrounds. The slate of presentations is full of opportunities to do just that. As you go from session to session you’re…

International Development and Disability at a Glance

The world of international development is complex. There’s a never ending amount of topics to learn about and disabled people are impacted by all of those topics. Let’s unpack a brief introduction to some of those major topics. First, a few quick facts about why learning about disability in international development matters. Disabled people face…

How to Manage Negative Emotions While Abroad

The first time I went abroad for an extended period as a student was isolating. Yeah, it was not the happiest time of my life. I certainly don’t regret it but there’s plenty of hard memories associated with it. And I didn’t fully admit that until I returned. I definitely didn’t admit that there were…