DiversAbility: Perspectives on Disability, Equity & Inclusion at Yale and Beyond

DiversAbility: Perspectives on Disability, Equity & Inclusion at Yale and Beyond

Wednesday, April 10th @ 6:30pm EST

While some people live with disability from birth, many of us can expect to experience disability at some point in our lives. Disability affects nearly 1 in 5 Americans, yet despite this reality, widespread misunderstandings, misconceptions and stigma continue to surround disability and the disabled. Join us for an informative and robust discussion on this topic and learn more about the lives, perspective and contributions of Yalies with disabilities.

The Yale Alumni Association (YAA) is delighted to bring you this program. We are grateful to George Washington University for allowing us to host this event on their campus. Special thanks to our alumni speakers (see lineup and bios below) for their participation and to Thomas Dolan '05 and Ethan Heard '07, '13 MFA for inspiring and co-leading this program.

Registration Required

Light refreshments included

Limited Spaces Available

Speaker Lineup

• Thomas Dolan ’05 (Moderator): Member of the YAA Board of Governors and Doctoral Candidate at George Washington University

• Michelle Hackman ’15: Reporter at Wall Street Journal

• Jessie Benedict ’16: Doctoral Candidate at Johns Hopkins University

• Joseph P. Fisher: Assistant Director of Disability Support Services at George Washington University

• Matt Poggi ’92 BA/MA, ’96 MD: Ex-Radiation Oncologist and US Navy Veteran

Speaker Bios

Thomas Dolan ’05
Thomas is a Ph.D. Candidate in American Studies at George Washington University, focusing on Middle Eastern diaspora and race. A recent recipient of the Calouste Gulbenkian Global Excellence Scholarship, Thomas' research has also been supported by the Institute for Middle East Studies, Dr. Philip M. Kayal Fund for Arab American Research, Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, Bentley Historical Library Bordin-Gillette Fellowship, Loeb Institute for Religious Freedom and the Armenian General Benevolent Union. He is an alumnus of NYU, the New School's Institute for Critical Social Inquiry, and Yale University. Thomas was recently a visiting researcher at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, has published in Huffington Post, Muftah, and HowlRound, and performed or produced work at Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, Town Hall, Studio 54, among others. He is a member of the Yale Alumni Association (YAA) Board of Governors.

Michelle Hackman ’15
Michelle is a reporter in the Wall Street Journal’s Washington, DC bureau. She covers domestic policy issues, focused on the Education Department and the federal student loan program. She is a 2015 graduate of Yale University, where she majored in political science and wrote for the Yale Daily News.

Jessie Benedict ’16
Jessie was born and raised in Alaska, where she was diagnosed with a bilateral 60 decibel hearing impairment. Language and communication, a daily consideration for the hearing impaired, became an academic interest of Jessie’s and she planned to study child language acquisition through the psychology department at Yale. But forced to fulfill her science credits, Jessie took a yearlong biology course and was blindsided by the mesmerizing complexity of cell biology. She graduated Yale College in 2016 and began graduate studies at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in the Neuroscience Department where she is now a PhD Candidate. Her thesis work examines the neural circuitry regulating the motivation of parenting behaviors in mammals. Jessie hopes to eventually run her own lab investigating the neural circuit dynamics governing social behaviors.

Joseph P. Fisher
Joe is Assistant Director of Disability Support Services at George Washington University, where he also teaches. His writing has appeared in Hybrid Pedagogy, PopMatters, and other publications. His current research interests focus on disability and athletics. Joe has been a long distance runner for most of his life, and he is an RRCA-certified running coach.

Matt Poggi ’92 BA/MA, ’96 MD
Matt graduated from Yale in 1992 with a BA and MA in American Studies. In 1996, he received his MD from the Yale School of Medicine, paid for by a US Navy scholarship. While serving in the US Navy on active duty practicing primary care, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Matt completed a residency in radiation oncology and after nearly 12 years of military service, he joined a small private practice. His MS continued to progress, and he retired from medicine in early 2016. Currently, he is tetraplegic and has mobility and sensation from his arms up to his head. Matt lives in Chevy Chase, MD with his wife and two teenage daughters. Their oldest daughter, Eliza, will be entering Yale this fall.

Location

George Washington University
School of Media & Public Affairs
805 21st Street NW
Basement Level - Room B07
Washington, DC 20052

The building is located at 21st & H Streets NW, and there are entrances on both streets. Elevators are closer to the NE side of the building on H Street and an accessible entrance to classroom B07 is just outside the elevator on the lower level.

Registration Deadline:
Monday, April 8th @ 5:00pm (EST)