A BIT ABOUT US

Empowering Disabled Girls to Lead

Here at Disability EmpowHer Network, we value disabled women and we believe in the potential of girls and young women with disabilities to succeed and to lead. We want to be a catalyst for positive change, and we're driven by our commitment to skill-building, encouragement, and mentorship. Learn more about us below.

MEET STEPHANIE

An attorney, activist, and organizer, Stephanie is passionate about Disability Rights and empowering people with disabilities. Stephanie has litigated disability rights cases, worked for two U.S. Senators, and led a disaster response ground team in Puerto Rico to assist disabled people in distress after Hurricane Maria. As a proud disabled woman, Stephanie credits her success to mentoring she received from member of the Disability Community starting in her early twenties and is committed to helping even more girls and young women with disabilities through mentoring.

MEET LEAH

Leah has a decade's worth of experience working in the disability rights movement, all of which show her passion for equality for those at the margins. She is currently the Project Coordinator for the Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities and is looking at healthcare inequities for disabled people.  Leah has also done a great deal of work at the intersection of media and disability justice, from managing an anti-suicide campaign aimed specifically towards people with disabilities to developing a national disability film festival looking at the institutional bias to spearheading efforts to de-stigmatize dwarfism to efforts to dismantle the stereotypes that the media places on disabled women. It has been through community with other women with disabilities that Leah has learned the most and is fully committed to ensuring that the next generation of disabled women have that same opportunity.  

ABOUT PORTLIGHT

All donations to Disability EmpowHer Network are tax-deductible as a program of Portlight Strategies, Inc. Portlight is a 501(c)3 which was founded in 1997 to facilitate a variety of projects involving people with disabilities, including post-disaster relief work, and to foster inclusive disaster planning and response for all people with disabilities.

Portlight has been at the forefront of serving disabled people before, during, and in the aftermath of disasters for over 20 years and is proud to help the next generation of woman become leaders through inclusive disaster planning.