RDA Strategies

On March 27, 2026, in Long Beach, I had the opportunity to facilitate Frustration to Impact: The Advocacy Blueprint for Systems Change at the Abilities Expo, exploring how the barriers individuals and families face can become catalysts for advocacy, collaboration, and lasting systems change.

A theme emerged throughout the session: frustration is not failure. It can be feedback. It can be data. When enough people experience the same challenge navigating services, access, or information, it often points to opportunities to strengthen systems.

Together, we explored questions such as: What is happening? Who is impacted? Where are decisions made? Advocacy often begins not with having all the answers, but with understanding where change is possible.

The conversation reflected on efforts to improve service coordination and advance awareness through policy and public systems. These examples served as reminders that community voice, persistence, and partnerships can move ideas into action.

One takeaway I hope participants carry forward: you do not need to change an entire system overnight. Sometimes advocacy begins with one frustration, one conversation, and one next step.

Deep gratitude to everyone who joined the discussion and shared experiences navigating complex systems. Change happens when communities continue asking questions and showing up.

Read additional coverage from the Los Angeles County Aging & Disabilities Department here.

In March 2026, Los Angeles formally recognized Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day, illuminated City Hall green, and affirmed that disability is a natural and valuable part of human diversity, and that access, belonging, and participation strengthen communities.

The milestone reflected collaboration among the City of Los Angeles Department on Disability, the offices of Councilmembers Heather Hutt and John Lee, community partners, and Inclusive Sol, which initiated efforts to elevate Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day within the City and has now helped advance two City Hall lightings in green to increase visibility for cerebral palsy and disability communities.

The recognition aligned with the City’s LA For All commitment, affirming that discrimination has no place in Los Angeles and that equity must extend to every community. The resolution emphasized that advancing belonging requires intentional coordination across education, employment, housing, transportation, and public life, so residents with disabilities can fully participate, lead, and shape the future of the City.

One of the most meaningful moments was seeing Elijah Sol, the inspiration behind Inclusive Sol, react to Los Angeles City Hall being illuminated green.

Representation, visibility, and policy are connected. What communities see recognized publicly can influence what becomes possible within systems over time.

The work continues beyond awareness months.

On March 22, 2026, I joined the Angel City Sports Youth Weekend’s panel, EveryBODY Belongs: Adaptive Play, Confidence, and Community, alongside A.J. Munoz-Bond and Joe Holt, moderated by two-time Paralympic gold medalist and Angel City Sports co-founder Ezra Frech.

The conversation centered on something bigger than sports.

Adaptive sports create opportunities for movement, confidence, competition, community, and belonging. For many disabled children and youth, access to athletics and recreation has historically been limited despite the important role participation can play in physical health, social connection, identity, and joy.

One message remained clear throughout the discussion:

The challenge is often not individual ability, but whether environments, programs, and communities were designed with access in mind.

The panel explored how adaptive recreation, inclusive design, and community support can influence opportunities available to young people as they grow.

I have so much love and admiration for Angel City Sports and leaders expanding what participation can look like when access is considered from the beginning rather than added later.

Because every person deserves opportunities to move, play, compete, connect, and belong, exactly as they are.

Cerebral Palsy Family Forum as a panel speaker alongside advocates, self-advocates, and organizations supporting individuals with cerebral palsy and their families across the lifespan. The theme, “CP Grows Up!”, centered on a reality many communities know well: support needs evolve, yet systems do not always evolve alongside them.

The conversation explored navigating fragmented systems, strengthening community, and sharing resources that help make support feel less isolating.

I shared examples of how families, advocates, and communities can turn repeated barriers into collective action, drawing on efforts that contributed to Los Angeles County’s first cerebral palsy motion, the LAUSD World CP Day resolution, and increased visibility of cerebral palsy across public systems. These experiences continue to reinforce a belief that systems become stronger when community voice, persistence, and partnerships help shape them.

Grateful to the organizers, fellow panelists, and keynote speaker Dr. Mark D. Peterson for creating space for conversations across healthcare, advocacy, and community support.

As conversations continue around healthcare, education, employment, and adulthood, perhaps one reminder matters most:

People should spend less time navigating disconnected systems and more time accessing support, information, and community.

“Health is a human right, not a privilege.”

On March 7, 2026, I served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the Women’s Health Symposium hosted by the City of West Hollywood.

The day brought together physicians, advocates, and community leaders to explore preventive care, financial health, menopause, mental health, and personal safety. Beyond the topics themselves, what stood out was the intention behind creating spaces where information, resources, and community feel accessible rather than fragmented.

One idea surfaced repeatedly: people make stronger decisions when they have access to information, trusted relationships, and systems designed to support them.

A meaningful moment was reconnecting with Councilmember John Erickson alongside the World CP Day Proclamation during both Women’s History Month and Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, a reminder that visibility, policy, and community often move forward together.

Thankful to the City, the Women’s Advisory Board, and all who contributed to a thoughtful day centered on health, access, and collective well-being.

On October 6, 2025, communities around the world recognized World Cerebral Palsy Day, honoring more than 50 million people living with CP. In Los Angeles, the day also marked one year since LAUSD adopted the World CP Day resolution, a partnership between Board Member Scott Schmerelson’s office and Inclusive Sol.

The resolution advances awareness through educator training, inclusive practices, and opportunities that help students with disabilities participate, belong, and thrive.

This year, that vision came to life at my son Elijah’s school: green bracelets, conversations about inclusion, and small moments demonstrating how awareness can become culture.

Watching a sea of green bracelets at dismissal was a reminder that inclusion grows through everyday actions, not only policy.

As we move forward, may we continue creating schools and communities where every child is seen, supported, and celebrated.

On August 8, 2025, I had the privilege of facilitating a keynote session at Total Education Solutions’ all-staff kickoff meeting for more than 120 therapists, educators, counselors, psychologists, and administrators.

Together, we explored what connection, collaboration, and community look like in practice. The energy in the room reflected something powerful: meaningful work grows when people reconnect to purpose.

TES staff arrived with expertise, compassion, creativity, and a shared commitment to supporting the growth and independence of individuals of all abilities.

Following the session, Jacklin Pfaff, Regional Director of Therapy and Education Services, reflected that it created “meaningful engagement across a diverse group.” Her feedback reinforced something I continue to see across organizations: connection strengthens collaboration, and collaboration strengthens impact.

To the TES team, thank you for the care and commitment you bring to your communities. Let’s continue creating spaces where people feel connected, valued, and supported.

Disability equity is not only a policy conversation. It is about community, access, and how systems respond to people.

As a member of the Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities’ Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee, I supported efforts to inform the County’s first Disability Services Strategic Plan.

On August 29, 2025, the County held its final public focus group, one of seven sessions across all five Supervisorial Districts. Each conversation brought together providers, community organizations, and residents. The strongest insights came from people navigating systems directly.

More than 900 community members contributed through surveys and focus groups, helping shape priorities for disability services across Los Angeles County.

Change is strongest when communities are invited to participate in shaping the systems intended to serve them.

I appreciate everyone who contributed perspectives, ideas, and time to this work.

On August 24, 2025, in West Hollywood, I had the honor of moderating Women & The Way Forward, a conversation focused on civic participation, leadership, and advancing equity.

The discussion brought together leaders working across voting rights, civic engagement, storytelling, and women’s leadership, including Kat Calvin, Founder of Spread The Vote + Project ID; Emiliana Guereca Zeidenfeld, Founder and President of the Women’s March Foundation; Rati Gupta, actor, storyteller, and Content Director for 5 Calls Civic Action; and Deborah Lee Smith, Emmy nominated producer, actor, and founder of More Than You See.

While perspectives varied, one message remained consistent: participation matters.

Each panelist left the audience with a challenge. Ensure people get to the polls. Make politics personal. Create space for conversations about inequality. Speak up when voices are missing from the table.

The conversation also explored something deeper: Who has access to decisions? Who feels represented? And who continues to navigate barriers to participation, leadership, or belonging?

The way forward requires more than awareness. It requires action, dialogue, and willingness to ask who is still excluded from decisions shaping our communities.

As disability rights pioneer Judith Heumann often reminded us, equity is not only about access. It is also about belonging.

Progress becomes possible when more voices are welcomed into conversations influencing our communities, policies, and collective future.

As Disability Pride Month came to a close on July 25, 2025, Los Angeles marked the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a reminder that disability rights remain an ongoing civil rights movement.

The day reflected what becomes possible when public leaders, disability advocates, and communities work together toward inclusion.

It was also a meaningful reunion with the disability community and a full circle moment I will always cherish: being introduced to Mayor Karen Bass by Stephen David Simon, sharing my “D1$@B1LtY IS NOT A DIRTY WORD”* pin, and thanking her for leading with inclusion.

Mayor Karen Bass stood alongside Councilmember Imelda Padilla; Colleen Wrenn, Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles Department on Disability; Reynold Hoover, Chief Executive Officer of LA28; Paul Krekorian, Executive Director of the Office of Major Events; and other civic and community leaders, reaffirming Los Angeles’ commitment to a truly inclusive Games for All.

The City continues advancing accessibility through its Host City Accessibility Commitment, the Games Accessibility Plan, and the appointment of Natalie Sparrow, Chief Accessibility Officer for the City of Los Angeles, whose work helps embed access and equity into planning for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Inclusion is more than representation. It is reflected in policies, practices, and decisions shaping daily life.

As Los Angeles prepares for future milestones, the opportunity remains to ensure disability is included not as an afterthought, but as part of the blueprint.

Progress becomes more sustainable when accessibility is designed from the beginning, with disabled communities helping shape what comes next.