During spring semester of 2021, I was able to participate in a paid internship with United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Arizona (UCPSA)/WorkAbility as a Job Coach. The internship provided me the insight that can only be found through hands-on experience.

On Monday, October 2, the Sonoran Center’s Gabriel “Gabe” Martinez visited the White House for a celebration and summit commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act and 33rd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

For this month’s Sonoran Center Staff Spotlight, we are meeting with Danielle Hallahan.
Hallahan is the Sonoran Center’s Program Manager for Administrative Operations. Since starting at the Center in Fall of 2023, she has become an integral part of the Sonoran Center. 
We discuss her passion for disability accessibility and inclusion, the importance of always learning, upcoming projects, diving with sharks, and more!

During Spring 2023, I had the opportunity to work with SAAVI (Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired) Services for the Blind, a non-visual training service program to establish independent life skills. My experience with SAAVI has brought me to a broader understanding of disability and allowed me to practice working with students on a case-by-case basis.

To help schools in Tucson incorporate Adaptive Athletics programs in their curriculum, the Adaptive Athletics department at the University of Arizona invited middle school Physical Education faculty from Tucson to a demonstration of the University’s program.

This past year the Sonoran Center reached more than 47,535 individuals and leveraged 44 grants, contracts and other funds totaling $3,070,811 to support and expand our work.

While looking for an internship, I wanted to work for a non-profit organization that supports education and awareness. When I found the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities, I was excited that it is part of the University of Arizona. Having an internship connected to the University of Arizona was important to me because I wanted to represent the college I go to. Then, I learned that the Sonoran Center was part of the UCEDD network.

The Sonoran Center’s Native Initiatives program manager R. Joshua Drywater and postdoctoral scholar Austin Duncan, PhD, were invited to form a team for the 4th cohort of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) I-Corps™ program. The program exists to help NSF scholars turn their scientific discoveries into products, technologies, and services that are available to the public.

DISCAPAZ: Disability Experience in the Borderlands” is a research project using artistic and creative expression. As DISCAPZ fellows, our responsibility was to assist community members in developing digital mixed-media experiences that reflected their experiences as individuals with a disability living on the Arizona-Sonora border.