Sonoran Center Attends Association of University Centers on Disabilities Conference: Storytelling, Learning, and Leadership
By Drew Milne
On November 5th through 8th, 2023, the Sonoran Center’s Jacy Farkas, Celina Urquidez, Nadine Chau, Abraham Venegas, and Paulette Nevarez attended the annual Association of University Centers on Disabilities conference in Washington, D.C. The Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD) is a national network whose mission is to “help member centers by advancing policy and practice for and with people with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities.” The conference was an opportunity for the Sonoran Center, along with dozens of other university disability centers from around the United States to come together, share knowledge, and learn from one another.
The conference opened on Sunday with an opening discussion panel, led by Derrick Willis, Director of the Iowa UCEDD, AUCD President-Elect, and AUCD 2023 Conference Chair. The panel included Jacy Farkas and three other leaders in the AUCD community: Emmanuel Jenkins, University of Delaware; Kiley McLean, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute; and Sheida Raley, University of Arkansas.
The panel discussed how to ensure that emerging leaders have the space and opportunities to lead, as well as how leaders in the disability field can amplify the voices of people with disabilities. Panelists shared their leadership journeys and the challenges they’ve overcome.
The panel was followed by the keynote speaker, Kiran Singh Sirah. Sirah’s speech centered on the power of storytelling to build stronger communities and bridge divides.
Members of the DISCAPAZ: Disability Experiences in the Borderlands team, Celina Urquidez, Jacy Farkas and Diversity Fellows, Abraham Venegas and Paulette Nevarez, presented a session titled, DISCAPAZ: Community Engagement and Inclusive Storytelling to Amplify Disability Experiences in the Borderlands. Fitting with the theme of storytelling put forward by the conference’s keynote speaker, the presentation explained how the Sonoran Center trainees and staff used mixed media storytelling to help people with disabilities living along the US-Mexico border tell their stories. These stories provide a richer understanding of the needs, strengths, and values of these communities. The team also shared how this project helped to establish the Borderlands track of our Diversity Fellowship program.
Additionally, the Sonoran Center participated in two presentations discussing our youth employment transition programs in partnership with Native American communities. We had a joint session with the Oyate Circle at the University of South Dakota (USD) Center for Disabilities about youth transition programs. The session, Indigenous Approach for Youth Transition Services: A Discussion About Arizona and South Dakota Approach to Indigenous Youth Transition Programs, was led by Jim Warne, USD community engagement director and Sonoran Center affiliate, and included insights from center leadership and project staff (pictured below). Joshua Drywater, presented on behalf of our Finds Their Way: Communities for Youth Transition project as part of the presentation on Administration on Community Living (ACL) Community Collaborations for Employment Program grantees. The session, Leveraging Leadership in Communities: Six ACL Funded Projects' Strategies for Improving Employment Outcomes for people with IDD through Community Collaboration, shared the different approaches for developing partnerships and leaders to improve readiness and preparation for community-integrated employment for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Nadine Chau, Sonoran Center undergraduate certificate student and research assistant, presented a poster they created along with Sonoran Center affiliated faculty Brandy James and Burris “Duke” Duncan, and Tucson Village Farm faculty, Elizabeth Sparks. The poster’s title was, Collaboration is Key: Creating Friendships Through Cooking and Intergenerational Belonging. The poster detailed the group’s project in collaboration with Tucson Village Farm to create an inclusive cooking class series. These classes not only helped build the practical skills of cooking, healthy eating, and meal planning, but offered an opportunity for people with and without disabilities to meet new people and build their social networks.
Sonoran Center faculty and medical director, Dr. Tammie Bassford, collaborated with colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine, University of Utah, University of Cincinnati, University of Michigan and Thomas Jefferson University on a poster about developing fellowships for adult development medicine. Drs. Kathryn Jordan Kemere and Kathleen Irby presented the poster, Development of Fellowships in Adult Developmental Medicine and Disability Health: Overview of Exemplars and Strategies, on behalf of the group.
Thanks to all of our Sonoran Center staff, trainees and affiliates for representing the Center so well at this conference. Special congratulations to Jacy Farkas for receiving AUCD’s Young Professionals Award, a result of years of hard work and dedication to the Sonoran Center and its community.