Staff Spotlight: Aja Haymore

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For this month’s Sonoran Center Staff Spotlight, we are meeting with Aja Haymore.

Aja is the Sonoran Center’s Communication & Marketing Program Manager. Aja started her role this summer and has already been working hard to share information about the center and build connections. She helps the Sonoran Center reach audiences in an accessible manner through campaigns, newsletters, events and much more!

We got a chance to learn about her personal connection with disability and connection to yoga!

Briefly introduce yourself and talk about your role at the Sonoran Center. 

Hi! My name is Aja Haymore and I am the Communication & Marketing Program Manager at the Sonoran Center. I help ensure the initiatives and programs the center leads are reaching audiences and encouraging discourse. 

Can you go into more detail about the programs you’re working on? 

The center does a lot of work, so there are so many! We are entering our 20th year as a center, so I have been developing a campaign to celebrate our anniversary. This will serve as an opportunity to reflect on the Sonoran Center’s accomplishments and document our continued advocacy for disability centered work. We are also in the beginning stages of planning programs for the Circle of Indigenous Empowerment (CIE), especially with Native American Heritage Month being this year.

Looking back, what inspired you to start doing the work you do? 

I am a caregiver for a disabled family member and have witnessed first hand what effective communication and representation can do for one’s wellbeing. I have had the privilege of having things be mostly accessible for me throughout my life, but being a caregiver helped educate me on parts of society I had yet to educate myself on. 

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I’m also a yoga instructor, and teaching classes taught me how to consider a variety of body types and abilities during practice. It also served as a wonderful reminder of what people can achieve when you show them encouragement and guidance. 

How do these experiences inform the work that you do here? 

My experience forced me to confront issues that can be hard to talk about and emotionally charged, however, I learned that this does not have to be negative. Communications and marketing focuses on how you present information and make it approachable to the public. I feel that being a caregiver for a loved one with a disability has helped me convey ideas in a respectful manner without undercutting the message. 

I have also learned how hard it can be to find resources or stories that could be helpful for those with disabilities. Having the opportunity to share those resources and stories has given me a great sense of pride in my work. 

How do you like working at the Sonoran Center? What makes it unique? 

Well, I think it's special that one of Arizona’s UCEDDs is located right here in Tucson! 

I also love how our staff represents the very community we seek to help. Everyone on the team brings personal experience, knowledge and input that enriches the work we do. There are personal ties to our projects which makes working on them even more meaningful. 

What plans do you have for your time here, if any? 

I would like to make sure we properly document and capture the work we do. When you're on the ground, the work is so all encompassing it's easy to forget to capture everything. I want to ensure the center’s legacy is digitally preserved so that anyone at any point can look back at the amazing work we do. 

What do you enjoy most about your work? 

Creativity! One of the things I love most about accessible content is that it evokes innovation. Thinking about ways to make information obtainable opens up a lot of opportunities to try creation methods you might not always see in other contexts. 

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Any advice for people who might be interested in going into your field? 

Everyone going into marketing and communications should factor accessibility into their content. Not only is it logistically going to allow you to reach more people, but it also shows your commitment to including all audiences in your work. 

It's also important to think about the future. It's tempting to be caught up in current trends and events, and while those things are significant, it's important to think about the larger picture. Effective marketing campaigns that include details like what a business/organization is going to do over the course of the next couple years will help set you up for success.  

Anything else you’d like to mention? 

I am a huge fan of the arts. When I’m not working with the Sonoran Center I’m often doing film analysis, visiting bookstores or exploring museums.