Staff Spotlight: Drew Milne

This month we are turning the tables to shine a spotlight on the man behind the keyboard—Drew Milne. Drew is the content coordinator for the Sonoran Center, and has been responsible for writing countless articles highlighting the work of others, including our recurring Staff Spotlight series. Now, in honor of Autism Acceptance Month, we are proud to give Drew his time to shine! We sat down to get to know Drew and learn more about his experience as part of the Sonoran Center team.

Describe what you do at the Sonoran Sonoran Center. 

I wear a lot of hats here at the Sonoran Center. As our content coordinator, I work on numerous projects in the communications department. A big part of that is writing articles about the Sonoran Center’s events and programs for our website. 

I also curate articles written by trainees on the Sonoran Center CACTI Blog, allowing them to showcase the great work that they do. I also write some posts for the Sonoran Center’s social media.  

I don’t just do writing, though. I’m also the point of contact for several Sonoran Center projects, like our work with the Center for Youth Voice and Youth Choice, which promotes alternatives to guardianship for people with disabilities.  

In collaboration with other organizations, I’ve been working with the newly-established Link Center to create “capsule exercises” for medical professionals and other care workers. These are short, fictional scenarios about a certain patient that asks medical providers how they would approach the situation. My last one was about a patient dealing with trauma, particularly generational trauma, and the resulting discussion was a resounding success. Lots of great insight, and I’m glad I was able to facilitate that conversation.  

We also recently wrapped up a project with Self Advocates Becoming Empowered/Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center about integrating plain language into our communications. I’ll be presenting webinars on accessible communications plain language later this spring, so that’s really exciting. 

As a peer mentor, I participate in programs where I share my own experiences as a person with disabilities (ADHD and autism) so that people with disabilities and their supporters can know what options are out there and that they can thrive while being who they are. 

Finally, I am the co-chair of the Center’s Community Advisory Council, which provides guidance from the perspective of people with lived experience with disability and their supporters. We basically provide input so the Center’s work is accessible and serves the needs of the community. 

Like I said, I wear a lot of hats!

What do you like most about your work? 

I love having the opportunity to highlight all the great things the Sonoran Center does. It’s great having my skills at writing being put to good use. The Sonoran Center does so much for people with disabilities in the community, and there’s always a fascinating new project to discover. I’m glad I can get the word out about that. 

What experience do you bring to the Sonoran Center? How does that experience inform your work here? 

My background is in creative writing, so I always try to make my work engaging and fun to read. I try to find the human element in the stories - the answer to the question “Why should I care about this?” Often, there are powerful narratives behind every project, and in a way creating content or writing articles about them is not too different from writing stories. It’s all about putting the pieces together: Who are the main characters? What is their motivation? How do they progress over the course of the story? What can people learn from the story that they can apply to their own lives? 

How do you like working at the Sonoran Center? 

It’s great. It’s a very laid-back environment, but everyone still keeps it professional. I have lots of flexibility in how I want to approach my assignments.  

Do you have any stories from your work that have particularly resonated with you? 

One of the first assignments at the Sonoran Center back in 2021 was an article on a partnership the Center has with an organization called Sonoran Stitch. They are a clothing company that gives people with disabilities the opportunity to hone their job skills in a supportive and caring environment. I got to go down to Sonoran Stitch and talk to the owners as well as the people with disabilities in their employ. It was wonderful seeing firsthand how these kinds of programs help people, especially when it comes to adjusting to the hectic and often confusing environment of the workplace. I met some great people there and made some memories I’ll carry with me for a long time.  

Is there something about your work that people might not expect? 

I think that a lot of people have the image of the writer as secluded and isolated, cranking out pieces in a dark room. While that is accurate sometimes, there’s a lot more working with other people than might be expected. The best way to gather information about almost any subject is to talk to the people that witness it firsthand, so I get to meet with lots of interesting people. I like to think I’ve become pretty good at the interview process: have a list of questions available, but allow the conversation to progress naturally. People want to talk about the things that interest them, which is quite often the most interesting part of the story to potential readers.  

Do you have any advice for people who may be interested in working in your field? 

Like pretty much anything, practice makes perfect. Write about things that interest you. Keep an open mind regarding meeting new people of all backgrounds and new experiences of all kinds. If your work is filled with new and interesting things, the rest should come easily.  

In the course of your work, have you learned something that has stuck with you? Have the people you’ve worked with taught you something? 

I’ve learned that everyone has a story. Sometimes, for whatever reason, those stories simply aren’t told. 

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about what you do? 

I think my experience at the Sonoran Center has taught me that there is a place for everyone. Most people, if given the right chance, can find a way to do something they love in a way that helps them earn a living and be independent. Some people just need a little more support than others.