Ms Wheelchair America 2009 First Runner Up and Ms Wheelchair California 2008: July 15st-16th, Association on Higher Education And Disability 2009 Conference

Saturday, July 12, 2008

July 15st-16th, Association on Higher Education And Disability 2009 Conference

At the 31st AHEAD Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada, Olivia Emilia (Mobility International, USA), Jim Kessler (Director of Disability Services at UNC Chapel Hill and Past-President of AHEAD), and I gave a presentation on "Tools and Strategies to Adapt to Change in Support During Overseas Study." During the conference, I met Fran Edelen who is the Diversity Outreach Program Manager for the Central Intelligence Agency.

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Bio

Shannon Coe, Ms Wheelchair California 2008 and First Runner Up for Ms Wheelchair America 2009, lives in Davis, California. Shannon was born in a devastated post-war Vietnam and had polio at the age of 18 months as a result of a broken immunization infrastructure. Fleeing the political aftermath of the war, Shannon’s parents lovingly carried her as a four-year-old child on the dangerous journey from refugee camp to refugee camp until they were sponsored by a church to immigrate to the United States.

In the U.S. Shannon received her first wheelchair and grew up to appreciate international affairs and advocacy for disability rights. In 2000, she received a BA from U.C. Berkeley in Mass Communications. Shannon also studied abroad in England where she was successful in having a Member of Parliament spend a day following her around campus in a wheelchair to understand the barriers that confronted students with disabilities. Shannon continued to advocate for disability rights issues in the U.S. where she interned with the ADA section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C. and the City of Berkeley.

After graduation, Shannon was selected to attend the Beijing +5 UN Declaration and Platform for Action conference to evaluate the progress of women with disabilities under the UN Convention and the National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN). She contributed as a writer to the NYLN Quarterly Newsletter which addressed issues concerning youth with disabilities and the New Mobility magazine. Shannon later worked as an Acting Program Coordinator for the Fulfillment Fund Teen Access Program, a non-profit organization that provides mentors and educational resources for students with disabilities. She has also been a mentor for young women with disabilities for the Youth Empowerment Project, and a trainer for Mobility International USA. In 2009, Shannon worked as a consultant with Handicap International in Takoma Park, Maryland.

From 2004-2006, Shannon served in Paraguay as a Peace Corps Volunteer, working with non-profit and non-governmental organizations and the Paraguayan government on projects to improve basic disability rights for Paraguayans with disabilities. Shannon has also raised sufficient funds to travel to developing nations with Joni and Friends (a nonprofit organization) to distribute hundreds of wheelchairs at a time to some of the world’s poorest people with disabilities.

Shannon graduated in May 2010 with a Master degree in Public Administration at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) where she has been awarded several merit scholarships. Shannon focuses on civil rights for people with disabilities both nationally and internationally. Her personal and professional passions have taken her to 45 countries and led her to volunteer with many disability-focused organizations.

In addition to traveling, Shannon enjoys the great outdoors. She has been involved in outdoor adventures with organizations such as Environmental Traveling Companion, Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program, No Barriers USA, and Casa Colina. She has participated in adaptive sporting activities such as kayaking, handcycling, mountain biking, rope climbing, water skiing, jet skiing, snorkeling, and white water rafting. Shannon has also volunteered for Special Olympics and Casa Colina in sport events and summer camps for children with disabilities.

Ms Wheelchair America 2009 First Runner Up and Ms Wheelchair California 2008

Saturday, July 12, 2008

July 15st-16th, Association on Higher Education And Disability 2009 Conference

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