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

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

March 22nd, California for Disability Rights, Yolano (Yolo/Solano) Chapter

This group of professionals with disabilities promotes local policy which includes the voice of the disability community. Currently, one of the issues the group is working on is accessible housing.

Monday, March 24, 2008

March 21st, Access Leisure Teen Program

The Access Leisure Teen Program is an after school recreation and social program for youth with disabilities. We had a fun afternoon playing freeze tag - what a great group!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

March 8th, Ms Wheelchair California 2008 Pageant

At the 2008 pageant with Susan Rotchy, Ms Wheelchair California 2007, and Camisha Grandberry, 1st Runner-up, and another great advocate who will be doing lots of great advocacy work in Southern California this year under her title.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Greetings

Hello and welcome to my blog! It is an honor to have been crowned Ms Wheelchair California 2008. I'm excited to be able to represent the disability community in California in this special capacity. I look forward to continuing my advocacy work around the state this year - please let me know if you would like to book a speaking engagement or if you know of a visiting opportunity through which I can help make a difference. Thank you for visiting my blog - come back often to see what's new.

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

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

March 22nd, California for Disability Rights, Yolano (Yolo/Solano) Chapter

Monday, March 24, 2008

March 21st, Access Leisure Teen Program

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

March 8th, Ms Wheelchair California 2008 Pageant

Monday, March 17, 2008

Greetings

Shannon Coe

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