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NEADS Montreal State of the Schools Tour Stop!

Join the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) and the Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Post-Secondary Education (AQEIPS) on February 24th from 12-4 pm ET in the Athanase-David Pavillion D-R200 at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), 1440 rue Saint-Denis and on Zoom for our Montreal State of the Schools Tour stop!
 
As part of NEADS’ Virtual Access for All Project and Back to School National Advocacy Campaign, the NEADS Team is partnering with AQEIPS and local guest speakers for this hybrid event focusing on accessibility, accommodations, education, and employment for disabled post-secondary students. We will be joined by Stacy Casimir, AQEIPS’ Communications Director, Stéphane Braney, AQEIPS’ Executive Director, and Sarah Heussaff, PhD Student in Communications and Course Lecturer for the Disability and Deafhood program at UQAM University.
 
Contact tracing, social distancing, and masking will be enforced for in-person participants. Simultaneous French-English interpretation, English and French closed captioning, and ASL and LSQ interpretation will be available through Zoom and in-person. Both in-person and online participants are encouraged to share their lived experience, questions, and concerns during the discussion period. Pre-packaged lunch and snacks will be provided to in-person participants, and two certified orderlies will be present to help you with your needs.
 
All participants must register for this free event – please register here. Please indicate any accessibility requirements through the registration form, or email carly.fox@neads.ca

About the AQEIPS Team

Stéphane Braney, Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Post-Secondary Education (AQEIPS) Executive Director 

Stéphane Braney (il/he/him) was a project manager for AQEIPS before becoming the Executive Director in August 2022. He holds a bachelor’s in business administration (B.A.A.) from TÉLUQ University and is currently enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Information Technology Governance of the same university. He was the founding president of the Stéphane Braney Foundation (1998 to 2013), a non-profit organization that helped people with impaired mobility who do not receive the benefits they need to acquire the equipment necessary for their well-being and independence. He is also the head of Braney & Associates Inc., a management consulting firm that offers start-up, expansion, recovery, training, and coaching services to self-employed individuals, NPOs and SMEs. He served as a municipal councillor for the City of Lachute where he worked with several committees (Human Resources, Roads, Finance, Retirement, IT and Communication, Société de promotion économique de Lachute, Lachute Airport, Conférence régionale des élus des Laurentides, Fire and Vigilance, and Odours for the Technical Landfill Site). He has several years of experience in the community sector as a speaker and motivator. He has been a volunteer in his local community for many years and has served on many boards. Stéphane is passionate about advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and is a strong defender of their inclusion in education, active life, and the labour market. Stéphane became quadriplegic following a diving accident in an above-ground pool on July 22, 1994, at the age of 27. He chose to focus on what he had left rather than what he had lost; the use of his four limbs. So only one year after his accident he gave his first conference under the theme “I chose life”!    

Stacy Casimir, Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Post-Secondary Education (AQEIPS) Communications Officer

Stacy Casimir (elle/she/her) is a Communications undergraduate student at Université de Montréal. She has been working at AQEIPS for 9 months now, learning the basics of the essential work of promoting and protecting the rights of people with disabilities. Passionate about humans, she regularly volunteers for her university community and with youth from Montreal North. In her spare time, she likes to read, swim, binge watch Netflix series, and try new things.  

Sarah Heussaff, PhD Student in Communications and Course Lecturer for the Disability and Deafhood program at UQAM University

Sarah Heussaff (elle/she/her) is a student researcher, neuro-atypical and chronically ill. She holds a master’s degree in Métiers et Arts de l’Exposition from the Art History Department at Rennes 2 University. From 2014 to 2019, she began her research in the field of disability and crip arts through online columns. During that time, her research was also presented in France and abroad during conferences, workshops, and an exhibition. In September 2019, she continued her work through a research-creation project with UQAM’s Communications doctoral program. In 2023, her thesis, funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC), will focus on disabled activist and artistic movements: their emergence, ties, and solidarities. In her creative process, she reflects on the concept of accessible exhibition curation, and in her method, she prioritizes artistic, literary, and scientific productions by those who have expertise through experience.

She is a member of the Disability and Deafhood program committee at UQAM University, and she will oversee the next edition of the summer school (May 18 to June 1, 2023).

ABOUT AQEIPS

Since 1991, the Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Post-Secondary Education (AQEIPS) has been advocating for equal opportunities in education for post-secondary students with disabilities (SWD). The promotion of the Social Model of Disability and of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guides our efforts towards building a truly inclusive society. A society in which the cycle of poverty and isolation can be broken by ensuring that SWD have access to the same level of education as students without disabilities do. We organize many activities and collaborate on research projects to support collective advocacy for SWD. We also manage a yearly scholarships program.

Meet the NEADS Touring Team

Carly Fox, Communications & Partnerships Director

Carly Fox (she/her/elle) is a queer, neurodivergent, and disabled young woman based out of Algonquin Anishinabe Territory (Ottawa, ON). Fox is NEADS' Communications & Partnerships Director, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities' International Chair, a disability advocate, and recently attended the 15th Conference of State Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a member of Canada's Delegation. As a disability advocate and blogger, Fox aims to raise awareness on different types of invisible disabilities and the interactions between them, and aims to use her privilege to dismantle systemic forms of oppression to create space for others to share their lived experiences. Fox is currently in her third year at uOttawa, where she majors in International Development and Globalization and minors in Human Rights and Conflict Studies. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @ItsCarlyFox, or on her blog https://CarlyFoxDisabilityAdvocacy.ca  

Chloée Godin-Jacques, Research Consultant

Chloée Catherine (she/they) is a white settler disabled queer person. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Education at Western University. Chloée is an activist and strives to generate awareness about accessibility, disability, and intersectionality and dismantle preconceived notions by sharing her own diverse lived experiences through the means of blog posts and social media posts. She is also a Lead Consultant at Chloée Catherine Consulting, where she supports businesses and other organizations to further foster inclusive spaces for disabled persons. Chloée’s personal and professional interests lie within the realms of accessibility, activism, community-building, disability, higher education, intersectionality, and sexuality.

You can follow Chloée’s journey via @chloeecatherine (on Instagram) and chloeecatherine.com

Katja Newman, NEADS Student Awards Programs Director

Katja Newman (she/her/elle) is the director of the National Educational Association of Disabled Students’ Student Awards financial assistance programs, the NEADS Student Awards Program and Accessibility Resilience Program. A resident of Halifax Nova Scotia, she recently completed an online Masters in Grant Writing and Program Evaluation from Concordia University Chicago. Prior to her Masters, Katja received a Bachelor's of Social Work from Carleton University and a Child & Youth Work Diploma from Georgian College. Outside of her role at NEADS she enjoys hiking, tandem bike riding, baking, cooking and educating audiences on the accessibility and inclusion related highs and lows that come with living life as a blind Nova Scotian who navigates the world with the help of a guide dog.

Elizabeth Mohler, Research Consultant

Elizabeth Mohler currently works for NEADS as a Research Consultant, where she leads the Virtual Access for All Project and writes its quarterly publication, State of the Schools. She also works for Left Turn Right Turn as an accessibility specialist; sits on the Canadian Institute for Health Research external advisory committee on systemic ableism and accessibility; and, is an experienced presenter, keynote speaker, lecturer, and published writer. Elizabeth is currently a doctoral candidate at Western University in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Program. Her work explores how discourses and practices within Direct Funding shape how disabled persons access services, and in what ways service users resist and negotiate these discourses. Follow Elizabeth’s work at: www.elizabethmohler.ca  

Aliyah Petzak-Grant, Website Manager

Aliyah Petzak-Grant (she/her/elle) is NEADS' Website Manager, a creative and driven website designer, and a passionate disability advocate. Aliyah aims to educate others about online accessibility and assistive technology through her work. As NEADS' Website Manager, Aliyah oversees multiple sites including disabilityawards.ca - the largest online directory of disability-specific financial aid.  When time permits Aliyah also does freelance and on occasion volunteer website design and accessibility consultations.  Past work experience includes Researcher for the Accessible Career Transitions Project (now ACT to Employ) at Carleton University. While earning her degree in Psychology at Carleton focusing on Human Computer Interactions (HCI) and accessible technology user experience, Aliyah also volunteered with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities. Outside of work, Aliyah enjoys playing board games, Dungeons and Dragons, and spending quality time with her dog.

About NEADS 

About NEADS’ Virtual Access for All Program

NEADS' Virtual Access for All Project provides educational support and awareness aimed at students with disabilities transitioning into post-secondary education. Accessibility and accommodations resources are provided through our quarterly State of the Schools publications, while our regular webinar series addresses topics such as self-advocacy, accessing accommodations at work and school, and transitioning into the workforce. Further, financial support is available through NEADS' Student Awards Program and Accessibility Resilience Program. Virtual Access for All is generously supported by Employment and Social Development Canada's Goal Getters Program, and has recently received an upward amendment in response to positive reception.

About NEADS’ Back to School National Advocacy Campaign

As vaccine and mask mandates lift and online learning options are rolled back, the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) has launched a national advocacy campaign to support disabled post-secondary students' rights to safe and accessible education.

Disabled students are asked to provide written submissions detailing their thoughts, feelings, and anxieties as they prepare for an unsafe and inaccessible Fall term, and submissions will be shared in a final report and social media campaign. Submissions are being accepted on an ongoing basis for the social media campaign, and a follow up report will be published upon the completion of the campaign.

Carly Fox (she/her/elle), carly.fox@neads.ca, NEADS Communications and Partnerships Director |Directrice des communications et des partenariats de NEADS

National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), Rm. 514 Unicentre, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, tel. (613) 380-8065, ext. 201

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