Dena M. Griffel is an early childhood special education teacher for the Yellowstone/West Carbon County Special Services Cooperative.  Hailing from Thermopolis, Wyoming, Dena earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary/Special Education from Montana State University-Billings and returned several years later to earn a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Special Education. Additionally, throughout high school and college Dena volunteered with the Special Olympics program, and in high school she volunteered at a local school for children with disabilities.

Dena struggles with dyslexia, a learning disorder that makes reading difficult, and she said that she hated school until the day she graduated. Her parents made the decision to have her repeat grade one. Growing up, sometimes that decision was difficult for Dena, but as an adult, she is truly grateful to her parents because she strongly feels that she would not be where she is today had they not made the decision to retain her that year.  

Dena is very proud of earning her Master’s Degree and becoming an exceptional teacher because she was told on several occasions that she was NOT college material, that she would not be a good teacher, and that she should look into a different field.  But along with the naysayers, Dena had several wonderful role models and teacher/leaders in her life not the least of which were her parents who were always wonderful, supportive, and caring.  But Dena also credits herself.  She pushed herself by setting small goals and accomplishing those goals all while keeping her sights on her ultimate goal of being a teacher.

Dena is also proud of marrying a wonderful man and becoming a mom to three beautiful children!

Dena’s advice to young people is for them to find their niche and to be a leader. Because of her academic difficulties, Dena’s self esteem suffered.  She became a social butterfly which led her to make poor choices including using tobacco and alcohol.  But when she found her niche everything changed!  She got involved with 4-H and then with the Future Farmers of America.  She excelled in both programs.  This success gave her the confidence and leadership abilities to keep striving for her goals. 

Dena advises, “NEVER GIVE UP on your dreams.  Find your niche, find something you can be successful at—BE A LEADER not a follower and truly work on your self esteem!”

Shari L. Cooper works as a clerical assistant for Goodwill Industries in Dayton, Ohio. Besides her clerical duties, Shari researches job leads for consumers, tutors consumers, and assists consumers with resume writing. Shari earned her Associate of Applied Science from Sinclair Community College in Disabilities Intervention Services.

In 1996, Shari was inducted into the Hall of Fame for People with Disabilities. She has served as Dayton’s Consumer Advisory Council liaison for Rehabilitation Service Commission and was the 2002 Achiever of the Year at Goodwill Industries. She has served as a member of the State of Ohio Rehabilitation Service Commission, the Consumer Advisory Council, and the Montgomery County “Advocates.” In 2004 Shari served as the Chapter President of Dayton’s People First, and was appointed to the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council as a self-advocate, “In today’s society, the daily struggles with unemployment, finances, transportation, housing, and family are very difficult for many citizens. But these struggles are twice as hard if you are a person with a disability.”

Shari’s motivation started with her family and teachers who taught her that she can do anything!

Shari has Cerebral Palsy and her advice to young women is to never give up, and to believe in themselves. Shari encourages young women to turn negatives into positives because can’t is not a word!

Katherine Walton Lawson is a Strategic and State Planner for the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services. Katherine earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and her Master’s in Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has worked in the human services field for over 30 years, running the gamut from direct service case management, to University faculty, and to the executive directorship of organizations including Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Services Incorporated.

Katherine’s community activities include family centered projects, violence prevention, and the support and advancement of children/adolescents.  In 1986, Katherine was on the board of the Virginia League of Planned Parenthood and was the Chair of Community and Public Affairs. Throughout the eighties she continued being active in her community by being part of Richmond [Virginia] Mayor’s Committee on the Concerns of Women, sitting on the Board of Directors of the Richmond Planned Parenthood, as a member of Richmond’s Friendship Force, Handicaps Unlimited of Virginia, Co-founding Family Involvement Network, and as the President of the Mary Munford PTA and a member of the Mary Munford Planning Council. The nineties were even more active for Katherine in her community focusing more on programs and projects that supported young people especially anti-violence work: High Hopes, Hope in the Cities, Richmond Public Schools Safety and Security Committee Chair, Virginia Adolescent Task Force, Virginia Partnership for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Partners for Healthy Communities, and was appointed by The Attorney General’s Office of Virginia to the Youth/Gang Violence Task Force in 1998.  Presently, Katherine is part of the Richmond Regional Planning District Transportation Team, she is a Facilitator of Hope in the Cities Diversity Curriculum, and a member of the Richmond Chapter of Spinal Cord Injured Association.

Katherine is a strong and passionate advocate for the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.  She is most proud of establishing the Families At Work, Inc. an organization that educates individuals with developmental and other disabilities and their families about an individuals’ right to work, play, and receive an integrated education. She is grateful to have served the Developmental Disabilities Council in Virginia where much work has been done but she admits more still needs to be done especially in making services person centered.  Katherine is also trained in Covey Leadership, a graduate of Richmond, Virginia’s first Citizens Policy Academy, and has been an extraordinary contributor in the Virginia’s state government consistently.

Katherine has juvenile onset diabetes, and her advice for young women with disabilities is, DO IT NOW!  Her biological father died when he was 30 and she was just 6 years old.  This event was life impacting, and such a loss convinced her that she had to be on a rapid track, helping others less fortunate.  She recommends young women with disabilities read the law, or if there is a cognitive disability, find and let your family help you find your own circle of community support.  Never quiver or shirk from you God given right to have self-determination, choice and control over your own life.  Read the laws of your state and this nation.  And, she would be less than honest if she did not say, when you feel lost and abandoned, perhaps in an institution where love is absent, God is with you. Trust, faith, and action will improve your life.  Hand in hand, you and she will make a difference.  Vote, talk to your General Assembly and Congressional delegate.  Let them know you are a voting member of the community.  Together our votes count!

Katherine credits many influential people in her life but two prominent players are Ed Peeples, Ph.D., and Barbara Gilley.  First, Ed Peeples was a mentor and a boss who reinforced in her thinking way out of the box and referred to her as a Renaissance woman. His personal history in the Civil Rights movement inspired Katherine to continue to work for systems change.  Barbara Gilley was influential because “her belly filled with fire” she fought for the same opportunities as others.

As a core value Katherine holds that the only thing you keep is that which you give away, and to whom much is given much is required.

Tanya Marie Fernandez has been a Customer Service Representative for the Ohio Department of Health – Bureau of Children with Medical Handicaps for the past 13+ years. She attended the American Institute of Paralegal Studies in Columbus, Ohio and received her certificate in 1989. She also attended the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania for over a year and a half. Over the years, while working for both State and Federal governments, she has been actively involved with numerous organizations such as United Way, UNCF drives, Operation Feed campaigns and Employee Health participation programs. She was appointed by Governor Bob Taft (August 2004) to a three year term serving on the Governor’s Council on People with Disabilities where she is actively involved with the Access Concerns Committee, the Education Committee, the Nominations Committee, the Web Committee, the Legislative Committee, and the Youth Leadership Forum. Tanya has many accomplishments that she is proud of and the theme of these accomplishments seems to be independence! Tanya learned to walk with the aid of braces after several doctors said that she would not. With her parents’ advocacy Tanya was mainstreamed in grade school. She participated as a finalist for the first ever, history making, televised Ms. Wheelchair Ohio 2000 where she was crowned 3^rd runner up and Ms. Congeniality. Tanya has an adventuresome spirit, having gone up in Serena’s Song, the world’s only wheelchair accessible hot air balloon. She has swum with stingrays and had a giraffe eat an apple off of the stump of her left arm! Additionally, Tanya has received numerous awards: a college scholarship; two Distinctions of Honor at Paralegal school; a Certificate of Appreciation from Ohio’s ex-governor Richard Celeste, Employee of the Month (for the Department of Health), and a letter of recognition from another past governor, George Voinovich. Tanya is also asked to be a guest speaker for many events and organizations. 

Tanya has Arthrogryposis, a relatively rare congenital condition characterized by multiple joint contractures. Because of this condition, Tanya uses an electric wheelchair for mobility. Tanya’s family and friends, including her fiancé, are the most supportive and encouraging people, accepting her for who she is -- a woman with a severe physical disability, but also a strong determined woman with an abundance of abilities as well! Tanya also feels blessed with a medical and educational staff who worked as a team with her parents to support and encourage her.

Tanya’s advice to young women is the same advice her father gave to her. Her father did not have a disability nor did he have any experience with raising a child with a disability, he told Tanya to be the best that she could be. To try and excel BECAUSE of your disability; do not allow others the opportunity to lower the standards because you have a disability and because they assume that you will not be up to the task at hand!

Bobbie Thurston is a family support consultant for Parent’s Lets Unite for Kids (PLUK). She earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Counseling and Human Services from Montana State University-Billings and her Master’s degree in Social Work from Walla Walla College. Bobbie is currently pursuing her professional credentials as a licensed and certified social worker.

Her past volunteer activities include Saint Vincent Healthcare, Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes, and the Montana Rescue Mission. Bobbie currently serves on the region III Comprehensive System of Personal Development (CSPD) and on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Yellowstone Valley she is a co-secretary. Bobbie has been recognized as an outstanding member of an organization, outstanding residential hall leader, and student of the month. She has also been featured in the Billings Gazette and The Women’s World Magazine.

Bobbie surrounds herself with family and friends who support her with unconditional love making her strive to be the best she can be.

Bobbie has cerebral palsy and her advice to young women with disabilities is: No one can limit what you can do except yourself. Do not let what others may think or feel about you guide your success. Create your own success, never stop believing in yourself, and remember….. no one can make you feel inferior without your permission.

Jerri Anderson did not have positive role models growing up and had many emotional scars that needed to heal. The path to her undergraduate degree was not straight forward. After dropping out of high school in 1987, Jerri returned to her education and earned her GED in 2002. She will graduate in May of 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Human Services.

Jerri is proud of overcoming the emotional barriers in her life while attending college as a non-traditional student. Additionally, Jerri struggles with chronic severe back problems. She reflects that her journey through college has been challenging, but it has not been impossible.

Jerri volunteers at the Life Center with the outreach projects and with teaching children Sunday school.

She is very active in her church and the biggest positive influence in her life has been Jesus. A relationship with Jesus allowed her to regain her life. She also met several friends and mentors from the church congregation that continue to inspire her. Her support system at church reminds her that she has something to offer the world and that she can overcome anything with God’s help.

Jerri advises young women with disabilities to look for resources and develop many means of support. Do not accept that anything is impossible! Believe in yourself and your abilities and remember that you have something to offer that no one else can.

Jolene A. Burdge is a coordinator of the Office of Public Instruction Special Education Endorsement Project at Montana State University-Billings. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human Services at MSU-B. Jolene has served on the advisory board of the Montana Center on Disabilities and the Yellowstone AIDS project. She is certified in HIV counseling & testing, presents on AIDS Prevention with personal experience as a family member of a brother who died from HIV. Jolene volunteers as part of the staff senate at MSU-Billings and is a member of the New Life Church. Jolene has clinical depression and says that she has come further in her life than she ever thought she would. Often she feels that her major accomplishment is being alive which she suggests is a sentiment echoed by other people who battle with mental illness. She is thankful and very proud of the person her daughter has become and credits having God in their lives as making the difference.

Jolene recognizes three influential people in her life. First is her brother, Steve, whose personal struggle and subsequent illness and death from AIDS remind her that she can’t give up, if not for herself, for him. Her good friend Ann is an inspiration. Ann has faced and overcome more hardship than Jolene could ever imagine. And the most important influence in her life is her husband who has stuck by her and loved her when she could not love herself.

Her advice to young women with disabilities is to first, make peace with yourself and your disability which can be very hard with a mental illness. There is always a nagging voice inside that says, “…you should be able to snap out of it” and since the disability is hidden the world only seems to reinforce that belief. Jolene also suggests that people learn all that they can about their disability and then focus on what they can do. She hopes that by being open about her mental illness she will encourage others who struggle with it to do the same and also let them know that she is someone that they can talk to, confide in and who understands. Finally, Jolene advises that people with clinical depression be gentle with themselves during depressive episodes and acknowledges that this is difficult and something that she constantly has to remind herself to do.

June Hermanson is the Executive Director of the Montana Youth Leadership Forum (MYLF). June earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from the University of Montana and her Master of Arts degree in Education/Rehabilitation from Montana State University-Billings. She has worked in the Human Services field for 27 years as a project coordinator, employment specialist, case manager, counselor, and teacher.

Her professional and volunteer passion is advocacy for individuals with disabilities, and is expressed through her association with the following: the Governor’s Advisory Council on Disabilities; the State Independent Living Council; the Montana Advocacy Program; the Montana Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities; the Western Montana Youth Services Advisory Council; the Met Transit Advisory Board; the Lake County Transportation Advisory Board; the Billings Community Housing Board; the Montana Department of Health and Human Services Olmstead Committee; the Montana Association for the Blind; and, the Western Montana Branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, just to name a few!

She takes great pride in the creation of the Montana Youth Leadership Forum for Student’s with Disabilities. The program has received four awards over the past five years for the impact it is having on the lives of students with disabilities. June says, “The team that has kept this program moving forward is phenomenal and I am very fortunate to have worked with so many committed individuals.”

June has congenital legal blindness due to Aniridia. She credits her immediate family for being the most influential force in her life. “We have always been close and from the time that I was very young they supported anything and everything I ever did unconditionally.” June reports that this support continues to this day and says that for her, family has always been the key!

June is also proud of her activities as a lobbyist, “I believe that when we advocate for ourselves and show our commitment in the creation of solutions that partnerships are created that benefit not only the disability community but society as a whole.”

She advises young women with disabilities to dream! “Dream about what you want to do, plan for it, and then just do it.” June reminds young women to be a partner to others in all that they do, “…for you can accomplish little as an isolated individual, but through partnerships you can make a difference in the lives of others.” Finally, June tells young people to accept themselves as a person with a disability, “…know that you have so very much to offer, and embrace others as you would have them embrace you.”

Jacqueline Jackson (Jackie) was employed at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in Newark, New Jersey for eighteen years.   Jackie retired from the corporate world ten years ago and decided to fulfill one of her lifetime goals of continuing her educational career.   As a non-traditional student it took her over twenty years combined to complete both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. Currently she is a potential candidate for two PhD programs at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey and her interest is Public Policy. 

Finishing college has been a struggle for her due to her multiple disabilities. She has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Sarcoiodosis and Fibromyalgia three chronic diseases that have often times landed her in and out of hospitals.   Despite her disabilities she has made many strides in her life.  She has raised now two adult children and is doing parenthood a second time around as the legal guardian of her niece and nephew who are preteens.  She is proud of her educational accomplishments having earned two college degrees while living with multiple disabilities and balancing a family. 

As a woman with multiple disabilities Jackie states that Spirituality and Faith is important in her life because both have allowed her to break free from barriers that have attempted to hinder her in society whether they are physical barriers such as gaining access into public places or attitude barriers.  She has adopted a motto that “a disease is only temporary dis-ease”…and without struggle there is no stride.”

Jackie was inducted into two National Honor Societies and she is the recipient of many scholarship awards.  She is a Paul Robeson Scholar as well as an Africana Studies Scholar at Rutgers University.  She volunteers extensively with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and various women and disability organizations.

The most influential people in her life are her children who learned disability 101 at an early age.  When her life was turned upside down because of health challenges, it was her daughter and son who helped her get her life back on track.  Her parental roles were reversed and it was Jackie’s children who cared for her, continued to love and support her in whatever she has inspired to become.  Jackie is forever thankful to GOD for blessing her with two wonderful children, family, a wonderful church community and friends who have also supported her with life challenges as a person living with a disability.

Jackie offers the following advice for young women with disabilities:  Do Not let anything in life Defeat you, Define you with negativity, or Disable you.  Trust in GOD, Step Out On Faith and Believe in Yourself because it takes great faith to live with a disability.