UDL Guidelines 3.0 Young Adult Advisory Board

The Young Adult Advisory Board will support and inform the process of reenvisioning the UDL Guidelines through an equity lens by centering and amplifying the experiences and perspectives of young people. The Board is comprised of young adults ages 18-22 who are eager to share their ideas for how to create more equitable learning environments through the dimensions of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, socioeconomic background, language, disability, and/or citizenship and nationality.

• Grant Blasko

  

  Grant Blasko (he/him) is a young adult nonspeaking autistic student who communicates using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). He lives in Mercer Island, Washington, where he currently attends Bellevue College. He is also a University of Washington DO-IT Scholar, an active member of TASH's National Communication Access Workgroup, and an Advisory Council member of the civil rights organization CommunicationFIRST. He has been a stakeholder on panels guiding autism professionals at NYU's Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education (PINE), AOTA, CAST, INSAR, and NIDCD.

• Kaviya Chidambaram

  

  Kaviya Chidambaram (any pronouns) is a freshman at Colorado College studying international political economy and environmental science on a pre-law track. Kaviya has been working in educational reform and community centered growth for 3 years through Diversify Our Narrative. They hope to expand their understanding of educational design and pedagogy through the lens of UDL Guidelines. As a firm believer that education is the basis of equity, Kaviya is excited to work with CAST towards creating truly limitless learning. In their free time, Kaviya loves picnicking, reading, and avoiding the wind.

• Shuri Chungag

  

  Shuri Chungag is a Detroit native with familial roots in Cameroon. She works as a paraprofessional to educate elementary students on the East side of her city. Her favorite food is rice (a testament to her strong belief in potential).

• Rose Clubok

  

  Rose Clubok (she/her) is a sophomore at Barnard College of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she is studying History, Education, and Jewish Philosophy. Rose is passionate about transforming education and creating empowering, accessible curricula. She is the Vice Chair of Diversify Our Narrative’s National Curriculum Council, which develops inclusive and anti-racist curricula for K-12 schools. She developed an experiential and movement-based Judaic Studies supplementary school curriculum which was recently published and has been adopted by multiple organizations.

• Lumas Regan Codrington

  

  Lumas Regan Codrington recently graduated from Beverly Hills High School with honors. Having attended multiple high schools, Regan is committed to providing students with a safe learning environment where they are supported through different formats of instruction. Regan also served as the Co-president of Black Student Union at Beverly Hills High School. Additionally, she has served on a high school English Department Hiring Committee and completed the Morgan Stanley JumpStart Program. This fall, she is attending University of California, Merced and is majoring in Psychology.

• Arianna Fowler

  

  Hi! My name is Arianna Fowler and I am a junior at Harvard University studying chemistry and premed. Along with my aspirations for medicine, I have taken a great passion for advocating for environmental sustainability, youth issues, and animal welfare issues!

• Maddie Gallagher

  

  Maddie Gallagher is an incoming college student studying Music and Spanish but also has a passion for activism. She was born with a physical disability called Spina Bifida and values every opportunity she’s given to share her story and spread disability awareness.

• Ninah Jackson

  

  Ninah Jackson is a third-year undergraduate student at Bucknell University studying Education and Critical Black Studies. She served on the Prince George’s County Board of Education during her senior year of high school and since then has served on the Board of Directors for the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA). Ninah currently works with Student Voice – a national nonprofit focused on training and mobilizing students to organize around local, state, and national educational inequities – and is passionate about organizing to liberate systems of learning.

• Chiteu Kasongo

  

  Chiteu Kasongo is the founder of EasyZambia, empowering youth for sustainable development in Zambia. He is a council member of the Independent Continental Youth Advisory Council on AfCFTA and a communications advisory panelist for Theirworld. As the 30th Eco Regional Ambassador to Zambia for UNEP - Tunza Eco Generation, Chiteu actively promotes environmental conservation. He volunteers as a resource mobilization officer for PP media Impact, a nonprofit that utilizes media for social change. Chiteu is dedicated to youth empowerment, sustainable development, and advocating for positive impact.

• Carson Kingsbury

  

  Carson Kingsbury is pursuing his bachelors in biochemistry and is an advocate for disability equity on campus. He completed a directed study in Spring 2022 that culminated in a speech to campus staff about the necessity of neurodivergent inclusivity in classrooms. He is also the secretary of his university’s Pride club, which hosts DEI events like Queer Prom. Carson is passionate about exploring the ways colleges and universities can change their policies and structures to be more inclusive of disabled and marginalized folks, and identifying and mitigating the barriers that prevent their successes.

• Otto Lana

  

  Otto Lana...living the dream. High school senior, beach bum, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, poet, lyricist, writer, member of the Office of Administrative Hearing Advisory Committee for DDS, California State Ambassador for Center for Youth Voice and Youth Choice, most notably the San Diego Board of Supervisors Proclaimed April 12, 2023 Otto Lana Day…he has a freaking day. He hosts a virtual book club in San Diego (Autism Tree Project Foundation a local non-profit) which has evolved into award winning authors joining in and even inviting Otto to beta read upcoming novels as a sensitivity and technical consultant relating lived experiences with AAC and being an all around baller.

• Henry Morgan

  

  Henry Morgan is an autistic community organizer in the five college area in western Massachusetts, where he has worked for social change as a disability justice advocate, grassroots organizer and committed citizen. He is driven by a vision of a world in which the values of equality and informed consent of the governed allow for people to live and work in collaboration with one another. He has worked on the implementation of peer-led mobile crisis response programs in municipal governments, education justice advocacy and harm reduction campaigns.

• Isabella Santoyo

  

  My name is Isabella Santoyo from the city of Long Beach. I am a 21-year-old limited speaking autistic who just finished my last required course to earn my high school diploma. Text based AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) changed my life after years of being unable to communicate and not having access to age appropriate academics. Because of my experience in special education, I have made it my mission to advocate for access to a quality education for all students despite their differences. As a self-advocate I am committed to being an agent for change.

• Eren Uno

  

  I am Eren Uno, a 20-year-old non binary person who is currently working towards an adult graduation. I am one of many who didn’t find success in the current school system and was unable to graduate. I struggled to maintain motivation and interest in the materials while struggling with personal issues. I believe UDL could have been life changing for a student like me. In my eyes, every student is capable of success if given the tools for them to flourish. While I pursue education, I work as a line cook and enjoy sewing, volunteering, and video games.

• Zandy Wong

  

  Zandy Wong is a senior at Johns Hopkins University studying public health. She is passionate about creating a world where accessibility is universal and having a disability is celebrated. Currently, her research focuses on contextualizing the accessibility of digital public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also founded the NextGen Accessibility Initiative, helping over 200,000 youth across 119 countries gain access to accessible education. Previously she served as a Youth Advisor to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.