I am a research assistant at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and I am on the Autism Spectrum and I have a visual impairment called motor nystagmus.  But I did not let my disabilities stop me from excelling in school.  I graduated from Gunn High School in 2008 with honors and I went onto Foothill College, completing an associate’s degree in special education, also with honors, and then I transferred to San Francisco State University, where I completed my bachelor’s degree in history, cum laude.  I then completed a master’s degree in special education, with an emphasis in visual impairments, from San Francisco State University and I also graduated with the Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Achievement.

I am also a Special Olympics Northern California athlete, board member, coach and athlete leader.  I currently compete in unified flag football, which is where players with and without disabilities compete on the same team.  I also compete in floor hockey, basketball, track and field and swimming.  I also coach softball.  In addition, I go around the Bay Area and give speeches on the power of sports and inclusion.  Back in 2019, I was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame as the Special Olympics Athlete of the Year and in 2020, I went to Washington DC for Capitol Hill Day, where I advocated for federal funding for Inclusive Health and Unified Champion Schools programs for Special Olympics Northern California.

My experience with IDD-TRANSFORM has exceeded my already lofty expectations!  My fellow Core Advisory Board members bring so many incredible experiences, perspectives and talents to each meeting, making me feel that I know the work we do is going to succeed and have a significant impact on health and healthcare for all adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, playing video games, participating in my sports and being involved in music.  I am a percussionist and was in the band at Gunn for all four years.  I then played for a bit in the wind ensemble at Foothill before joining the Palo Alto Adult School Symphonic band.  Then when I transferred to San Francisco State University, I was in the Wind Ensemble for three semesters and I even joined the Orchestra during my final semester of undergraduate work.  Once it is safe to do so, I eagerly look forward to returning to the Palo Alto Adult School Symphonic Band and getting back into playing timpani and other percussion instruments.