Building more accessible, inclusive, and braver spaces at CUNY SPH community

Please join the CUNY SPH Office of Accessibility Services in celebrating our second annual CUNY Disability Awareness Month at SPH. Disabled people are the largest marginalized and underrepresented community. In a two-part series, we seek to bring together the SPH community to illuminate the challenges and opportunities for creating and sustaining a more accessible and supportive learning and working environment for all who study, work and visit our campus.

In this student only session, we will aim to cultivate a braver and more inclusive CUNY SPH through an open and safe discussion about disability and what it means to live with a disability as a student. This meeting serves to not only be a place to talk about grievances and past experiences, but a way to create a braver space to talk about disability (including invisible disabilities), inclusion, and to further the conversation through next steps. This could include making recommendations to CUNY SPH, developing a student led task force, or working with the CUNY SPH GSGA. Co-facilitated by CUNY SPH PhD students Zaire Ali and Ivonne Quiroz.

Zaire Ali is a PhD student in the CHHP program at CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy. Zaire aspires to help improve the life of marginalized and minoritized individuals living in Urban Communities to help bring more equity and quality health education to the less fortunate and other people who do not have the opportunities to be exposed to healthier ways of life. Fun Fact: Zaire loves to try new teas and he is an All-American boxer.

Ivonne Quiroz is a doctoral student at CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy, focusing her research on food justice, race, culture, and health and is currently a Research Assistant at the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute. A California native, Ivonne has worked in many different roles, including as a Community Organizer and an Organizational Director for social justice organizations in The San Francisco/ Bay Area. Ivonne is on the Board of InAdvance, an Oakland-based organization working for economic justice in The Bay Area. Ivonne graduated with her Master’s degree in Public Health from University of California, Irvine and her Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Latinx Studies from San Francisco State University. When she’s not working or studying, she reads sci-fi/fantasy books, cooks, bakes, and takes long walks with her pup.

Please submit your anonymous discussion questions by Friday, April 1st close of business.

ASL interpretation and automatic live transcription will be provided. The organizers encourage participants to take breaks during the event when needed. To request additional accommodations, please do so by by Friday, April 1st close of business to accessibility@sph.cuny.edu.