This year, the Award recognizes winners across three categories. The James J. Peters Community Builder Award is named after United Spinal’s most significant historic leader, a veteran and civil rights activist. It honors an individual who has achieved significant social progress for wheelchair users in the realm of rights, support services, accessibility, or career advancement.

Named for a stem cell research and medical ethics trailblazer whose passing last year shook the community, the Brooke Ellison Community Visionary Award honors an individual who has changed the face of the fields of technology or business. The recipient’s work must concomitantly exemplify ideals around civic engagement and social responsibility—especially when it comes to the disability community—that align with United Spinal’s vision.

The Barry Corbet Community Voice Award honors a creative professional who has advanced the positive and authentic representation of people with disabilities in American public life. It is open to visual artists, writers, and performing artists, befitting of its namesake. Corbet was a polymath who was best known as a filmmaker, essayist, and journalist.

The Community Builder Award will be presented to Mack Marsh of Franklin, Texas, a long-time advocate for people with disabilities in employment, accessibility and emergency preparedness, and founder of the Parking Mobility program, which educates and mobilizes community members against accessible parking abuse.

The Community Visionary Award will be presented to Jennifer French of St. Petersburg, Fla., Executive Director of Neurotech Network and one of the most recent recipients of the Craig H. Neilsen Visionary Prize.

The Community Voice Award will be presented to Regan Linton of Alexandria, Va., an accomplished actor, filmmaker, writer, and outspoken leader on inclusion in the arts. She is the co-director of the award-winning documentary IMPERFECT.

The StrongWheeled Together Awards arose from a multi-issue campaign created by United Spinal in 2022 to raise the profile of people with disabilities in American life, invigorate the cause of disability justice for a new generation, and broaden the historic coalition that has fought for disability rights. It is part of a companion events series and conference that is taking place virtually in 2024. 

ABOUT UNITED SPINAL ASSOCIATION

Formed in 1946 by paralyzed veterans, United Spinal is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to empowering people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), including veterans, to live successful and fulfilling lives. Membership is free and open to all individuals with SCI/D, with over 60,000 members across 49 chapters, close to 200 support groups and more than 100 rehabilitation facilities and hospital partners nationwide.

SOURCE United Spinal Association

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