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Camryn Manheim Issue

Pansy St Battie in the Beauty of Burlesque Show photo by Daniel J. Sliwa

Pansy St Battie and the Beauty of Burlesque

Pansy St Battie was your average kid growing up in San Francisco. When she was a teenager, she was diagnosed with joint hypermobility syndrome or Ehler-Danlos syndrome. She has been using a wheelchair for the past five years. Pansy has also been bitten by the ‘show biz’ bug. She is a model and a burlesque … Read more

Camryn Manheim

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Activism and happenstance, Camryn Manheim explains, led her to become a skilled sign language interpreter, accomplished actress, and champion for people with disabilities in the entertainment industry. Manheim is best known for her role as Ellenor Frutt on The Practice and, recently, Lieutenant Cosgrove on Stumptown. While practicing social distancing with ABILITY’s Shelly Rohe and … Read more

Vint Cerf and Senator Tom Harkin speaking at the National Press Club

Vint Cerf — Co-creator of the Internet and Email

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Related: Find out how Vint Cerf Recovered from COVID-19 Chances are you are reading this article online. Are you on the Internet? Or are you on the World Wide Web? Is there a difference? For our younger readers, you may feel like these things have always been around. For the rest of us who remember … Read more

Ashley Fiolek — Stay Safe

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Crazy times! The whole world is changing right now and everyone is trying to adapt and catch up with the new rules and the way things are now. Who knows if it will even go back to how things were? Such a let down about sports! My brother loves basketball and was so bummed to … Read more

Big Cheng Popular Chinese Vlogger

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Big Cheng was born in 1990 in Shaoyang, Hunan, she films her life and work when she embarks on a career in several Chinese leading internet companies, including Alibaba, NetEase, and Meituan, as a wheelchair user with a severe case of polio since her early childhood. The first time meeting Big Cheng, one would easily be … Read more

ViacomCBS’ Tiffany Smith Anoa’i

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Before the merger of Viacom and CBS Tiffany Smith Anoa’i, was a trail blazer at CBS Entertainment, created a new path, uniquely her own, that broadly defined diversity in TV programming. As the Executive Vice President, Entertainment Diversity, Inclusion & Communications, she works to show a world in entertainment that reflects all of us, inclusive … Read more

Camryn Manheim Issue Crossword Puzzle 81

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Long Haul Paul’s Viral Affection

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For a few years, going viral had become a positive term, a winning strategy for fame and fortune. I certainly wish one of my Youtube videos would go viral. It sometimes takes a world wide pandemic for some of us to realize we are not invincible. It certainly was a quick wake up call to … Read more

Humor Therapy – by Jeff Charlebois

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Several months ago if one had to guess what could bring our thriving country to a complete stand still some of the guesses would probably be a major terrorist attack, a nuclear meltdown, an EMP attack, another banking crisis, a global internet crash, an asteroid, the cancelation of “The Bachelor”, or maybe even zombies. One … Read more

Haben, who has long black hair falling over her shoulder and wears a dark blue dress, stands at a table and has her hands on her BrailleNote to read what former President Obama, who stands on the other side of the table and wears a black suit, types on a keyboard. Lined up behind former President Obama are several people including former Vice President Biden.

Meet Haben Girma: disability rights advocate and first deaf-blind Harvard Law School graduate

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On September 7, 2019, San Francisco’s Ferry Building is packed. People with service animals, wheelchairs, crutches, and all kinds of assistive devices find their way to a special event at the Book Passage, a community bookstore with a 40-year history in the Bay Area. Surrounded by ceiling-high shelves with colorful books, the small room fills … Read more

Jacob Fraker, a young man with short brown hair is standing in a park. He has a beard, wears a blue sweater and smiles. It's a sunny day.

AB 2283: A Rare Disease Council and Ombudsperson for California’s Rare Disease Population

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Around 25 to 30 million people in the United States are affected by one of 7,000 rare diseases. Many of them are children, and often, access to adequate health care is lacking. This will change if Jacob Fraker’s AB 2283 is voted into law. Jacob works as the legislative aid for Assemblymember Susan Eggman at … Read more

Bryan Russell, a man with short brown hair stands arm in arm with a woman with short brown hair. The woman holds his head between her hands and smiles.

‘El Candidato’: A documentary about Bryan Russell, the first man with Down syndrome to run for public office.

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When a filmmaker, such as Ryan Marley, and a disability rights activist, like Bryan Russell, team up, good things are about to happen. In this case, the documentary film ‘El Candidato’ that portrays Bryan Russell, the first man with Down syndrome running for public office. ABILITY Magazine interviewed both of them about their future plans, … Read more