Webinar – Disability Pride, Joy, and Visions for the Future

Moderator: Kristy Trautmann, Executive Director, FISA Foundation

Kristy Trautmann is executive director of FISA Foundation, a charitable grantmaking foundation in Pittsburgh. FISA Foundation champions equity, justice, safety, and inclusion for women, girls, and people with disabilities, combating systemic racism that impedes progress for these populations in southwestern Pennsylvania. FISA’s disability-focused grantmaking focuses on improving health and well-being, promoting social inclusion, fostering equity in education, promoting community-based employment, and addressing abuse. Prior to FISA, Ms. Trautmann worked at Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh. She earned a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Robert Morris University and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. She serves as President of the board of Grantmakers of Western PA, Chair of the UPMC Disability Resource Center Advisory Board, Chair of Adagio Health’s advisory committee, and member of the funding committee of the Western PA Continuum of Care Coalition for homeless programs.

Panelist: Jen White-Johnson, Disabled Artist, Activist, Designer, and Educator

Jen White-Johnson (she/they) is a distinguished Afro-Latina artist, activist, designer, and educator, whose creative expressions delve into the intersection of content and caregiving. With a profound focus on reshaping ableist visual culture, Jen, an artist-educator grappling with Graves disease and ADHD, brings a heart-centered and electric approach to disability advocacy. Her invaluable contributions to these movements manifest through powerful and dynamic art and media that simultaneously educate, bridge divergent worlds, and envision a future reflective of her Autistic son’s experiences. Jen’s activism extends to collaborations with notable brands and art spaces, including Coachella, Target, and Adobe, both in print and digital realms. Her photography and design work have gained recognition in esteemed publications such as Art in America, Juxtapoz Magazine, AfroPunk, and she has contributed insightful essays to publications like “After Universal Design: The Disability Design Revolution” and “An Anthology of Blackness.” Notably, Jen’s work is permanently archived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National African American Museum of History and Culture in DC. Holding an MFA in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Jen resides in Baltimore, MD, with her husband and 11-year-old son.

Panelist: Naomi Ortiz, Poet, Writer, Facilitator, and Visual Artist

Naomi Ortiz (they/she) is a Reclaiming the US/Mexico Border Narrative Awardee and a 2022 U.S. Artist Disability Futures Fellow. Ortiz’s new book, Rituals for Climate Change: A Crip Struggle for Ecojustice, offers potent insights about the complexity of interdependence, calling readers to deepen our understanding of what it means to witness and love an endangered world. Their non-fiction book, Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice, provides informative tools and insightful strategies for diverse communities on addressing burnout. As a Disabled Mestize poet, writer, facilitator, and visual artist, they explore the cultivation of care and connection within states of stress.