Disability Empowerment Center

03/12/2026

03/10/2026

Ready to dismantle ableism? It starts with how we see it.

We’re spending our March Understanding Ableism webinar exploring the "models" of disability that shape our world. Join the conversation as our panelists discuss how shifting our understanding can break down barriers and spark a more fair society for everyone.

Our panelists include:
- Lydia McDermott – Professor, Whitman College
- Philip Bradford – Independent Living Specialist, Disability Empowerment Center

Tuesday, March 17
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. (Pacific Time)

Platform: Zoom
Accommodations: Sign language interpretation and CART provided
Register: disabilityempowerment.org/events

03/10/2026

Free Seattle Art Museum / Seattle Asian Art Museum tickets to Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing community members: https://tinyurl.com/wwdmmnfk.

Back for a 4th year, Deaf Spotlight will distribute FREE museum passes to Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing community members through the Seattle Art Museum Community Pass Program.

Please fill out the form below with your name, your mailing address, and how many passes you would like to get. Each person can get up to 2 community passes. Each community pass will give you 6 tickets each. Your passes must be redeemed by the end of year 2026.

The passes can be redeemed at both locations: Seattle Art Museum (Downtown) and Seattle Asian Art Museum (Volunteer Park) during regular hours.

Many handwaves to Seattle Art Museum’s Community Pass Program for making this accessible for all!

ID: Flyer for “Free Community Passes”, stylized as yellow ticket stubs with an orange background with text inside the stub. Further text below: “To Seattle Art Museum or Seattle Asian Art Museum for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing members! Tinyurl.com/SAM-DS2026”. Logos for the Seattle Art Museum and Deaf Spotlight on the bottom.

03/05/2026

Heads up!

We've moved our March EPIC outing to the Museum of Pop Culture to
APRIL.

Mark your calendar for this new date:

Friday, April 10, from 1-4 p.m.
(was previously scheduled for Friday, March 13)

RSVP by Monday, April 6: info@disabilityempowerment.org

We'll check out decades of music history together at this awesome museum. Hope you can join us!

03/04/2026

Artists: Cool opportunity!

📣 : The Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY) and the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) invite individual artists or artist teams to design and create a unique artwork for the Northop Modernization Project on the Washington School for the Deaf (WSD) campus in Vancouver, WA.

📆Deadline: Monday, March 16, 2026 by 5 p.m. PST
💵 Budget: $68,000 inclusive of design, fabrication, and installation, and tax
👉🏽Learn more and apply: https://artswa-publicart.submittable.com/submit

ID: Children sit at a table side by side as they follow an unseen instructor. Image used with permission from Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY).

Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth

03/03/2026

"When Max Voehl auditioned to play the lead role in the musical “Wonder,” he sensed he was playing a version of himself onstage.

Voehl, who was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, has endured multiple surgeries like Auggie Pullman — 13 to Auggie’s 28. The 12-year-old from Utah also has been bullied, much like Auggie, who is targeted over his rare genetic condition known as Treacher Collins syndrome, which causes underdeveloped facial bones and tissue."

Read the article:

It was first a bestselling novel, then a movie and now “Wonder” has been turned into a musical.

03/02/2026

It's March, and spring is on the horizon! 🌼

Here are some of the great events we have this month. Come get connected to your community!

- March 11: Virtual Peer Group
- March 17: Understanding Ableism webinar on "models of disability"
- March 19: Westside Peer Group
- March 24: Eastside Peer Group

Find more: disabilityempowerment.org/upcoming-events

02/27/2026

We had a fantastic Understanding Ableism event last week about art and disability!

With help from our amazing panelists, we explored what it means to create art as a person with a disability in a wide-ranging field that often overlooks access. Artists with disabilities have long challenged stereotypes, reshaped narratives, and broadened cultural imaginations. Yet barriers still remain in forms of limited visibility, typecasting, inaccessible venues, and systems that prioritize certain bodies and voices over others.

Watch the recording on our YouTube channel:
youtube.com/watch?v=B6sZ0GVpXWY

Read the recap on our blog:
disabilityempowerment.org/blog/recap-art-and-disability

Our panelists included:
- Kristin Nygaard – Program Director, AIM – Arts for Everyone
- Teresa Thuman – Co-Artistic Director, Sound Theatre Company
- Lucy Bert – Executive Assistant, Disability Empowerment Center

Find more upcoming events: disabilityempowerment.org/events

In this recorded webinar from February 2026, we explored what it means to create art as a person with a disability in a wide-ranging field that often overloo...

02/17/2026

February is Low Vision Awareness Month, and more than 25 million Americans are low vision.

The The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. shares these tips for how to support and empower fellow community members with low vision:

Low Vision Awareness Month raises awareness about the challenges faced by people with low vision and offers guidance on empowerment

02/10/2026

If you missed our last Understanding Ableism webinar, you can watch it now on our YouTube channel.

We had a great conversation about what it means to travel with a disability.

Our panelists were:
- Laura Loe – Find a Ride Program Manager, Hopelink
- Kenny Salvini – President and Founder of Here and Now Project
- Dorian Esper-Taylor – ADA Coordinator for Pierce Transit

Watch or listen to the episode:
youtube.com/watch?v=XSOmINbqqQo

Get a recap on our blog:
disabilityempowerment.org/blog/understanding-ableism-january-2026

In this recorded webinar, from January 2026, we examined what it means to travel with a disability. Travel can be an opportunity. It can be independence and ...

02/09/2026

We’re glad to share this new opportunity from PROVAIL and The Arc of King County. Say It Your Way is a new social group for AAC-using wheelchair users ages 18+, created in response to community feedback. Join an introductory information session on Wednesday, March 4, from 3:00–4:00 pm at PROVAIL in Seattle. For questions or to RSVP, email jkim@arcofkingcounty.org.

02/09/2026

Spotlight on Artists with Disabilities!

Our February session of our FREE Understanding Ableism webinar series will explore what it means to create art as a person with a disability in a wide-ranging field that often overlooks access.

Artists with disabilities have long challenged stereotypes, reshaped narratives, and broadened cultural imaginations. Yet barriers still remain in forms of limited visibility, typecasting, inaccessible venues, and systems that prioritize certain bodies and voices over others.

Our incredible panelists include:
- Kristin Nygaard – Program Director, AIM – Arts for Everyone
- Teresa Thuman – Co-Artistic Director, Sound Theatre Company
- AnnaClaire Laush– Development Manager, 3rd Decade
- Lucy Bert – Executive Assistant, Disability Empowerment Center

Tuesday, Feb. 17
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Pacific
Platform: Zoom
Accommodations: Sign language interpretation and CART provided
Register: disabilityempowerment.org/events