Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Chief Program Officer, Jewish Learning Venture

“Wendy has been a teaching artist for a number of our Jewish Learning Venture initiatives! Using her creativity, humor and experience as an advocate, Wendy can engage diverse audiences of children, teens and adults in examining ableism and our own relationship to disability. Wendy has also been a featured speaker and artist for synagogues and Jewish organizations across Philadelphia. A workshop with Wendy is illuminating--and also fun!”

“These cartoons can create a sense of community and also put things in perspective for people who do not have those experiences.”

“The most meaningful part of the event was learning about the impact that words and actions have, even though that might not be the person's intention. The cartoons are such an impactful way to portray these concepts and educate people about things as simple as disability language.”

“We drew our own little comics to facilitate discussion about disability. Honestly, that was pretty cool, and forced me to think outside the box.”

Wendy really made a lasting impact with my occupational therapy students. Her lecture about her lived experience as an advocate for disability rights demonstrated the power of speaking up and moving forward. Her presentation and passion helped close the gap between learning about policy and advocacy and actually becoming future agents of change! Semesters later, students would bring up material from Wendy's lecture. A true testament of her ability to draw attention and make a lasting impact.