We Are #StrongWheeled Together!

United Spinal’s #StrongWheeled Together showcases the strength of our community when it comes together to achieve goals, demonstrates how United Spinal’s resources and support empower us to live the lives we choose, and raises public awareness on the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion in helping people with disabilities discover greater independence.

StrongWheeled Together Awards

Congratulations to the 2024 StrongWheeled Together Award Winners

Community Voice

Regan Linton is an award-winning actor, director, filmmaker, writer, educator, and internationally recognized leader in inclusive practices in the arts. She is a featured columnist for New Mobility magazine and co-director of the award-winning documentary imperfect. She has worked on original theatre works and innovative immersive shows, educational programs for youth, web series, and community projects.

Community Visionary

Jen French is the past president and founding member of the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium, founder of Neurotech Network, co-lead on the SCI-Powered Network and co-organizer of the iBCI Collaborative Community. iBCI stands for “implantable brain-computer interfaces. She is a Paralympic medalist and an accomplished parasailer.

Community Builder

Mack Marsh has advocated for over two decades for people with disabilities in employment, emergency preparedness and community access. He is one of the founders and heads daily operations for the Parking Mobility program to end accessible parking abuse.

The Barry Corbet Community Voice Award honors an individual who deepens disability representation in American public life. It is open to artists, writers, and performers of all types, including content creators.

The Brooke Ellison Community Visionary Award honors an individual advancing the fields of technology or business, while exemplifying ideals around civic engagement and social responsibility—especially when it comes to the disability community.

The James J. Peters Community Builder Award honors an individual who has meaningfully improved the community for wheelchair users by successfully advocating for quality disability services, accessible infrastructure, or enhanced access to opportunities.

2023 StrongWheeled Together Award Winners

Ryan Gebauer

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Ryan is the owner of Ryan Realty Group, a real estate sales instructor and a dedicated volunteer and accessible housing advocate in his community. Thanks to him, people from our community are breaking into real estate like never before.

King Khazm

Performing Arts

When he’s not on the road touring, King Khazm is the Executive Director of 206 Universal, a Commissioner in the Seattle Disability Commission and a board member of the Here and Now Project, among numerous other commitments to hip hop and the disability community.

Arthur Renowitzky

Sports and Recreation

Arthur is the Executive Director and a co-founder of the Life Goes On Foundation and plays guard for the Golden State Road Warriors, who won the national championship in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association this past year.

Xi Nan

Visual Arts

Xi has exhibited her performance art and sculpture worldwide, including at the Venice Biennial, and participates in numerous nonprofit and philanthropic initiatives to lift up other artists with disabilities.

Anja Herrman

Writing

Anja has been published by the Reeve Foundation, Teen Vogue and the Huffington Post, and was part of the inaugural class of EmpowHer Camp, prompting her to write a groundbreaking paper on school districts and students with disabilities during school shootings.

Giana Bisnett

Youth Leadership

Giana is a young disability advocate who successfully persuaded her school district to purchase Evac-Chairs for its students with disabilities. She is now working to replicate her work and spread her message about disability rights and emergency preparedness around the nation.

2022 StrongWheeled Together Special Guests & Award Winners

Lifetime Achievement: Judith Heumann

Lifetime Impact Award Winner

Judith (Judy) Heumann is considered the “Mother of Disability Rights.” A life-long, internationally-recognized advocate, she has been at the forefront of almost every advance for the disability community. Her story was featured in the 2020 award-winning documentary “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.” She published her memoir “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” in 2020 and currently produces The Heumann Perspective podcast that can be found on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.

The Honorable Jim Langevin

Congratulatory Message

U.S. Representative Jim Langevin is the first quadriplegic to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security. He is primarily known for his work on cyber security. In addition to his focus on national security, Langevin strongly advocates for all people with disabilities. He is retiring from Congress this year.

Kebra Moore

Performer

Kebra Moore is a trained opera singer and an internationally recorded gospel singer who uses her song lyrics to build people up. She was Ms. Wheelchair 2013 and is an Amazon best-selling author of the book, “Love, Lies & Music, Short Tropical Storm Stories.” Her pen name is Midnight Storm. Moore is also an entrepreneur who developed the socially conscious Tropic Storm Collection of vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics. She is active on Spotify, Youtube and most other social media platforms.

Marna Michelle

Performer

American Idol fans will remember Marna Michele as the wheelchair user in season 18. During her audition, Katy Perry and Luke Bryant pushed her to belt out Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons,” and then awarded her the golden ticket. She’s also released an album, and her two Buzzfeed videos reached nearly one million people. She is active on many social media platforms, but her TikTock account is especially fun. Follow her at @maryeheart
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4 Wheel City

Performance

4 Wheel City is an entertainment organization started by United Spinal Association members Namel “Tapwaterz” Norris and Ricardo “Rickfire” Velasquez. These two talented artists and motivational speakers use wheelchairs due to gun violence. They use hip-hop music and culture to create more opportunities for people with disabilities and to show the world that people with disabilities have talents and dreams and deserve to be treated equally.

Gala Program

We Are #StrongWheeled Together
Celebrating a New Generation of Talented Leaders From the Disability Community

Honorees include:

Dominick Evans (MI), filmmaker and disability activist – Performing Arts

Erik Kondo (MA), small business entrepreneur – Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Yesenia Torres (NY), writer, model, and life coach – Visual Arts & Writing

Anna Sarol (KS), disability advocate – Youth Leadership

Antonio Martin (MI), paralympic powerlifter and peer mentor – Sports & Recreation