United Spinal Association mourns the loss of Brooke Ellison, our Vice President of Technology and Innovation, who passed away on February 4, 2024. The loss of her wisdom, warmth, and formidable intellect will be felt across the community of wheelchair users and people living with spinal cord injuries and disorders whom she tirelessly served as a true scholar-advocate.
Brooke joined United Spinal staff shortly after her appointment to our Board of Directors in August 2022. She was a genuine polymath, having received a Bachelor of Science in cognitive neuroscience and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard and going on to receive a doctorate in Sociology from Stony Brook University. She was also accomplished in letters: she crafted two memoirs, Miracles Happen (2002) and Look Both Ways (2020), at very different junctures of her life.
Her twin passions for political engagement and scientific and ethical inquiry were reflected in her educational pedigree and, most thoroughly, in her professional life. She emerged as a stem cell research advocacy leader early in her career. She kept to a rigorous speaking schedule, running for New York State Senate to agitate for adequate embryonic stem cell research funding and founding her own nonprofit, The Brooke Ellison Project. Brooke’s advocacy for stem cell research and her intellectual interventions as a medical ethicist led her to the world stage: The World Economic Forum appointed her a Young Global Leader in 2014.
Leading the Way in Technology
From very early on in her adult life, Brooke was no stranger to fame. Christopher Reeve adapted Miracles Happen for the small screen soon after its publication. The Brooke Ellison Story aired on A&E in 2004, introducing countless households nationwide to a new side of life with paralysis. Brooke spent much of her adult life in the spotlight, becoming a symbol of the stem cell cause when it was rife with controversy—and she did so with humility and sincerity.
United Spinal President and CEO, Vincenzo Piscopo, says, “Brooke had an undoubtedly brilliant mind, and she was also kind—always. Her leadership was compassionate but, at the same time, fearless and visionary. She was always thinking beyond the obvious. She left a true legacy for our community, and she will be remembered by all of us.”
Brooke was the perfect leader for United Spinal’s Tech Access Initiative. Her background made her perfectly at home with both professionals from Silicon Valley and passionate amateur software enthusiasts from the community of wheelchair users. She united both fronts around the common cause of digital accessibility and universal design. She had the political savvy, personal touch, and moral authority to make this compelling new phase of the disability rights movement resonate with any audience.
Brooke Ellison is irreplaceable, and the absence of her intellectual and political contributions is immeasurable. We welcome remembrances from our members and supporters about this unforgettable champion of research and innovation to benefit not only the disability community but also humankind.