Schedule

ONGOING EVENTS (daily details further below)

Wednesdays at 6PM tEST – Susan Fitzmaurice, Scott Cooper, and Susan Musante will host Judi Chamberlin’s roomq where we willg discuss psycho-social issues facing people with disabilities. Mind Freedom International collaborates with I Love You , Lead On. Everyone is welcome, if you agree or disagree, have your own experiences or not. You must pre-register to participate.

FEBRUARY 2023

Judi’s Room is getting a make-over. A new format is going to be tried in February – May.  It is hoped you will check it out and let us know what you think.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 6PM Eastern Time

Four video clips of Judi Chamberlin being interviewed by Scott Cooper, each followed by a discussion of her vision. 

You must pre-register thru Eventbrite. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-voice-and-vision-of-judi-chamberlin-tickets-525382221367

People are welcome to come share their Judi stories, how you  have implemented Judi’s vision in your work, and what still needs to be done.  

The goal is to empower ourselves with knowledge and community. 

Leading the discussions will be Susan Fitzmaurice, Scott Cooper, and Susan Musante, while Ron Bass takes a much needed rest.

Susan Fitzmaurice is the founder of I Love You, Lead On, a cross-disability community that aims to celebrate disability, while providing support and opportunities to learn about our history and the issues we face. She has multiple disabilities and raises her adult son with different disabilities. She is the chair of Michigan Arts Access, an organization dedicated to arts for all. 

Scott Cooper, videographer, founder of  It’s Our Story | uses the power of multimedia to uncover the power, passion, and pride associated with the disability experience. Since 2005, he has crossed the nation nine times, paying several visits to more than 48 states to document more than 1,600 video histories of the American disability fexperience via its “studio on wheels.” 

Susan Musante, MS, LPCC, is the founding director of Soteria-Alaska, a model proven to be a highly effective alternative to hospitalization for newly diagnosed people. Susan is also the first full-time Executive Director of CHOICES, an alternative to conventional community mental health services directed and provided primarily by people who themselves have a “lived experience” with recovery. She is on the board of MindFreedom International.

ASL will be provided, only if it is requested. We need to raise money for an interpreter. Please consider a donation of any size. Support Judi’s Room

Become alerted to Judi’s Room events by joining our new list which will send out announcements and provide opportunity for sharing and support. It will be moderated. All are welcome. Send email to susan@iloveyou-leadon.com.

Previous Events

• Wednesday, February 3 at 6:00 PM EST – “Assisted Suicide Laws and Depression” presented by disability rights activist Anita Cameron and John B. Kelley, New England Regional Director of Not Dead Yet. Anita Cameron has been involved in social change activism and community organizing for 36 years. As a teenager, the 51-year old Chicago native joined peace and justice organizations and participated in nonviolent civil disobedience. In 1986, Anita joined ADAPT, a national, grassroots disability rights organization, and has been a member for 31 years, serving as a national organizer, strategist and police negotiator. She is very proud of the fact that she has been arrested 124 times with ADAPT doing nonviolent civil disobedience after the style of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi. John B. Kelly is a Boston-based disability rights activist. As someone commonly referred to as “paralyzed from the neck down” from a spinal cord injury, John was influenced by the writings of Paul Longmore about the “right to die” cases of the 1980s and 90s – people with similar disabilities who were put on the fast track to death while being denied the resources to live. As director of Second Thoughts MA: Disability Rights Advocates Against Assisted Suicide, John has again and again helped stop the legalization of assisted suicide in Massachusetts. In 2012, he squared off thrice against assisted suicide proponent Dr. Marcia Angell, and more recently his work has been featured in outlets such as as the Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram, CNN’s “United Shades Of America,” WSHU-AM in CT, and elsewhere. John has a Masters degree in Sociology from Brandeis. John may be contacyted at jkelly@notdeadyet.org, (617) 952-3302.

Wednesday, February 10 at 6:00 PM EST – Psychiatric Drugs and Withdrawal Issues presentations by Nancy Rubenstein, Jim Gottstein and David Cohen, facilitated by Al Galves. Nancy Rubenstein is a Renaissance Woman formerly a Family, Art and Dance Therapist. Nancy went on to become a national award winning singer/songwriter, as well as a Fellow for The Arts in NH. Her personal experiences of psychiatric abuse led her to organize in Asheville, NYC, and later in Alaska where she has devoted herself to the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) since 20i0. Jim Gottstein is the author or The Zyprexa Papers and founder of PsychRights, whose mission is to mount a strategic litigation campaign against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock. David Cohen is the co-author with Peter Breggin of Your Drug May be your Probiem: How and Why to stop Taking Psychiatric Medications. He is a Professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs where he studies desirable and undesirable effects of psychoactive drugs. Facilitator Al Galves is a psychotherapist in La Cruces, New Mexico, and is a member or the Board of Directors of MindFreedorn International. Al is the author of Lighten Up Dance with your Dark Side.

Please arrive early, we expect it to be a full-capacity crowd. Share eventbrite link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psychiatric-drugs-and-withdrawel-issues-tickets-139723323221

Monday, February 15 at 3 EST – Can Your Life’s Passions and Disability Rights Change the World? presented by Barbara Pritchard – Who is Barb Pritchard, and who was Lester Pritchard, in the disability world? Why did they get into disability rights? Why did she stay in disability rights? Why should this matter to you? These questions will be addressed by presenter Barbara Pritchard from Urbana, IL. Barbara has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  She retired in 2002 from her position as Director of Programs at PACE Inc., Center for Independent Living after 16 years with the organization.  In her retirement, she focuses on disability-centered advocacy on the local, state, and national levels.  Barb serves on the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Going Home Coalition in addition to several state-wide boards and three local not-for-profit boards, where she ensures the disability perspective is taken into consideration.

March 2021

Future 2021 EVENTS

• The Hardback Story presented by Brian Martin – When Brian was 18 years old, with graduation just around the corner, he was in need of a job! His family and friends (old and new) gathered to form a team of support. Together they helped him launch a customized business that would create a line of products, not only for his self, but hopefully for others. His passion for books and keeping the earth a great place for all of us to live inspired him to create an eco-friendly business; springing old books into a new purpose. He makes writing journals and other items from discarded media. He calls it a microenterprise because he is the entrepreneur of this small business. Brian has a form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome, and a customized job is always the best way for him to accentuate his strengths. The business has been running for over 10 years now. Just like many self-employed business owners, Brian relies on the help and support of others. It makes working more fun and he gets advice and input from a variety of people. His product list is growing and you can find his items at local fairs, conventions and expos, and in his Etsy shop. Most importantly, with the help of a Social Security PASS, Brian is making an income! Just like other employed business people, he is paying taxes and receiving benefits. He feels like he is contributing to his own wellbeing, as well as present and future work potential. He has reached an important goal of earning his Medicare Credits before his 22^nd birthday! Visit Brian’s business at http://www.hardbackyoyo.com or http://www.etsy.com/shop/HardbackYoYo. He may be contacted at hardbackyoyo@gmail.com.

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I Love you, Lead On! Justin Dart’s words inspire MI-ADA to continue the journey. There Will bê events Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 3 PM EST (11AM PT), and Wednesday 6 PM (2 PM PT). All day Saturday events are dedicated to a retrospective on one person’s life in the disability movement. There will be additional hosts, and international content. We are transitioning to a membership organization for $5 or $10 a month .

Buy I Love You, Lead On Membership

Currently, these are all virtual events. Closed captioning will always be available. ASL interpretation on request a week in advance. Audio description will be added for primarily visual events. There is no cost to participate. But you will need to pre-register at Eventbrite to get a password. Event titles will all be Eventbrite links a week ahead.

ADA 30 Michigan, I Love you, Lead on Code of Conduct
All attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers at MI-ADA are required to adhere to the following code of conduct. This code will be enforced throughout all events. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe environment for everybody.
To ensure that conference sessions are informational and fun, and allow everyone to feel included and safe to participate, MI-ADA is dedicated to providing an experience free of hate speech and harassment for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate hate speech, disrespect, or harassment of conference participants, including presenters, in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not acceptable, except with topic appropriate and pre-arranged presentations. MI-ADA  participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from MI-ADA at the sole discretion of MI-ADA organizers.

Our primary web address is https://www.ILoveYou-LeadOn.com . Some events will now cost $5.00, but a monthly membership is available for $5 or $10.

08/13/2020 Mi-ADA.org