Accessibility Advocacy: Voices from the community

 Join us for a conversation about accessibility with local disability advocates Thursday, May 30 at 9 a.m.

The event, open to everyone, is in support of National AccessAbility Week, which happens May 26 to June 1, 2024. National AccessAbility Week is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of our citizens with disabilities and promote accessibility and inclusion. 

Learn more about accessibility at Royal Roads.

Speakers

Marnie Essery

Marnie Essery, B. Ed is a teacher, accessibility consultant and long-time advocate promoting accessible and inclusive communities. She is the founder and President of the Access West Shore Society, formerly known as the Intermunicipal Advisory Committee on Disability Issues. She currently is on the CRD’s Accessibility Advisory Committee and Co Chairs the BC Ferries Accessibility Advisory Committee. A nature lover and wanting ‘to go beyond the parking lot’, in 2010, she facilitated a partnership with like minded groups to create the award-winning Guide to User Friendly Trails for Greater Victoria.  She was also featured in the documentary Everyone Belongs in Nature about Power to Be Adventure Therapy Society. In 2012, she received the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for outstanding community service.

Richard Peter

Richard Peter is a proud member of the Cowichan Tribes on Vancouver Island. He joined Praxis Spinal Cord Institute as the Indigenous Peoples’ Liaison in 2019. With over 40 years of lived experience with a T10, AIS-B spinal cord injury (SCI), Richard has extensive connections through his longstanding involvement within the Indigenous and SCI communities.

As a Paralympic athlete and a multi-gold medalist, Richard has successfully represented Canada in multiple sports at multiple events worldwide. He is a member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and a two-time recipient of the Tom Longboat Award for Indigenous Athletes. He has shared his wealth of experience and knowledge to provide peer-support to others living with SCI. His lifelong passion is to support and promote the growth of Indigenous awareness, empowerment and quality of life.

As the Indigenous Peoples’ Liaison, Richard works to enhance collaboration between researchers, healthcare systems, and Indigenous peoples living with SCI to improve the quality of life of people in every community provincially, nationally and globally.

Richard has specific research interests in: Indigenous engagement and health equity, sport and recreation, mobility, aging with SCI, urinary health and spasticity. Richard and Praxis are committed to responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action by partnering with Indigenous populations to answer important questions from the Indigenous community.

Tanelle Bolt

Tanelle Bolt is the founder of the RAD Recreation Adapted Society, a registered charity with a mission to make adapted outdoor recreation equipment accessible to people with short term and permanent mobility issues. 

On August 10, 2014, Tanelle suffered a free jumping accident off a 60’ bridge. When she made impact with the water, she burst fractured her T6 vertebra and became a paraplegic. Tanelle learned quickly that accessing the adaptive equipment necessary to pursue her athletic goals, continue her hobbies, and get herself and her equipment from point A to point B is concerningly difficult, not least of all because of the financial burden. Tanelle decided to embark on yet another journey to help others in similar situations by forming RAD, a society that will help individuals with short term and permanent mobility issues to lead independent active lifestyles with family and friends by providing an inventory of adaptive sporting and outdoor equipment for low-cost short and long term rental purposes. As well as provide immediate financial assistance to others after an injury by hosting a charity event in your town.