A headshot of Kennedy, a white, fat, femme, smiling at the camera. She has chin length brown hair and bangs and is wearing a black shirt. Their electric wheelchair and plants are behind them.

Kennedy Dawson Healy

Founder

Kennedy (she/they) is a Fat, Queer, Crip, writer and media maker. From Omaha, Nebraska, and now based in Chicago, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Women and Gender Studies with an individualized concentration in Disability Studies from DePaul University. Kennedy has experience working directly with people with various types of disabilities in non-profit settings and consulting on disability and accessibility in medical, academic, arts and culture, and other industries. Her visual art and photo project (made in collaboration with Marley Molkentin) titled Care has been featured at Gallery 400, Tangled Art Gallery, in the Chicago Reader, Disability Visibility Project blog, and the anthology Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire edited by Alice Wong. Their musical Care: The Musical was a finalist for the William S. Yellow Robe Jr. Playwright Residency and the recipient of Residency Fellowships from 3Arts/Bodies of Work and the Ragdale Foundation. Kennedy’s in progress works include a television show and children’s books. She is a Libra who loves plants, her cat, and feminist country music. Visit her resume for a detailed synopsis of their work or connect on LinkedIn.

A headshot of Justin, a black man, looking at the camera while seated in his power wheelchair. He is wearing a graphic t-shirt, gold chain, and sunglasses. He is holding a camera pointed at the viewer.

Justin Cooper

Podcast Host

Justin Cooper (he/him) is a Black visual artist and disability advocate who has worked professionally in art and film since 2012. The lack of media representation amongst people with disabilities motivated him to work on his documentary film The Wheelchair Chronicles. As an advocate, Justin is the President of the Young Professionals Council at Access Living and works with the racial and social justice advocacy group AYLP (Advance Your Leadership Power). He also works as a committee member for the annual Chicago Disability Pride Parade and as a board member for the Illinois Partners for Human Service (IPHS). As an artist, Justin founded his own media company, Cooper Industries, in 2018. That focuses on his filmmaking and photography work. In 2020, Justin was selected as a Junior Artist In Residence for the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL) in conjunction with Access Living, and in 2021 was a 3Arts/Bodies of Work Residency Fellow. Justin views his work as a personal form of expressing himself. Justin combines his artist, advocate, and activist work to highlight how disability is defined by societal, environmental, social, and physical barriers.