Announcing our new leadership collective - a note from our founder
By Tiffany Yu, CEO & Founder of Diversability
Twelve years ago, I created Diversability as a place for disabled people (and our allies) to connect with each other. Mainly it was because it was what I so desperately needed for myself. At the age of 9, I became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took the life of my dad. Growing up, I felt really isolated and alone and internalized a lot of harmful messages around my own sense of self-worth and what my future would look like as a disabled person.
Today, I see Diversability as the place to create greater equity and representation in the world, together. At our core, the value of Diversability is in our community. It is our collective wisdom, learned and lived experience, and combined brilliance and magic that create a better future.
To better curate the experience for disability leadership, I’m excited to announce the launch of the Diversability Leadership Collective. The Diversability Leadership Collective is a members-only community that fosters meaningful connections and offers resources and opportunities to help accelerate you.
I see the Diversability Leadership Collective as an incubator for disability magic.
Since starting Diversability, I’ve been able to watch my platform and Diversability’s platform grow, from watching Diversability’s network grow to more than 40,000, to co-founding Bloomberg’s Employee Resource Group (ERG) for employees with disabilities, to speaking on the TEDx stage 3 times, to serving at San Francisco City Hall as part of the Mayor’s Disability Council.
I look back at my own journey and reflect on how my life could have looked very different as someone who experienced childhood trauma. (I learned a lot from this TED talk from Nadine Burke Harris on the impact of childhood trauma.) I hope that my own journey, and many others I’ve been honored to witness since starting Diversability, can serve as a model for you of what’s possible.
Imagine what would be possible if you were part of a thriving community to help take you to the next level and grow faster, together.
I want to see more of us become thought leaders, creators, TEDx speakers, corporate leaders, and more. And I want the Diversability Leadership Collective to be the space that will help you get there.
A win for one of us is a win for all of us.
We are opening our doors to you today, July 26, 2021, the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). so that we can build the ideal space with you, our longtime Diversability community members and supporters, who were the motivation to create this. We hope that this space will help accelerate you.
What does this look like for our members?
Visibility: Early access to PR/visibility opportunities, lead your own event & get featured across our 40k+ network
Access: Exclusive workshops for growth, complimentary access to Diversability Unplugged & special deals/partnerships
Community: Curated resources, connection & peers just like you
The Diversability community on Facebook will continue to be a free place for you to find peer support. Should you choose to purchase a membership in the Diversability Leadership Collective, your membership directly supports our team of 100% disabled individuals who do the work behind the scenes to organize events, create content, and manage our community. We also pay our speakers, event hosts, contributors, etc. because we know that free emotional labor doesn’t work.
Monthly membership is less than $20/month, which is less than $1/day and about the same as the cost of a book. We also offer sliding scale memberships if you are facing financial hardship due to your disability. I hope you’ll join us in investing in yourself to elevate disability pride, together. Learn more at http://diversability.mn.co.