In this episode, George and Amelia sit down with Christopher Worth. Chris is a community organizer, professor, writer, poet, and visual artist. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Missouri St. Louis where he is also a faculty member for SUCCEED, a program that promotes inclusive education and guides people with disabilities in the pursuit of higher education. We have had the pleasure of working with him this summer in our Individual Advocacy program as an intern here at the Institute for Human Development. Chris has such a unique and dynamic voice and has written about disability as a culture, and further, how this framing is a basis for creating change through community organizing. He has done advocacy work in the field around inclusive education, sexual health for people with disabilities, and so much more.

Resources in this episode:

• UMSL SUCCEED Program: https://www.umsl.edu/succeed/Program%20Information/index.html
• The Arc: https://thearc.org/
• Mountaintop Removal: any method of surface coal mining thatdestroys a mountaintop or ridgeline (https://appvoices.org/end-mountaintop-removal/mtr101/)
• Lazarus Tree by Christopher R.J. Worth (Poem) https://www.amazon.com/Lazarus-Tree-Christopher-R-J-Worth/dp/B09TGJFYK1/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Q2UP3ZXUBCYP&keywords=christopher+rj+worth&qid=1689613362&s=books&sprefix=christopher+rj+worth%2Cstripbooks%2C106&sr=1-1
• See Chris's artwork: https://christopher-r-j-worth.com/

Acronym Guide:

LEND: Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

UCEDD: University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

CP: Cerebral PalsyInterview Transcript: https://ihd.umkc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Transcript-Chris-Worth.pdf

For more information about UMKC-Institute for Human Development, visit ⁠⁠ihd.umkc.edu