Jesenia (@NeuroSpicyNetworking) was asked to join the Emerge Fellowship Year 3 cohort as the Access Doula for a week to sub-in for the staff! As a past Emerge Fellow, and current Access Doula, I was uniquely prepared to step in and support LOTUS in the facilitation for the week.
We did access check-in daily, read texts, had discussions on topics of disability justice and scholar activism, and then jumped into breakout rooms to work and discuss readings and topics covered.
Jesenia had to on-the-fly, act as an audio-visual describer for the film, “Double Discrimination”, Rinkoo Barpaga (2014), that was entirely in closed caption, as it was filmed in ASL. Our blind access needed was to read the Closed Captions and describe the film as the recording with the audio descriptions was not functioning properly! It was a wonderful experience of providing access in the movement and supporting the needs of the fellows and the organization.
It was an honor to be hired for Access Doula work with Emerge. Look for the year 3 cohort’s presentation this Aug 22, 2025.
IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS
Slide 1: Flyer with tan background and text in olive green, pine green, and black. Accents in each corner are light orange with olive green and orange branches with leaves. Text reads: 2025 EMERGE FELLOWSHIP
CULMINATING SYMPOSIUM. AUGUST 22 · 10:30AM – 2:30PM PT. VIRTUAL · ASL & CART provided. REGISTER: bit.ly/emergesymposium
There are headshots of the nine Emerge fellows in a rounded frame with a lime green border. The names of the fellows in order from left to right are: Allie Pauld, Alysse Swann, Genevieve Ramos, Jen Ham, OBSIDIENNE OBSURD, peace Waters, Titania Buchholdt, Tiezst “Tie” Taylor, and Stardust Pine-jorah. Below the headshots is a light orange organic shape with an arrow pointing to a green QR code which leads to the same registration link. The Longmore Institute and Emerge logos are centered at the bottom of the page.
Flyer with the same design and color scheme. Text reads: 2025 EMERGE FELLOWSHIP CULMINATING SYMPOSIUM EVENT SCHEDULE (PST) FRIDAY, AUGUST 22.
10:30-10:40am – Opening Remarks
10:40-10:45am – Audience Tech Support
10:45-11:15am – Keynote Speaker
11:15-11:50am – Resisting the Policing of Blackness Through Disability Justice (Allie Pauld and Tiezst “Tie” Taylor)
11:50-12:10pm – Break
12:10-12:45pm – Ecologies of Language, the Edges of Being (Alysse Swann and Stardust Pine-jorah)
12:45-1:20pm – Time and Sound (peace Waters and Titania Buchholdt)
1:25-1:45pm – Break
1:45-2:30pm – Radical Expression (Genevieve Ramos, Jen Ham, and OBSIDIENNE OBSURD).