Aubrie Lee - More

posts

Subscribe to my posts on Mastodon by signing into your existing account and doing a search for my profile link: https://verse.aubrielee.com/@Aubrie

or via RSS with your favorite RSS reader.

my disabilities

I have a rare form of muscular dystrophy. The more I use my muscles, the weaker they get. Some of the basics:

I can’t smile. If you smile at me and I don’t smile back, trust that I’m smiling with my heart.
I’m hard of hearing. I rely on lip reading and closed captions.
I have an accent of sorts. Ironically, even though I read lips, my lips don’t move when I talk. It may take you some time to understand my speech.
I’ve been using a power wheelchair full-time since I was a teenager. People tend to stand to my side when they talk to me, but it’s tough for me to turn my body to face them. You can face me directly, don’t worry. If you’re worried about being run over, I’m actually less likely to run you over if you’re where I can see you.

Not every disabled person likes to be asked about their disabilities, but if you meet me, you’re welcome to ask me questions. I’m Disabled and proud, and I want us all to include disability in more conversations. If you want to learn more about disability, check out the resources I’ve put together at cripcorps.com.

speaking

Speaker at United Nations’ High Level Political Forum, 2021.
Podcast guest on NCFIT’s Women Make Waves, 2021.
Panelist at ReelAbilities Film Festival: Fashion, Beauty And Disability, 2021.
Panelist at Designing for Inclusion, hosted by Stanford Womxn in Design, 2021. Featured in the Stanford Daily.
Keynote speaker for the American Marketing Association, 2021.
Panelist at the Inclusive Africa Conference 2020.
Mentor at the Global Accessibility Symposium in Mountain View, 2019.
Panelist at Google Cloud Next 2018.
Interviewed for a film about accessibility at Google I/O 2018.

board membership

NMD United: Connecting adults living with neuromuscular disabilities.
DREDF, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund: Leading national civil rights law and policy center.
Past: The Kelsey: Disability-forward housing solutions.
Past: Inevitable Foundation: Funding and mentoring the next generation of disabled screenwriters.

features

NPR: How AI helps some people with disabilities communicate, 2024.
Bloomberg: The Future With Hannah Fry, Episode 5: Technology and AI for Social Inclusion, 2023.
Yahoo News: Aubrie Lee’s daily acts of resistance are paving the way for disabled people across the country; In The Know: Disability activist Aubrie Lee shares her biggest tips for young people who want to make a difference, 2021.
Featured on Google’s Instagram for the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 2020.
Cameo in the CEO keynote at Google I/O 2019.
“Aubrie Lee: Art(iv)ist” in Kultura Magazine and their Instagram, 2019.
Featured on the Google blog for International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2015.
Mountain View Voice: Pride on parade in downtown Mountain View, 2014.

View this post on Instagram

To celebrate 30 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we asked Googlers what the #ADA30 means to them. “Every school I’ve been allowed to attend, every job I’ve been accepted to, every time I have entered a room and been the first one like me to enter that room—I've had all these opportunities because my Disabled elders fought to ensure the #ADA. In short, I owe them my life. “The ADA reminds us that access is our right. Access is our civil right. Access is our human right. Disabled people said it, the ADA validates it, and now and every day, it’s up to each of us to act on it. “As we reflect on how far we’ve gotten, I want us to imagine how much further we can go. What would it be like to live in a world that not only accepts Disabled people, but loves us?” says Googler @aubrieality. Watch today’s story to hear from other Googlers, and tap the link in bio to learn about how Google is striving to make the world more accessible for all.

A post shared by Google (@google) on Jul 27, 2020 at 10:54am PDT

Image description: A Chinese American woman in a manual traveling wheelchair poses in a beam of light within a cathedral. She wears a cream cardigan and red skirt.

more disability work

Created Our Truths, Our Power, a film with audio description or without audio description, 2023.
Collaborated on Disability is Diversity campaign for the entertainment industry, 2022. Featured on Tilting the Lens.
Created cripcorps.com, a collective disability justice blog, 2019.
Started the Wikipedia page for “Crip (disability term)” and fought with the admins for a week before they approved it, 2019.
Guest writing for a wheelchair travel blog, 2018.
Lack-sessibility, a comic strip featured in Stanford Daily, 2014.
Co-founded Power2ACT, Stanford’s disability student group (renamed to Stanford Disability Alliance in 2021), 2011.

links i like

My brother Blaze Lee’s motion graphics showreel: blazelee.net
My sister Cadence Lee’s professional photography: cadenceleephoto.com

like my work?

I appreciate support of any kind, whether that’s sharing this page, telling me what you thought, or treating me to something yummy:

Venmo: @aubrie

PayPal: aubrieality

Ko-fi: