The AAPD Internship Program strives to develop stronger disability identities within students and recent graduates with disabilities, so they can be better equipped to shape the future of our workplaces and communities. Our inaugural Fall Internship Program builds on the success of our Summer Internship Program to provide more opportunities for disabled students and recent graduates to access meaningful employment opportunities, gain leadership skills, and connect to the broader disability community.
The 2024 AAPD Fall Internship Program would not be possible without the generous support of our partners. Thank you to Arconic Foundation for supporting our Fall Internship Program.
Meet the 2024 Class
Alexandria Kiel – Keri Gray Group
Alexandria Kiel (she/her) is a recent graduate from Western Governor’s University, but her journey is far more than academic. As a childhood abuse survivor and former foster care youth, Alexandria has navigated significant challenges while committing to advocacy work across state legislative reform addressing poverty, housing, disability rights, and foster care. During her tenure as the youngest governor-appointed state commissioner in Michigan, Alexandria spearheaded efforts to reduce the rate of children born into poverty.
Despite facing multiple long-term hospitalizations, she played a pivotal role in achieving over 10 statewide policy changes and the implementation of three federal laws, including the Foster Care Independence Act and the Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. Her advocacy efforts directly contributed to improved high school and college graduation rates for former foster care youth with disabilities. As a survivor of sex trafficking, Alexandria continues to face challenges, including an acquired brain injury, anterograde amnesia, and mild cognitive impairment. However, she remains undeterred in her pursuit of education and advocacy. Alexandria regularly conducts coping skills workshops and speaks engagements to support former foster care youth with disabilities.
Driven by empathy and a deep understanding of the effects of poverty and lack of family support on individuals with disabilities, Alexandria aspires to change the landscape of employment rights and opportunities. She is passionate about eradicating the stigma surrounding mental illness and trauma by openly sharing her story with others. As a Coehlo Fellow (2024-2025), Alexandria aims to attend Cornell University Law School in the Fall of 2025 to further her education and expand her impact in the field of disability rights law. Outside of her advocacy work, Alexandria finds solace in listening to music, writing poetry and screenplays, and capturing the beauty of nature through amateur photography.
Alondra Rodriguez Solis – The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies
Alondra (she/her) is a Palm Springs, California native who has dedicated herself to developing and strengthening community based initiatives. She studies Social Welfare and Global Environmental Politics at the University of California, Berkeley. Navigating her undergraduate experience as a student with a disability, she has made it her mission to provide support to other disabled students by working to break down barriers that make it difficult for students to obtain the proper accommodations.
Through her work in student advocacy and government she has shown commitment to creating an environment where students with disabilities can thrive. Her knowledge in social welfare has inspired her work in developing stronger social safety nets for people with disabilities. As she takes on the next step in her advocacy work, she aims to pursue a Master’s in Public Policy and a Juris Doctor degree to support legislative and legal efforts in advancing disability justice. She is excited to engage in meaningful work through AADP this Fall.
Bella Fassett – U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Bella (she/her) is an undergraduate student at Georgetown University studying Culture and Politics in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and is originally from Bend, Oregon. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of law, feminist disability studies, and postcolonial studies. As a student activist, Bella contributed to advocacy that led to the establishment of Georgetown’s Disability Cultural Center. As a founding member of Hoyas Advocating for Slavery Accountability (HASA) Bella has led initiatives that demanded institutional recognition and redress for Georgetown’s historical ties to and participation in slavery. Among her past experiences are teaching sex education to middle school students and coordinating service-learning projects in Costa Rica and Washington, DC. In her free time, Bella enjoys doing photography and photo editing, going to concerts in DC, and collecting stickers, pins, and other tchotchkes from her travels.
Fabiola Daphne Amaya – U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy
Fabiola Amaya is a rising senior at the University of Texas at Austin where she is majoring in Social Work with a minor in Critical Disability Studies. Her interest in disability advocacy began in 2019 when she began a social media advocacy page as a content creator. Through her experience as a disabled person and research, she learned about the systemic inequities affecting disabled communities.
Inspired by advocacy efforts in her community she founded an initiative at the University of Texas at Austin called On the Moov. On the Moov is a program rooted in disability justice which hopes to fill in the accessibility gaps left by the university while advocating for disabled individuals. When she is not advocating for her community, she enjoys reading fantasy books, writing poetry, and painting.
Jaydon Antoine – U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Minority Programs, The Office of Energy Justice and Equity
Jaydon Antoine has entered his first year of college at Northampton Community College after studying abroad in India with a strong interest in political science. His chosen major is Global Studies, concentrating on political science, along with aspirations to become a space lawyer. Jaydon has been wowed by four significant things in life: outer space, international travel, the unique cultures of each country, and the law that binds us to sovereign land.
These interests have all contributed to his career goals as well as shaping much of his creative expression in the medium of writing. Jaydon partakes in various activities and leadership roles centered around advocacy for at-risk groups, with further interest in climate change. Jaydon deeply values diversity and recognizes the extraordinary value of people and their culture, complimented by the beauty of the environment, the sky, the planets, and the stars that we all share.
Kyanda Bailey – Center for Racial and Disability Justice
Kyanda Bailey (she/her) is a dedicated advocate committed to championing the rights of marginalized communities, with a particular focus on healthcare equity, disability rights, racial justice, and legal advocacy. She focuses on bridging the gap between lived experiences of disabled people and theory. Kyanda has an unwavering passion for addressing systemic inequalities. With a background in Sociology and Psychology, Kyanda believes it’s important to understand social issues and their impact on individuals and communities.
During her academic journey at the University at Albany, she developed a profound interest in research which led to her becoming a research assistant. As a research assistant, she worked on various projects that explored social phenomena, such as the aftermath of immigration enforcement episodes. Her advocacy skills strengthened during her academic career. Kyanda’s advocacy extends beyond academic realms, as she actively engages in initiatives aimed at promoting inclusivity, equity, and access to essential resources for marginalized populations. In her role as a Youth Program Coordinator at a non profit, she spearheaded the design and implementation of survivor-led workshops, fostering community engagement and addressing pressing social issues affecting youth. Kyanda has worked as an Education Advocate where she advocated for students with disabilities.
She also has worked as a Program Facilitator, where she designed and executed weekly psychosocial programming for siblings of kids with disabilities. Kyanda has always been a dedicated community volunteer and believes that volunteering fosters empathy, learning and growth. She aspires to dive into work centered on the intersection of disability, health and race. She is always eager to promote the voices and experiences of black and brown disabled people. In her free time (she always makes time to relax + rest), she enjoys reading, learning random things, thrifting, and going for walks.
Liam Holland – TechOWL, Institute on Disabilities
Liam Holland (he/him) is a first-year graduate student at Villanova University pursuing a Liberal Studies certificate. He just completed his undergraduate degree at Villanova with minors in Disability Studies, Mathematics, Irish Studies, and Peace and Justice. He has Cerebral Palsy, which has helped him learn how to adapt and persevere.
At Villanova, he was involved in LEVEL, a student-run organization designed to help and advocate for students with disabilities. Liam is passionate about disability rights and helping others to be comfortable with their own disability identity. Recently he discovered an interest and excitement in film production when he became part of the documentary film team for EmpowerU, which reignited his passion in AbilityBoss, his disability advocacy YouTube channel.
Samhit A. Utlapalli – New Disabled South
Samhit Utlapalli (they/them) is a senior at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. They are pursuing a major in Sociology, with a minor in Justice and Equity Studies. Samhit enjoys their sociology classes greatly and is always excited to learn more. They plan to go on to get their master’s degree in social work. Samhit wants to use their degrees and experiences to work in disability or education justice.
Their involvement with social justice issues began in high school, with their involvement in their school’s Young Advocates for Equality organization. In previous years, Samhit has worked with Forward Promise and Camp Kesem. These experiences have motivated them to focus on early interventions.
In their personal life, Samhit is the parent of two dogs and a cat who bring them endless joy and comfort. Their hobbies include reading, writing, crocheting, and watching movies.
Shruti Bharatia – New America
Shruti Bharatia (she/her) is a recent graduate from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) with a Bachelors in Applied Psychology. After spending over 14 years helping care for her younger autistic brother, Shruti’s first-hand experience working with South-Asian families of disabled individuals propelled her into a career in helping disabled people and their families. Originally intending to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Shruti became a research assistant and behavioral technician at the Cognition Behavior and Mindfulness (CBM) Clinic within UIC.
Through her experience with applying neurodiversity to Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy, Shruti developed a passion for integration of the social model of disability, specifically neurodiversity, with direct services provided to disabled individuals as a way to bridge the gap between disability medicalization and the disability community. Shruti accumulated this passion into a research project exploring the connection of environmental variables such as socioeconomic status to parents’ levels of autism acceptance and mental flexibility around stigma. Shruti continued to explore these passions as a Andrew Mellow Scholar within UIC’s Engaged Humanities Initiative (EHI), where she created a 2 year-long personal journaling project called “Experiencing Disability, Changing Mindsets, and Identity Discovery as a Caregiver, Neurodivergent and Researcher.” Due to in-depth exploration into the disability community required by this project, Shruti came to identify herself as disabled and neurodivergent.
After graduating in May 2023, Shruti became a fellow in UIC’s Psychology Post-Baccalaureate Research and Teaching Fellowship program. Here she works in Early Childhood Education research with Dr. Kate Zinsser. Further, Shruti continues her exploration of disability studies through work with the CBM clinic as a research assistant and graduate classes such as disability policy. Today, Shruti aspires to pursue a career in policy research, specifically the integration of neurodiversity, early childhood education, and disability justice in education policy.
Z'Leah N. Liburd – Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
Z’Leah Liburd is a twenty-two-year-old recent graduate in Social Work from the University of South Florida. Born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she is an alumna of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. She holds an A.A. (Honors) in Human Services and Counseling from Hillsborough Community College (HCC). She is a recipient of the HCC Foundation, Kenneth Jernigan, Florida Council of the Blind, National Federation of the Blind of Florida, Chautauqua Summer Scholar, and Jenkins Scholarships.
Throughout her life, she has strived to support others in realizing their full potential, and has done so as vice-president for the NFBF’S FABS (Florida Association of Blind Students), Co-Chair for the National Association of Blind Student’s Content Creation committee, board member of the Statewide Chapter for the State of Florida, and member of the Tampa Bay chapter. Her involvement with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has continued as a two-time delegate of Florida at Washington Seminar, lobbying on Capitol Hill for NFB’s constituents. Z’Leah has practiced service learning and leadership through the HCC Honors College as Social Chair of student government, as a board member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and as Vice-President of Public Recruitment for NSCS (National Society of Collegiate Scholars).
She attended her first national service convention in New Orleans in 2022, followed by others in Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville, and Tampa. Such experiences of service tie into her love for children, who have always had a special place in her heart, and her goal to help them and other disadvantaged persons at the culmination of her education only drives her to further success. In her free time, Z’Leah enjoys traveling, reading, listening to music, singing, and spending time with friends and family.