The Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame was established by the National Disability Mentoring Coalition (NDMC) to honor those individuals who are making a significant difference in the lives of youth and adults with disabilities through mentoring and to raise awareness about the importance of mentoring for individuals with disabilities.
We are proud to induct Dior Vargas into the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame.
Dior Vargas is a Latina Feminist Mental Health Activist. She is the creator of the People of Color and Mental Illness Photo Project, a response to the invisibility of people of color in the media representation of mental illness. She is a volunteer crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line and works full time as an Outreach Coordinator for Project UROK, a youth outreach initiative of the Child Mind Institute. She goes around the country giving keynotes, hosting workshops, and speaking on panels.
Dior is the recipient of numerous awards, The White House Champion of Change for Disability Advocacy Across Generations, a Voices of the Year honoree under the Impact category at #BlogHer15: Experts among Us Conference, 2015 Alternatives Conference Cookie Gant and Bill Compton LGBTQI Leadership Award. She was listed as one of the 15 Remarkable Women of Color Who Rocked 2015 in Colorlines.
She has a B.A. in the Study of Women and Gender from Smith College and has a M.S. in Publishing from Pace University. This Fall, she will be working towards a Master’s in Public Health at NYU. She is a native New Yorker and currently lives in New York City.
Why does mentoring matter to me?
“Mentoring matters to me because our work never stops with us. Our work is a legacy that should inspire others to find meaning in their lives. I want to leave something in this world and passing on my advice, failures, and successes to even a single person would fulfill that mission. I want to be able to show others that they are not alone and that my support can give them the strength to keep pushing and live a life that is meaningful to them.”
