Rooted in Rights inducted into the Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame

The Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame was established by the National Disability Mentoring Coalition (NDMC) to honor those individuals and organizations 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 Rooted in Rights into the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame.

The Rooted in Rights Storytellers Series recruits people with disabilities who want to tell stories through video, and mentors them as they write and direct their own projects. The stories are developed by program participants, called Storytellers. Rooted in Rights’ staff of creative professionals provide guidance in structuring their story for a social media audience.

Through mentorship, our Storytellers are able to discover and express their own self-advocacy voices, while also learning practical skills in video production that are applicable to several fields that they could pursue professionally. Lastly, the Storytellers’ videos are distributed via the large Rooted in Rights social media channels so their work is seen by tens of thousands of audience members all over the world, which is a valuable addition to an individual’s portfolio.

What does mentoring mean to you?

The Rooted in Rights team is committed to creating accessible, creative content that inspires our audience to advocate for disability rights. We also are committed to telling stories from the perspective of people with disabilities. In the face of adversity, it is easy to doubt whether one can really make a difference, especially when faced with multiple challenges, but through mentorship, Storytellers learn the power of using their own story to advance the disability rights movement.

By mentoring our Storytellers, we hope to develop a large cohort of people with disabilities who have the technical and creative skills to change media narratives, tell stories that others can’t or won’t tell about disability issues, and have the confidence to push back against the discriminatory forces that so often work against our aspirations.

Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame: Information and Inductees