We Talk Rheumatoid Arthritis with Jennifer Chassman Browne.

Jennifer has been an educator for over 25 years, and has experience working with students ranging from 3rd grade through the university level. Most of her work has been as an English, Creative Writing , and Social Studies teacher and a school leader. The majority of her leadership experience has been at the secondary level as an Assistant Principal, Associate Head, or Curriculum Director, where she has been focused on directing curricular programs and supporting teachers in developing instructional practices.

Jenn has lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis since she was six years old and has recently founded a non-profit aimed at developing education and understanding around issues related to ability and advocacy for those living with disabilities. More Than a T-Shirt Company is a project that develops and sells t-shirts and stickers with disability positive messages. The company donates proceeds to partner organizations including the Arthritis Foundation and Autism Speaks.

Five years ago, Jenn founded New Ground Educational Consulting. Her focus has been to develop and present workshops related to Inclusion and Belonging. She leads sessions on topics such as: Social Justice and Physical Space, Identity and Belonging, Implicit Bias, and The Weight of Disability for a variety of public and independent schools, non-profit organizations, and professional institutions. Jenn has been a featured guest on Pushing Limits, one of the only public radio shows focused on disability, and has also contributed columns to a variety of publications. Most recently, Jenn was the keynote speaker for the Pacific ADA Center's annual conference where she presented a session entitled, Beginning with Belonging; Reimagining the ADA.

She has recently published a collection of poetry that includes pieces about living with a disability. Currently, Jenn is completing her book, See Us, Know US: Profiles of Disability which is a collection of profiles about people with disabilities. Each profile includes a portrait, a narrative biography, and an original poem written by Jenn for the person being profiled. Look for See Us, Know Us, which will be published in October.

You can follow Jenn at @jenniferchassmanbrowne on Instagram.

Show transcript bit.ly/3UKUymI