Gary Karp, a wheelchair user since injuring his spinal cord at T12 in a fall from a tree in 1973, has four books on disability to his credit, starting with Life On Wheels, first published in 1999, and Disability and the Art of Kissing, He has written numerous articles for New Mobility and other disability media, and has spoken widely across the U.S. in rehabilitation, business, and government settings. In 2007 the then National Spinal Cord Injury Association (now United Spinal) inducted him into their Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame as a Disability Educator. He is a professor of Disability History in the Arizona State University Disability Studies Program and consults on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities and other access and functional needs, drawing on his work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for whom he is still a reservist responding to disasters. His core message is to humanize the disability experience, shedding light on the universal qualities we all share — the drive to pursue our potential, and be recognized as the whole people we are in a world where artificial obstacles and adaptive solutions have made immense changes to society as a whole. A guitarist, juggler, and avid backgammon player, Gary lives in Phoenix, AZ.
Workshop: Disability Stereotypes: Built-In Beliefs
