Helena Donato-Sapp, a student at Vistamar School, is a winner of the 2023 Heumann-Armstrong Award.
More About Helena:
My name is Helena Donato-Sapp and I am 14-years-old. I live in Long Beach, California with my two fathers. I just started my freshman year in high school at Vistamar School. I have multiple – and invisible – learning disabilities. At the end of first-grade I was diagnosed with a visual processing disorder and a working memory disorder. At the beginning of sixth-grade I was diagnosed a second time and found to have ADHD and dyscalculia. I became passionate about disability justice because of the impact that my intersectional identities were having on me. They made school difficult as I confronted ableism in my everyday classrooms. They made friendships nearly impossible as my K-8 peers bullied me through exclusion. And these multiple learning disabilities made me fierce because I knew I deserved an equal and fair education. I also saw that peers and their parents often carried shame about their learning disabilities and I carry only pride in mine. That made me want to speak proudly about my disability pride. I am a youth scholar and youth activist and a large part of my work revolves around disabilities. I published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Equity and Excellence in Education titled “A kitchen-table talk against ableism: Disability justice for collective liberation” and it was a discussion with several notable disability scholars. I am used to being the only young person in a room full of adults when I am advocating for disability justice, like when I was the first invited speaker for the San Jose State University Disability Studies Speaker Series. I have presented on recognizing and responding to ableism to large groups of educators across the nation, from San Francisco to Orlando, Florida. I currently have partnered with the National Education Association (NEA) – our nation’s largest labor union with over 3 million members – on a campaign we have titled “Become a champion for disability rights and inclusion” and it is based on my personal framework of naming the teachers who have supported me as a student with disabilities, whom I refer to as my “champions.” I keynoted for the NEA at their July 2023 Representative Assembly to over 9,000 education leaders. I was a 2022 Honoree of The D-30 Disability Impact List from Diversability, the purpose of which is to recognize the unique accomplishments of the disability community’s most impactful members from around the globe. I was a judge for this award in 2023. I was honored to be an inaugural winner of a “16 Under 16 in STEM” award, given by the national news site The 74. This award was important to me because science is my favorite subject, but also because it recognized that students with learning disabilities can succeed in the STEM fields. I won a 2022 Abolitionist Teachers Network Grant for Educators Working for Disability Justice. I was also honored with a civic award – the 69th Assembly District Award for Women of Distinction, by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal of the 69th District of California – for my work in Education. I was also named one of the inaugural Poet Ambassadors for the City of Long Beach, CA. I am tireless in advocating for justice and equity in many areas and consider myself an intersectional activist. The Heumann-Armstrong Award is important to me because it situates me in “the great conversation” of disability rights and inclusion. To be named alongside such important and legendary activists as Judy Heumann and Elijah Armstrong is important and meaningful to me because it shows that my efforts and advocacy matter. It places me alongside activists who have paved the path before me, and reminds me that I am responsible for laying down my own stones on the pathway of justice and equity for those who might follow in my own footsteps. This award makes me part of something, which as a child who has experienced so much bullying and exclusion because of my disabilities, is important to me because all of us want to feel a sense of belonging. My work in disability justice is about holding my head up high in regard to all of my intersectional identities so that the students in grades below me can see a model of disability pride.
My social media accounts and web presence:
Website: https://www.helenalourdes.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helenadonatosapp
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenadonatosapp
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@helenadonatosapp
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helenadonatosapp
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/helenadonatosapp
Check back to see our interview with Helena!