Catarina Rivera of Blindish Latina: 5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society

View disability as part of the natural diversity of humankind. — We’d have a more inclusive world if disabled people were accepted as they are. Not as in need of a cure or being “fixed”. Not as objects of pity and low expectations. Disabled people might need to do something differently and that’s okay. Disabled people are valuable and should be celebrated for what they contribute to our society.

As part of our series about ‘5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society’ I had the pleasure to interview Catarina Rivera, MSEd, MPH, CPACC.

Catarina Rivera, MSEd, MPH, CPACC is a public speaker and DEI consultant with over 14 years of experience in the public sector. Catarina works with companies to improve accessibility and inclusion, retain employees, and design better products. She is the founder of Blindish Latina, a platform smashing disability stigmas through storytelling, advocacy, and training. Catarina is hard of hearing and blind due to Usher Syndrome. She has a BA from Duke University, an MSEd from Bank Street College of Education, and an MPH from Hunter College.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you’. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?

I grew up in suburban Maryland as the daughter of a Puerto Rican father and Cuban mother. My extended family has many stories of immigration and searching for a better life. I was born hard of hearing and wore hearing aids from a young age. I remember being a happy kid who liked school, was a little bossy with my younger brother, and loved going to the library every week to get a new bag of books. My parents taught me Spanish as my first language, which required a high level of intentionality for them since they were both English-dominant. When I was 8 years old, my mom felt I was losing my Spanish and decided to enroll my brother and me in a Spanish school. When did we have to go? Every Saturday! It was something I dreaded as a kid, but now I thank her for it. I’ve used Spanish throughout my career and I love being able to communicate with more Latine/x people and Spanish speakers.

When I was in 8th grade, I started taking martial arts classes. I developed greater confidence and found a beautiful community that supported me as I became a teenager. When I was 17, I earned my black belt. It was an exciting time in my life. This is also when I was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome and found out I was experiencing progressive vision loss. Afterward, my life changed immeasurably and I’m truly a better person for it now. But it was a long journey to get here. I describe my disability journey as moving from denial to acceptance to self-advocacy to public advocacy.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

A book that mattered to me personally was a memoir called Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found by Rebecca Alexander. Rebecca Alexander has Usher Syndrome like me, albeit a different type. I could relate so much to her journey. It made me feel seen as a young woman navigating disability and life. When I was first diagnosed, Rebecca was generous and giving with her time and story, and that made a difference for my family. The book made me feel represented in the world and I appreciate that it exists.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

I love the quote attributed to Lilla Watson: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Watson has shared that this quote is a collective belief of activist groups she was a part of.

The quote succinctly communicates the difference between “helping” and being in solidarity. It also calls out positionality and privilege. If one does not recognize that we are not all free until every single one of us is free, then one does not have a true understanding of how privilege works in our society.

This is relevant to my work because often disabled people are othered and viewed as separate from nondisabled people. However, anyone can become disabled at any time. Nondisabled people seem to forget this or be in denial about it. Disability inclusion and accessibility should matter to every person because our liberation is undoubtedly tied to yours.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

I view leadership as the ability to build relationships, processes, and structures that create unity around shared goals/values. Leaders support their people to thrive and contribute their highest talents. Great leaders can articulate a vision and motivate others to connect with it. I believe in going further by building a collective vision and utilizing collaborative, equitable leadership strategies. Leadership is not about power, but influence.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

On an ideal day, I keep my phone on airplane mode until I begin my work day. This allows me to focus on a morning routine that promotes self-care. I write in a gratitude journal, do some stretching, read for 10 minutes, visualize, do a short meditation, and say affirmations in the mirror. This practice comes from Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning. When I follow these practices, I can approach challenges in my day with levity and calm. To calm stress, I take a break to move or dialogue with someone close to me. When making big decisions, I always do best when I can talk it through with a trusted friend or loved one.

When I have a speaking engagement or interview, I always prepare my materials and talking points in advance. I find that after sleeping on it, I have internalized the content and I feel ready. This is why I always prepare ahead of time and avoid writing out talking points on the same day as an engagement.

I’m a work in progress and I still have challenges in the area of managing stress. I continuously strive to be self-aware and improve on my self-care journey.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. The United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This is of course a huge topic. But briefly, can you share your view on how this crisis inexorably evolved to the boiling point that it’s at now?

Historically, there’s been very little discussion of ableism and many people are actually unfamiliar with this -ism, which is just as harmful as all the other -isms. Due to a legacy of institutionalization and discrimination in our country towards disabled people, we’re still dealing with the impacts today. Disability rights activist Judy Heumann wrote in her memoir that she was not allowed to go to her neighborhood school because she was a wheelchair user. This was just a few decades ago. With the disability rights movement ensuring the passage of Section 504 and then the ADA, some people might think everything’s solved. But it’s definitely not.

Disabled people are marginalized by discrimination and lack of support in educational institutions. We graduate college at a lower rate than other groups. Disability employment rates are also lower. It’s hard to find accessible housing. Government benefit programs are time-consuming and exhausting to navigate and include income maximum limits that keep disabled people from earning more if they want to keep their benefits. Airlines destroy and damage 29 wheelchairs a day. And when we look at disabled people of color and other intersectionalities, there are even more barriers due to ableism and discrimination.

We need society to understand that there are many types of disabilities and that these are valid. Even if someone doesn’t appear to have a disability, that doesn’t mean they are nondisabled. They could have a cognitive disability, a mental health condition, a chronic illness, neurodiversity, or another type of disability that can be non-apparent to others. Disabled people with these types of disabilities often experience microaggressions, invalidation, medical gaslighting, and a lack of support from institutions, employers, and the people around them. The lack of disability awareness and care in our society harms disabled people.

Online bullying of disabled people is rampant. Let me share an example. I remember seeing a photo of a blind woman of color using her white cane and her cell phone. This photo circulated online because nondisabled people were accusing her of faking her blindness. This was horrible and caused other blind people to not want to use their mobility aid (white cane) due to fear of harassment. Nondisabled people have their own ideas of what blindness looks like and expect all blind people to experience total blindness when less than 20% of us do.

Employers seem to think that providing reasonable accommodations means they’ve achieved disability inclusion and that disabled employees are “all set”. They fail to understand that only 21% of disabled employees disclose to HR. Providing individual accommodations alone won’t create an inclusive work environment, which everyone can benefit from. Disability inclusion must be created intentionally and embedded into the company culture.

I think the release of the Crip Camp documentary on Netflix was a huge moment for the disability community. It was Oscar-nominated as well. I feel the time is now for disability inclusion to finally be achieved and I’m seeing a lot of powerful activity happening. Disabled voices are proud, loud, and demanding change. We deserve to be seen as just as worthy and valuable as anyone else.

This is a big topic, so it’s not possible to cover everything but this answer is a start.

Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?

In 2020, I decided to start an Instagram account called @BlindishLatina. I knew that I wanted to show up online as a disabled Latine woman with 2 graduate degrees to be the representation I would have liked to see when I was younger. I also wanted to share moments of my life that nondisabled people would never think about, in order to increase their awareness and understanding of disability.

In 2021, I decided to expand my work in this area. I launched my public speaking and consulting business working with companies and organizations. I offer keynotes, workshops, talks, and consulting to my clients on disability awareness, inclusion, and accessibility. Oftentimes, I am the first speaker to talk about disability at a company. I relish this opportunity to open up the disability inclusion conversation and make the case for why it’s so important. I require closed captions for my sessions and after working with me, one client shared with me that now they offer closed captions for all internal meetings. It’s exciting to be part of creating more awareness and accessibility.

I’ve also built my platform as a content creator on Instagram and LinkedIn focused on smashing disability stigmas and showcasing purposeful living. I know that many people don’t know a disabled person or have a disabled friend, so I strive to make disability real for them and show that I’m a whole person.

This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

1. A diverse executive team shows all your team members that it’s possible for them to advance to leadership roles.
2. The executive team makes high-level decisions for businesses and organizations, and having diverse viewpoints will lead to more innovation and creativity.
3. It’s important to represent different diversity dimensions. Gender, sexuality, disability, race, religion, and age are some examples. If a disabled executive is open about their disability, that can make a big difference for disabled employees.

Diversity is not the complete solution, but it’s an important piece of the work.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. You are an influential business leader. Can you please share your “5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society”. Kindly share a story or example for each.

1. View disability as part of the natural diversity of humankind.

We’d have a more inclusive world if disabled people were accepted as they are. Not as in need of a cure or being “fixed”. Not as objects of pity and low expectations. Disabled people might need to do something differently and that’s okay. Disabled people are valuable and should be celebrated for what they contribute to our society.

2. Use the word disability and don’t see it as a bad thing.

Many people are uncomfortable with the word disability. There are so many euphemisms like differently-abled, handicapable, and others. Disabled people can internalize this discomfort and feel like they don’t even want to call themselves disabled. There’s nothing wrong with being disabled, and there’s nothing wrong with the word. I’d like to see this word be seen as neutral. Disability just is and we need to name it. For more disabled voices on this, search the hashtag #SayTheWord, which was started by Lawrence Carter-Long.

3. Create accessibility in all spaces, processes, and products. Design with accessibility in mind from the beginning.

Accessibility is long overdue. I’m tired of seeing new apps and digital spaces created that are not accessible for disabled people. Inaccessibility happens in so many ways: lack of closed captions on videos, colors that don’t contrast well and make text hard to read, lack of image descriptions or alt text, a confusing user experience design, small font sizes, and so many more. What does this inaccessibility say to disabled people?

• “You’re not welcome here.”
• “This is not for you.”

Accessibility needs to be built in from the beginning and knowledge of how to create accessibility needs to be more widespread.

When we think about physical accessibility, there is so much work still to do. As an example, public transportation stations need elevators and text-based announcements instead of just audio ones. Businesses need to add ramps and make sure that wheelchair users can actually use the ramps, not add steep ramps that create an obstacle or unsafe situation. As a deaf/blind person, I appreciate restaurants and physical spaces that have bright lighting so that I can read lips.

When accessibility is left out, it’s clear that nondisabled people don’t understand the widespread nature of disability. Over 1 billion people are disabled worldwide. 1 in 4 adults in the United States has a disability. We are consumers with spending power. We are here in society and are part of communities. We have families, friends, colleagues. Stop leaving us out.

4. Empower and support disabled voices. Let us tell our own stories on TV, media, books. Let’s eliminate harmful narratives.

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen the film Million Dollar Baby and you want to, skip to the next section.

In this film, the main character became disabled and then didn’t want to live anymore. She ultimately ends her life with assistance. She’s never shown adapting to her disability or giving it a try. This narrative is harmful to the disability community and for everyone. It reinforces the idea that a disabled life is not livable and erases how disabled people actually feel. Disability is complex and we definitely can struggle. But let US talk about it. Let US write about it. Let US act it. Let us show the nuances and complexities within our own stories.

There are very few disabled characters on the screen and in our books. Storytelling is powerful and can create an impact. But we need support and investment from those who hold the power in order to tell our stories on larger platforms.

5. Learn what ableism is, acknowledge it, and use your privilege to undo ableism in language, physical spaces, organizational cultures, society.

It’s time for a reckoning with ableism. Everyone should acknowledge it, know it, and commit to undoing it. Being unaware of the barriers disabled people face is a privilege that nondisabled people have due to ableism. As an example, I prepare for handshakes and spend mental energy trying to anticipate when the handshake will come and making sure that I am ready to meet the handshake. Especially if someone is new to me and doesn’t yet know about my disability. Do you stress out about handshakes? Most of you probably don’t. There are many examples of how ableism pops up in daily life. Another example I’ve personally experienced is having to ask 3–4 times a week for meeting hosts to enable closed captions on their Zoom meetings and thinking about this ahead of time when I get a meeting invite. That’s a lot of extra work and time for me, just to be able to participate fully in a meeting.

We also need to make sure to address the intersectionality of disability with all other identities to make sure that our change work impacts absolutely everyone. For example, the National Alliance of Melanin Disabled Advocates is an organization focused on intersectionality. We cannot leave anyone behind, especially the most marginalized. This includes disabled LGBTIA+ people of color and trans disabled folx.

One way we can undo ableism in our current workplaces is to support remote work and approve remote work accommodations. Many disabled people have been asking for remote working options for a long time and it only became possible on a wide basis due to the global pandemic. That’s not right. Moving forward, remote work opportunities should be offered and should be approved as reasonable accommodations for disabled employees.

Disability needs to be a part of all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. Whether you focus on DEIB or IDEA or any other framework, make sure disability and disability inclusion are part of your initiatives.

We are going through a rough period now. Are you optimistic that this issue can eventually be resolved? Can you explain?

I’m always optimistic because I have to believe that a better world is possible. There’s an incredible amount of work still to do because unfortunately society’s systems, organizations, and leaders often don’t care about disability and don’t prioritize us. Disabled people are often assumed to have a “poor quality of life” and this narrative is damaging and ableist.

My intention is to make a measurable impact on disability inclusion in the workplace through my speaking and consulting. And to activate solidarity from nondisabled people through my storytelling and content creation on social media. I have to believe that building empathy is possible and that it will lead to change. We need you to be part of it. Yes, you :)

Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I’d love to spend time with Brené Brown, the globally recognized speaker, author, and professor who researches shame and vulnerability. She has one of the most widely viewed TED talks ever and even has a special on Netflix. We would talk about her experience working with corporate clients on leadership, as well as her public speaking and how she creates such powerful and memorable stories in her talks. I would learn from her about how she created such a powerful personal brand while maintaining her authenticity.

It’s also important to me to help Brené engage in disability solidarity. I recently read one of her books and I noticed some sentences that could be seen as ableist. I would share with her my beliefs about the words she used and encourage her to avoid using disability-related words to communicate her ideas. As a disabled person, it pulled me out of the writing and had a negative impact on me.

Brené, I’m ready whenever you are. Let’s get some pancakes.

How can our readers follow you online?

The best way to connect with me is on Instagram, LinkedIn, or via my website. I look forward to welcoming more Stigma Smashers to my community!

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!