INTERTWINE SUMMIT 2021
ACCESS FOR ALL ABILITIES PANEL DISCUSSION
3:50 to 4:50 p.m.
This panel will equip us to take incremental steps that radically improve access to nature for people of all abilities.
MODERATOR
Taryn Lenert, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Access Recreation
Taryn Lenert (they/them) is an Urban Refuge Accessibility Specialist Intern for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Student Conservation Association. They have been working closely with Access Recreation on the AccessTrails Project to update and reprofile parks and trails in the Portland-Vancouver area. In their free time, Taryn enjoys hiking, playing video games, and spending time with their partner and two dogs.
PANELISTS
Jaspreet Chahal, Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District
Jaspreet Chahal (she/her) is the community engagement specialist for Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, where she had the honor of leading the award-winning community visioning process. Prior to that, she has served in communications and civic engagement roles at public agencies and educational nonprofits.
With a background in design, and public and organizational communication, she advocates for the underserved, leads with equity and access, and thrives in whole-systems thinking and design work. Her work focuses on creating pathways connecting local governments with systemically marginalized groups, diverse voices, and culturally specific organizations.
She holds a bachelor degree in public administration and a Master's in English. Originally from India, she brings a multicultural and inclusive perspective to her work. As an individual with a disability, Jaspreet is passionate about expanding access, and de-stigmatizing unique lived experiences.
West Livaudais, Oregon Spinal Injury Cord Connection
West Livaudais (he/him) had a spinal cord injury in 2013. This experience brought a new level of insight to the children's fable "Humpty Dumpty." Since his big fall, West founded and has directed Oregon Spinal Cord Injury Connection (OSCI), where his work is to do what all the King's horses and all the King's men could not, namely to put life back together again after a catastrophic event. OSCI promotes health, builds community and creates opportunities for people with spinal cord injury.
West loves spending time outdoors with his family and friends. He recently got an adaptive all-terrain handcycle and is excited to explore all the mountain bike trials in the PNW.
Georgena Moran, Access Recreation
Georgena Moran (she/her) is a certified Accessibility Specialist with Access for All, LLC, and an outdoor recreation enthusiast. Her passion is finding new ways and places to play in wild natural areas, including waterways, with her chin-controlled motored watercraft. As a person living with a mobility disability, she leads an effort to bring more recreation opportunities to people of all abilities. She created Access Recreation, bringing together federal, state and city park agency reps to find ways to improve their website information so people can know if a park or trail meets their needs and desires before arriving. This work resulted in the Guidelines for Providing Trail Information to People with Disabilities located at accessrecreation.org. This effort then led to the AccessTrails project and its review of 36 parks and trails in the Portland-Vancouver Region based on the guideline principles.
Ashley Schahfer, Empowering Access
Ashley Schahfer (she/her) lives in Bend, Oregon, because of her love for the outdoors and a connection to the adaptive sports community. Combined with 20 years of experience using a wheelchair, two degrees in architecture, and a Women's studies certificate— her life mission has become thoughtful experience-guided design focused on inclusion for the broad and intersectional disabled community. She believes in the unifying force of outdoor recreation and is committed to making it accessible for everyone by empowering land managers and users to think creatively and go beyond ADA. She contracts with five to nine independent consultants with a wide range of disabilities and identities to assess and guide clients toward short- and long-term access and Inclusion improvements.
Jennifer Wilde, Adventures Without Limits
Jennifer Wilde (she/her) is the Director of Outreach and Development for Adventures Without Limits. She has spent the last 9 years developing and facilitating adaptive recreation programs in the Portland metro area, in partnership with several of the esteemed colleagues on this panel.
Jennifer holds a bachelors degree in Exercise & Sport Science and Master's in Social Work. In her free time, Jennifer loves spending time outdoors and on the water with family, friends, and her dog, Sawyer.