The WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies supports faculty, staff, and community members with fellowships to develop programs and carry out projects related to disability scholarship and advocacy. This year, we are building a three-person cohort from differing professional and advocacy backgrounds for a 10-month program running from May 2024 until February 2025. Fellows meet regularly throughout the calendar year to work together on their projects and learn from each other’s skills and interests.
Fellows are awarded $3,000 total for their time in the program. Fellows also consult with one or more Project Mentors.
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ICDS Fellows Program Mission
The goal of the WWU ICDS Fellows Program is to create a venue where faculty, staff, and local community members can develop collaborative programs and initiatives related to disability scholarship and advocacy.
About the Fellows Program
What do Fellows do?
Our fellows take on a wide range of projects. Here are a few examples:
- Developing a community-focused event or program
- Traveling to conduct research at an archive or to gather interviews from the community
- Building a social network among activists and artists within a community
- Creating an art project and sharing it with the public
- Conducting scholarly research and developing writing projects
While we would like you to have some ideas and general direction for what you’d like to do as a Fellow, you do not have to have a firm plan finalized in order to be accepted into the ICDS Fellows Program. Much of our early work in the Fellows Program can include planning and project development in consultation with Program Mentors and with the collective support of your peers in the Program.
Program Structure
The participation of Fellows in the Program is structured as follows:
- Each Fellow will submit an application in which they propose ideas and projects they are interested in working on for their fellowship period.
- Each fellow receives $3,000 total for the period from May 01 2024 until February 28, 2025, disbursed in two installments of $1500, one near the beginning of the Fellows Program, and one at the Fellowship’s conclusion. The awarded funds are typically distributed evenly across academic terms, but can be disbursed on a different schedule if requested.
- Fellows will have the opportunity to engage with mentors based on the group’s interests and project goals. Fellows will meet and check in regularly with their mentors during their project development stage.
- Fellows meet as a full cohort approximately once every 2 – 3 weeks throughout the calendar year, including the summer. These meetings will be hybrid, allowing both in-person and online participation.
Program Outcomes
This is a process-driven program, rather than a product-driven program. What this means is that you will be working toward a goal, but it is not vital that you finish the project within the year of the fellowship. Some projects may turn out to be too big and ambitious to finish in just one year. The Fellows Program is here to help you along the journey.
There are three outcomes for the fellows program:
- In late May 2024, we will ask you to write a brief introduction of yourself and your tentative project ideas, which we will publish in our annual 2024 ICDS Annual Showcase newsletter. We will help you with any editorial support you should need.
- In October 2024, we will invite you to give a 10-30 minute presentation about your work in progress as an ICDS Fellow at the annual Disability Studies and Action Collaborative UnConference happening Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, 2024.
- By February 2025, we will ask you to write a short follow-up report on your work as a ICDS Fellow. This report will be published in our annual 2025 ICDS Annual Showcase newsletter.
Meet the 2024 ICDS Fellows Cohort
Chapi / Sharon Alfaro
she/her/ella
Hello, my name is Sharon Alfaro but I go by Chapi. My pronouns are she/her/ella. I have worked in the mental health industry for four years up to very recently and it is my biggest passion of all. This is why I decided to make my project mental health and illness related. I currently work as a phlebotomist at labcorp and am a full time mom to three fur babies. I am more than excited for this fellowship and hope I can wow everyone. My goal is not just to wow everyone, but also educate my community and fellow Latinx members
Steve Hickenbottom
he/him
I’m an educator from Seattle, Washington, working in transition skills for students with disabilities at Edmonds College. I grew up in the Ballard area of Seattle and received my bachelor’s degree in history from Western Washington University in 2008. After college I started working as a Special Education paraprofessional in the Seattle School district. Eventually I went back to school and received a Washington State Teaching Certificate in Special Education and taught in the Seattle and Shoreline School districts before moving to Edmonds College in 2023. In my role at Edmonds College I work to support students developing self advocacy and workplace readiness skills as they transition from high school to college/work. I love working with my students and seeing them discover their strengths and passions!
In my free time I enjoy spending time outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, particularly the North Cascades. I love exploring new places and meeting new people along the way. In the ICDS Fellowship I’m excited to explore ways to expand disability services to historically underserved populations through outreach and education. Access to services should not depend on an individual’s income or circumstances and I’m passionate about finding ways to expand access to local and state resources for people with disabilities.
Alexander Jones
he/him
Alexander Jones, the Accessibility Specialist at Woodland Park Zoo focuses on all aspects of accessibility as it intersects with the guest, staff, and volunteer experience. He implemented The Guest Inclusion Program, a grant funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services focused on creating inclusive informal programming across the zoo based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning. Working in the field of accessibility for over 9 years he brings a diverse perspective with both lived experience identifying as an individual with disabilities, a background in ADA compliance, Web Accessibility, a human design-centered approach, and adaptive therapeutic recreation. Alexander currently serves on the Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium as a steering committee member. While much of his work has been in the space of accessibility he is excited to dig deeper into disability justice in the fellowship at Western Washington University. He hopes this work will help create a deeper impact amplifying more disabled voices.
Getting Involved
Fellows: How to apply to the ICDS Fellows Program
Applications open on Friday March 01, 2024, and are due by 11:59 pm on Monday, April 01, 2024. The application form is at the bottom of this page. Finalists will be contacted for callback interviews in the first half of April.
How to become a Project Mentor for the ICDS Fellows Program
Fellows partner with ICDS Fellows Mentors, who are faculty, staff, or community member mentors with expertise or experience in disability scholarship and/or advocacy. Mentors meet with Fellows to discuss their projects and offer support. Project Mentors are compensated for each mentorship session.
If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please contact icds@wwu.edu so that the ICDS co-directors can follow-up with your questions and set up a phone call or Zoom meeting.
Contact us
To reach the ICDS Fellows Program team with questions, please address emails to both of the following email addresses: icds@wwu.edu and icds.fellows.program@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com.
Institute for Critical Disability Studies Fellows Application
Applications for the ICDS Fellows Program 2024 Cohort has closed.
Please check back next year for the 2025 cohort!
Application deadline: 11:59 pm, Monday, April 01, 2024