LinkedIn Top Voices in Disability Advocacy: The 12 creators to follow

The 2022 LinkedIn Top Voices in Disability Advocacy highlights 12 must-follow thought leaders who are elevating conversations about accessibility, neurodiversity and inclusivity in their communities and organizations.

About 40% of people with disabilities were laid off or furloughed across the world from January to March 2020 due the pandemic, according to some estimates. While the percentage of workers with disabilities in the U.S. has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the advent of remote and hybrid work is presenting both new challenges and opportunities across the community. On one hand, removing barriers through flexible work options has helped accommodate more people and make roles more accessible. On the other hand, for the one in four U.S. adults living with a disability, remote work has made it harder to express their true selves, as well as introduced unintended inequities among distributed teams.

Today, LinkedIn News is debuting our Top Voices in Disability Advocacy — 12 thought leaders covering what you need to know about prioritizing accessibility for disabled and neurodiverse individuals in the workplace and beyond. These creators are showing how misconceptions about disabilities can feed into negative stereotypes, ways that tokenism may actually do more harm than good and why inclusion is a competitive advantage. Check out and follow the creators that speak to your interests and stay updated on their latest insights in your LinkedIn feed.

While this is our latest Top Voices list, it joins a family of features highlighting creators in areas ranging from mental health to gender equity. All Top Voices lists are editorially curated by the LinkedIn News team and highlight the creators to follow who are writing and sharing about today’s important workplace, career and industry topics. You can find more about how we compiled the list and who is eligible to be a Top Voice at the bottom of this article.

Check out this year’s #LinkedInTopVoices in Disability Advocacy — and follow them to stay plugged into the conversation.

Honorees are listed in alphabetical order. Reporting by Josh M. Carney.

What they talk about: Davis raises awareness about the experiences of individuals with disabilities through videos that highlight everything from the struggles of parenting kids with ADHD to ways of showing support for the autistic community. The neurodivergent video producer describes the discrimination he’s faced in the workplace to raise awareness and explain how to create more accessible practices. Davis sparks conversations about how to effectively represent marginalized communities and why neurodiversity can be an asset.

👉 See more of Jeremy Andrew Davis’ content

What she talks about: When Cat-Wells lost her job due to her disability, she founded a talent agency for deaf and disabled creators to break down biases. She explains why authentic representation matters and how portraying people with disabilities only as inspirational can be harmful. Cat-Wells outlines ways that allies can step up during Disability Pride Month and beyond by elevating inclusive dialogues through language, social media and more. She’s even optimistic about disability representation in the metaverse.

👉 See more of Keely Cat-Wells’ content

What she talks about: Evans makes the business case for why everyone benefits from accessibility as she sparks critical conversations about how to de-stigmatize and create new opportunities in the workplace for people with disabilities. As an accessibility consultant and deaf person, she maps out ways to better caption videos across a variety of platforms and explains why some accessibility trends can actually be a step backward. Evans encourages others to advocate for consistent “progress over perfection” to ensure equal access for people with disabilities.

👉 See more of Meryl Evans’ content

What he talks about: Farbstein, an inclusion strategist with metatropic dysplasia (a rare form of dwarfism), has turned his life story and battles with cyberbullying into an empowering message about self-love. He talks about  how authentic conversations can move people to make a difference and calls attention to companies who use the disability community to appear inclusive without making meaningful changes. Every voice matters, and Farbstein encourages fellow Gen Zers to be the change that they aren’t seeing.

👉 See more of Brandon Farbstein’s content

What she talks about: Girma advocates for greater inclusion of people with disabilities as she calls attention to dehumanizing terms that can limit the community’s equal access to careers. From a variety of ways that teachers can eliminate barriers for disabled students to the characteristics of accessible stories, the deafblind disability justice lawyer shows how small, meaningful changes can make a big difference. Girma will never tell a disabled person to “just work harder,” because it’s employers who need to take on the responsibility of accessibility.

👉 See more of Haben Girma’s content

What she talks about: “Disabled and neurodivergent employees, when valued and supported, strengthen the culture, creativity and bottom line,” Harris says. As the founder of a non-profit supporting people with disabilities, she outlines ways to improve the experience of disabled workers with concise lessons that range from ways for HR leaders to support accommodation requests to advice for working with colleagues with autism. Harris explains why it's imperative that disabled employees are not treated less than after requesting accommodations, because identities should not need to be hidden to achieve professional success.

👉 See more of Julie Harris’ content

What he talks about: It’s critical for businesses to have a disability-inclusive strategy, Honick notes as he highlights the cost of excluding the community from the workforce. He digs into why the unemployment gap among the disability community continues to widen, explains how hiring discrimination limits workers and outlines ways that tokensim can do more harm than good. Honick, a disability advocate with cerebral palsy, also highlights the continued threat the pandemic poses to his community and why equal access to medical care remains a barrier for disabled people.

👉 See more of Ryan Honick’s content

What she talks about: Ladau began educating children about her life with a physical disability at the age of 10 on Sesame Street, and she continues to advocate for her community as an activist and the author of “Demystifying Disability.” She opens up about the complicated weight of Disability Pride Month, the threat that she and other disabled individuals have faced during emergencies and why terms that people choose to describe their disability are deeply personal. Ladau encourages a deeper understanding of disabilities as an identity and shares her journey in fostering more inclusive communities.

👉 See more of Emily Ladau’s content

What she talks about: Lory Hector, an autism and neurodiversity consultant, shares her experience of being diagnosed with autism late in life and how her invisible disability has shaped the way she advocates for herself and her needs. She wants to highlight the ways that autistic adults can thrive and is documenting her move across the country with her neurodivergent partner to show that “actually autistic humans can do hard things.” Lory Hector opens up about the struggles she’s faced and condenses vulnerable experiences into lessons for other autistic adults. 

👉 See more of Becca Lory Hector’s content

What she talks about: “Disability inclusion is not charity or compliance,” Rivera says, “it’s a competitive advantage.” As a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, she shows how to prioritize accessibility from within an organization and create a workplace culture that prioritizes all employees. Rivera, who is hard of hearing and blind, openly discusses the biases she’s faced throughout her life as she sparks conversations about how everything from travel to meetings can be more accessible.

👉 See more of Catarina Rivera’s content

What she talks about: Trevonne, a fashion accessibility consultant, focuses on ways to make fashion more accessible for blind people as she advocates for equal representation of workers with disabilities across the industry. She emphasizes the need for authentic representation of disabled people through her roles as an actress and highlights how misconceptions about her blindness can feed into negative stereotypes. Trevonne highlights the resiliency of her community and shares how she finds strength in her journey as a disabled Black woman.

👉 See more of Natalie Trevonne’s content

What she talks about: Yu’s openness about her disability doesn’t make her feel brave, it makes her feel liberated — and she’s focused on increasing the visibility of her community. She highlights why accessibility cannot be an afterthought, and through her work as a social impact entrepreneur and disability advocate, she encourages others to show up in their communities to prioritize inclusivity. Yu emphasizes why representation matters and how to celebrate disability culture.

👉 See more of Tiffany A. Yu’s content

How we compile the list

Top Voices is a series of lists that have been editorially curated by the LinkedIn News team, with the goal of highlighting creators to follow who are covering the chosen segments and/or topics. To compile each list, editors consider each individual’s content on LinkedIn. Specifically: Are they covering the topic at hand on a regular basis? Are their contributions insightful, conversational and timely? Have they built up and engaged with their communities? Do they seek to give and get help vs. being self-promotional? We aim to highlight a diverse set of voices, so that the list reflects the world we live and work in today. 

Who is eligible

Any LinkedIn member who shares content and drives professional conversations on the platform is eligible to be a Top Voice, with the exception of LinkedIn and Microsoft employees, members who have violated LinkedIn’s User Agreement, including our Professional Community Policies, or individuals currently running in an election for an executive, legislative or judicial position.

Top Voices may include individuals who are a part of the LinkedIn Influencer (invite-only) or the Creator Accelerator (application-based) programs. However, being a part of either does not automatically boost a member’s chance of being a Top Voice, nor is it a requirement or prerequisite for success on the platform. 

Interested in building your audience on LinkedIn? 

New voices emerge every year — and there’s nothing stopping you from turning your own ideas into powerful conversations. Try creating a post to share your expertise or thoughts on the latest trending news, and you may be surprised at the community you find. If you’re struggling with where to start, follow our LinkedIn for Creators page for content inspiration, tips, news, education and more. And if you’d like to recommend someone for a future Top Voices list, let us know in the comments (just be sure to tag them and let us know why you love following them). We’re always looking for new individuals to highlight.

Who would you recommend for a future LinkedIn Top Voices list? Let us know in the comments section below by tagging them and sharing why you enjoy following them.