About Us
YEN Youth Bios
YEN Adult Ally Bios
YETI Family Members
- Mistie Clementich
- Debra Pickens
- Dawn Shumbo
- Dawn Snow
- Janet Uher

























from Cleveland, Ohio
Education: Bachelors in Marketing Communications and Disability Studies from the University of Toledo.
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
I serve as a: member of NTACT:C Youth Engagement Transition Initiative (YETI), Youth Engagement Expert for Transition Discoveries, active youth leader and founding council member of the Charcot Marie Tooth Association (CMTA), a Youth Engagement Consultant for the Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network (PYLN), a counselor at Camp Footprint, and a Peer Network Intern for the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) - Youth Member, Conference Committee.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
YEN is a cultivation of what can happen when you let young people use their talents, passions, and hard work to create. YEN has been not only a life mission for all of us, but has also given me some of the greatest friends I could have ever asked for. I feel so lucky to not only work alongside this team, but have them in my corner moving forward. I can’t wait to see where our movement together goes!
What would you like to share with everyone about your disability journey?
I just recently made a website to capture my disability experience: https://www.erinblack.net/

from Minot, North Dakota
Education: High school education.
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
I am a youth representative for the ND POV program.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
The YEN project is a great example of a youth organization for youth being led by the youth.
What would you like to share with everyone about your disability journey?
I am more than my disability. Being a self advocate has been important over the years to ensure I received the services needed.

Education: Ivy Tech Community College
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
Being a part of YETI is my first experience in disability advocacy and leadership. My parents were sent information about an event in Missouri and I said yes to the opportunity. I am glad I said yes.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
It has given me the chance to meet a lot of great people. It has helped me to realize that I am not the only person with a hidden disability. I have met more people and made more friends then I thought I ever would. Having the chance to contribute to a national project is still shocking to me, but I love that I get the opportunity.
A fun fact about yourself: Never judge a book by its cover. Everyone’s lived experience is theirs and they all have a story to tell.

Where are you from? Originally from Richmond, Virginia; moved to Goochland County, Virginia in 2017
Education: J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
Youth Empowerment Transition Council, ALLY (A Life Like Yours) Alliance, Virginia LEND-- leadership education in neurodevelopmental disabilities through VCU, BIRDS through VCU, the Inclusion Project through VCU, Youth meetings with blind youth and young adults, I was in a program through the Virginia Department of the Blind and Vision Impaired DBVI called Project Rise, I was in another program for the blind and visually impaired run partially through VCu and the Department of the Blind.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
I've made so many friends in YEN I cannot even count! YEN makes me feel empowered and makes me want to advocate even more! I really want to help our Virginia NTACT learn how to be more engaging with youth and young adults.
A fun fact about yourself:
I'm blind, on the autism spectrum, have a brain injury and seizures. I get overstimulated if there's too much activity and sometimes I need sensory breaks. I'm a very picky eater.

A Program Coordinator for Portfolio Resident Services at Parks Edge Apartments in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he develops inclusive programs that foster empowerment, connection, and lifelong learning for residents of all ages. A dedicated disability advocate and leader, Cesar has been actively involved with Virginia's nationally recognized I'm Determined Project, where he has supported youth leadership, self-advocacy, and self-determination efforts for young people with disabilities across the state. He has also served in numerous leadership and advisory roles, including the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities and the Individual and Family Support Program (IFSP) Regional Council.
Living with Cerebral Palsy, Cesar brings a powerful lived perspective to his advocacy and leadership, helping others recognize that disability is not a limitation but an opportunity to lead, influence change, and build stronger communities. He is currently pursuing an Associate's Degree in Biblical Studies through Liberty University and is passionate about combining faith, service, and advocacy to inspire youth and young adults with disabilities to pursue lives of purpose, independence, and leadership.


Education: Delgado Community College
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
I am sitting on the board with People First NOLA, I'm also a LaCAN member I am a speaker also.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
The YEN project means lot to me. Because we can help others out their in the community. Who doesn't have all the resources on how this project can help them in their lives and in others' lives. The goal is to continue making our community better and greater.



Education: B.A. Communications Studies, Minor Journalism
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
Billy is a graduate of UNC-Charlotte and has a B.A. in Communication Studies and minor in Journalism. He served as the President of the Student Advisory Board for Disability Services at UNC-Charlotte. He has worked as an Intern at the NC Division of Services for the Blind and Seacrest Studios at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC. He also worked as the Youth Outreach Coordinator for the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center (ECAC). Billy has traveled to all 50 United States. He was born with a condition called Norrie’s Disease and is totally Blind with hearing loss.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
Being part of YEN has reminded me that no matter how different our experiences, perspectives and approaches, so much change can happen when we come together with a common goal in mind.
What would you like to share with everyone about your disability journey?
With my fellow self advocates and our adult allies who supported us it is great to know that you are never alone in this journey.


Connecticut
Education: I will be graduating in 2025 from CT State Community College with my Associates in Communications.
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
I serve as a: member of Youth Engagement Transition Initiative (YETI), board member for the national Youth As Self Advocates (YASA), member of the Connecticut Youth Advisory Board, member at large for the State of Connecticut Special Advisory Council for Special Education and intern at the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
Being part of YEN has been an amazing experience. It allows youth and young adults with different abilities to make decisions about their future and where they want to go. It supports us as individuals and creates a platform for us to have a voice and feel heard. Through this project we are able to share our experiences and use those experiences to create resources that can be used by all. As an added bonus, I've had the opportunity to become friends with an amazing group of individuals that have so much to offer. It's been life changing!
What would you like to share with everyone about your disability journey?
As a brain injury survivor, my disability was acquired. I was thrown into a world that wasn't familiar to me. But that world opened up so many opportunities and allowed me to meet so many amazing people. I'm so happy to be part of projects like this that support and lift up people with different abilities.

Education: I have a B.A. in Psychology from Chico State University and
my goal is a masters degree
Two disability advocacy accomplishments are:
I was Invited to speak to the CA Advisory Commission on Special Education as a contributor in October 2022 and I was invited to write a life story article, published in The Special EDge Newsletter in June 2022.
A fun fact about yourself: My hobby is traveling.

Education: M.P.H. in health behavior and health education from University of Michigan
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
Serve as a young adult consultant for Michigan Children's Special Health Care Services, American Academy of Pediatrics, Child Neurology Foundation, Michigan Interagency Transition Team, and previously with the American Institutes for Research, National Network for Advancing Systems of Services for Children and Youth with Special Needs, Human Resources and Services Administration, and Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
To me, the YEN project means collaborating to increase the opportunities for youth with disabilities to utilize their skills to act as an advocate and make a difference.




Christie Cyktor is the Youth Training and Leadership Coordinator for the PEAL Center, Pennsylvania’s Parent Training and Information Center. She holds a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from the University of Pittsburgh and currently provides virtual school-based OT services to K–12 students attending cyber charter schools.
Christie’s lived experience as a power wheelchair user with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita deeply informs her advocacy and professional work. She is committed to disability justice and believes that youth with disabilities should be seen, heard, and valued as leaders in their own right.
Off the clock, Christie can usually be found curled up with a good book, a cup of tea, and a lit candle, experimenting in the kitchen with new baking recipes, or practicing her latest crochet stitches. Proudly in her grandma era (and loving every minute of it), she brings both heart and humor to everything she does.




Pittsburgh, PA
Education: BA, MDiv.
List all your involvement with youth engagement/disability advocacy work:
Worked for the PEAL Center and as a Youth Engagement Specialist for the PA Bureau of Special Education, and self-advocate.
What does the YEN project mean to you?
The YEN Project is a great opportunity for self advocates to help shape a better world than the one we experienced.
What would you like to share with everyone about your disability journey?
My experience living with a visual difference and my faith has become the foundation of my advocacy.

