Ashley Lauren Fisher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 23, 1975 Montville, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Model Restaurateur |
| Years active | 1998–present |
Ashley Lauren Fisher (born February 23, 1975, Montville, New Jersey) is an American model, co-founder and chairwoman of Discovery Through Design, [1] a non-profit organization that creates awareness and raises funds for disabled women's health initiatives and spinal cord research, [2] and a former actress, and restaurateur. [3]
Fisher was born and raised in Montville, New Jersey, and was inducted into the Montville Township High School Hall of Fame in 2011. [4] She has performed in Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall, on MTV, and modeled with NYC agencies. [5] Her mother is originally from England and her father from Jamaica; they met in London prior to their move to the U.S. Fisher has one brother. [6] [7]
In 1998, she and her boyfriend Larry ran an upscale Italian restaurant in New Jersey called Pazzo Pazzo. [8]
On July 12, 1998, Fisher experienced a spinal cord injury after diving into shallow water near the Jersey Shore. [3] She became a tetraplegic. [8]
With other women, Fisher co-founded Discovery Through Design which has raised almost a million dollars for spinal cord research. [9] [10] [11] She is also an organizer of Rolling with Style, a fashion show for women with disabilities. [12]
The Morris County (New Jersey) Chamber of Commerce named Fisher "Female Legend of Morris County" in 2009. [13] She gave the keynote address at DiscoverAbility, the New Jersey Governor's Conference on Employment for People with Disabilities. [14]
Montville is a township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,450, an increase of 922 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 21,528, which in turn reflected an increase of 689 (+3.3%) from the 20,839 counted in the 2000 census.
Richard Marvin Hansen is a Canadian track and field athlete, activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury and became a paraplegic. Hansen is most famous for his Man in Motion World Tour, in which he circled the globe in a wheelchair to raise funds for charity. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He was one of the final torchbearers in the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was profiled and spoke during the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony.
Montville Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Montville Township, in suburban Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school was founded in 1971 and serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Montville Township School District. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1975.
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders.
The Paralyzed Veterans of America was established in 1946 with the goal of serving the needs of disabled veterans. The organization was created to assist members, such as veterans of the armed forces living with spinal cord injuries or diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in living with increased independence and dignity.
Spinal Cord Injury BC is a not-for-profit organization that helps people with spinal cord injuries and related injuries adjust, adapt and thrive by providing answers, information and community experiences in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Lauren Anne English is an American swimmer who represented the United States at the Pan Pacific Championships (2006), the World University Games (2007) and the Junior Pan Pacific Games (2005). English was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey and resides in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. She set the United States Open Record in the 50 Meter Backstroke. She swam collegiately for the University of Georgia. Upon her retirement from higher level swimming she enrolled at New York University in nursing and later received a master's degree as an advanced practice nurse from Seton Hall University. She is now a Director of Patient Care at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
Christopher Voelker was an American photographer.
The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, organized by the International Paralympic Committee. Medals are awarded in every event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
Kessler Foundation, established in 1985, is a nonprofit in the field of rehabilitation research for people with disabilities. Kessler Foundation has its roots in the Kessler Institute, founded in 1949 to improve medical outcomes and employment of people disabled by brain or spinal injury. Kessler Foundation conducts rehabilitation research with the goal of increasing function for cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord.
New Mobility, launched in 1989, is a United States-based magazine for active wheelchair users. This monthly publication covers health, disability rights, adaptive technology and lifestyle topics such as recreation, travel, the arts, relationships, sexuality, parenting, employment and home modification. It also profiles successful wheelchair users, including John Hockenberry, Christopher Voelker, Brooke Ellison, Chantal Petitclerc and the late Christopher Reeve. New Mobility, received an Utne Independent Press Award for Lifestyle Coverage in 2006.
United Spinal Association is a nonprofit membership, disability rights and veterans service organization in the United States. It was formed in 1946 as Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association by a group of paralyzed World War II veterans from New York City.
The Kennedy Krieger Institute is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, Johns Hopkins affiliate located in Baltimore, Maryland, that provides in-patient and out-patient medical care, community services, and school-based programs for children and adolescents with learning disabilities, as well as disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal system. The Institute provides services for children with developmental concerns mild to severe and is involved in research of various disorders, including new interventions and earlier diagnosis.
The QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA) was established in 1978 as a non-profit organisation which strives to prevent spinal cord injury through high-profile information campaigns, as well as to protect and promote the interests of people with mobility impairments through lobbying and advocacy.
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, part of Jefferson Health, founded in 1958, is a 96-bed specialty medical rehabilitation hospital providing physical and cognitive rehabilitation services. Magee's flagship facility is located in Center City Philadelphia. In addition to the main campus that offers comprehensive services for spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, orthopaedic replacement, amputation, pain management and work injury, Magee provides an expanding outpatient network serving the surrounding communities.
The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association was the peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or vision impairment in the Australian state of Queensland.
Wheelchair curling classification is the disability classification system for wheelchair curling, which is governed by the World Curling Federation. Only curlers with lower limb mobility problems are allowed to compete.
Wheelchair sport classification is a system designed to allow fair competition between people of different disabilities, and minimize the impact of a person's specific disability on the outcome of a competition. Wheelchair sports is associated with spinal cord injuries, and includes a number of different types of disabilities including paraplegia, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida. The disability must meet minimal body function impairment requirements. Wheelchair sport and sport for people with spinal cord injuries is often based on the location of lesions on the spinal cord and their association with physical disability and functionality.
Dinesh Palipana is an Australian doctor, lawyer, scientist and disability advocate. He is the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland, Australia. He is the second person with quadriplegia to graduate as a doctor in Australia and the first with spinal cord injury.
Scott Wiley Fedor is a motivational speaker, author, and disability advocate.