Susan E. Sygall is an American

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...

advocate and civil rights leader. She is the CEO of Mobility International USA (MIUSA), which she co-founded in 1981.

Biography

Sygall has been a wheelchair rider since the age of 18. She attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. In 1974 she co-founded the Disabled Women's Coalition at the University of California, Berkeley, with Deborah Kaplan. During her time at Berkeley she also founded a recreational sports program for students with disabilities. In 1975 she spent a year as an

exchange student A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but d ...

at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in Australia through a goodwill ambassador program of the Rotary Club. She received her B.S. degree in 1976 and earned her M.S. in therapeutic recreation from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in 1981. Sygall's experiences traveling abroad led her to co-found the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Mobility International USA with Barbara Williams in 1981. MIUSA received funding from the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bil ...

in 1995 to start the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. The organization runs an exchange program and promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities in international volunteer exchanges. Sygall won the prestigious

Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards The Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards were established to honor the legacy of the founder of the Viscardi Center, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., a leading disability rights advocate who wore prosthetic limbs. These international Awards, first conferr ...

in 2014 for her work in the disability sector. She was the recipient of a

MacArthur Foundation Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

in 2000. She was named an

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

Fellow in 2013. She has served as an editor for ''Transitions Abroad''.

References

External links

Susan Sygall
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sygall, Susan E Living people 1950s births American disability rights activists MacArthur Fellows University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Oregon alumni University of Queensland alumni Ashoka USA Fellows Ashoka Fellows