Trevon Jenifer was born without limbs due to a rare disease called Congenital Phocomelia. He has 3 brothers (2 older, 1 younger) and 1 older sister. He is the only one with a disability. Trevon’s biological father left him and his mother when he saw that Trevon did not have legs. When Trevon was 4 years old, his stepdad (Eric Brown) came into his life and helped raise him. All of Trevon’s siblings were participating in sports, so Eric found an organization that offered Wheelchair Track and Wheelchair Basketball. Trevon broke and still holds the records in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 meter races for Wheelchair Track in the U11 and U14 age groups. He competed in Wheelchair Track and Basketball until the age of 12, he then changed Schools. Trevon grew up in a high crime area, where he could not play outside or at the playgrounds due to broken glass and violence. When he was 15 years old, his stepdad moved them to the country. and competed in Wrestling his junior and senior year in High School. His senior year he finished 3rd in the State of Maryland and had a record of 32-8. Trevon was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006.  In 2006, Trevon wrote an autobiography about his life called, From the Ground Up.  

From 2006-2011, Trevon attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where earned his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. He was a member of the Edinboro University Wheelchair Basketball Team, where he went from being the 8th man on an 8 man roster to the best player on the Team by 2009. He was a 2x All-American (2010 and 2011) and Captain from 2009-2011. Trevon made his first Team USA appearance in 2009 when he was on the U23 Team that took Gold in Junior World’s Championship. He then made the Men’s National Team in 2010 and has been a member ever since. He has won Gold in the Parapan American Games in 2011 (Guadalajara, Mexico) and 2015 (Toronto, Canada). Trevon won two Silver in the Worlds Championship Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea and in Hamburg, Germany in 2018. He is a 2X Paralympic medalist, winning a Bronze Medal in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London (this was the first time they medaled in 12 years) and Gold Medalist in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio (this was the first time in 28 years that they won Gold). In 2013-2015, Trevon played professional Wheelchair Basketball in the south of France. 

In October of 2015, Trevon became a father to a baby girl named Saraeya.  While being a fulltime father, Trevon is also an active member in his community, where volunteers as an assistant coach for the Edinboro University Wheelchair Basketball Team. He does countless demonstrations and motivational speeches, for schools (elementary and up), ADA, FBI, YMCA, etc. all over the United States, speaking on topics that cover perseverance, Paralympic movement, bullying and adaptive/disability awareness.  

In this interview, with our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Trevon shares his story of determination, explains Congenital Phocomelia, and his love for sports. Trevon also discusses employment opportunities for the differently abled and his position at the U.S Secret Service as a Personnel Security Specialist in the Security Management Division. When Trevon is not playing, working, or spending time with family, he continues to inspire others through motivational speaking. “You have to find what motivates you, as it's different for every person. We have to understand why it motivates us, so we don't lose our focus while attempting to achieve our goals. Continue to fight for it,” Trevon states.

Mia Shaikewitz is a television personality and spokesperson for disability advocacy. In October of 1993, Mia Schaikewitz was 15 years old and a rising star on her high school swim team. She was training for a new season when suddenly one evening, she found herself unable to move her legs. Within twelve hours, doctors discovered that a Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) had ruptured in her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. With resilient determination and a positive attitude, she moved forward to pursue her life goals. 

Mia finished high school and then attended the University of Florida where she excelled socially and academically. She became the first woman in a wheelchair at the school to rush and pledge a sorority and graduated with top honors in Media Production. After college, Mia moved to Los Angeles where she worked in the recording industry; Mia later developed an award-winning career in graphic design and branding.  

In 2012, Mia became one of the stars of the hit TV show Push Girls, which continues to impact audiences worldwide. The show is considered a trailblazer for breaking stereotypes about disability in Hollywood and it won the Critics’ Choice Award for “Best Reality Series” in 2013. This prompted Mia to become an advocate and prominent speaker for accurate inclusion in the media. She has been interviewed on Good Morning America, CNN, E! Entertainment, Ellen, and many other outlets.

Within her dynamic career pursuits, Mia is dedicated to raising AVM awareness and has a passion for staying physically active. She returned to her former sport of competitive swimming; Mia became the Swim Director for Angel City Sports, a leading Paralympic event. She is also a founding member of Infinite Flow — America's first professional wheelchair ballroom dance company, which now leads a global social movement for inclusive dance.

In this interview, with our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Mia shares her amazing insights on the importance of perspective, why you should never settle, and how she journaled through depression. Mia also discusses Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation and her resilience in the face of darkness, insecurity, and fear. Today, Mia continues to live by her motto, “Believing in yourself means never having to say, 'I can't'!”

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Jenni Ahtiainen, Founder & Head Designer at AIDesign and DEAFMETAL, discusses her hearing aid journey starting in 2018. Being involved with the fashion and music industry and her love for aesthetics, Jenni designed hearing aid jewelry collections for women, men, and children. The story of DEAFMETAL can be found here: The story behind DEAFMETAL® by its Designer Jenni Ahtiainen - YouTube.

Please see Jenni's photo biography below to learn more information about her work as a designer and her wearable art pieces.

Amanda Leduc is a disabled writer and author of the non-fiction book, Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability and Making Space, which was published by Coach House Books in 2020 and shortlisted for the 2020 Governor General’s Award in Non-Fiction and longlisted for the 2020 Barbellion Prize. She is also the author of the novel, The Miracles of Ordinary Men, published in 2013 by ECW Press. Her new novel, The Centaur’s Wife, is out now with Random House Canada.  

Her essays and stories have appeared across Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia, and she speaks regularly across North America on accessibility and the role of disability in storytelling. She is represented by Samantha Haywood at the Transatlantic Agency. 

Born in British Columbia, she has lived in Ontario, England, BC, and Scotland, and holds a Master in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews. Amanda has cerebral palsy and presently makes her home in Hamilton, Ontario, where she lives with a very lovable, very destructive dog and serves as the Communications and Development Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD), Canada’s first festival for diverse authors and stories. 

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Amanda unpacks the many ingrained biases lurking in classic fairy tales, while also exploring her own experience with cerebral palsy. She also discusses the pedagogy of fairy tales, disability representation, writing tips, moving space, and responsible social media use for public figures. Amanda states, “Disability isn't visited on us in response to a grand, overarching narrative plan, but rather is a lived, complex reality that reimagines the very nature of how we move through and occupy space.”

Karen Putz is a mom, international speaker, and Passion Mentor/Test Facilitator. She runs Ageless Passions, a business that provides writing, speaking and coaching services. Karen specializes in helping others unwrap their passion and create more joy, fun, and adventure in their lives. She also writes for the Chicago Tribune Local and has two blogs of her own: A Deaf Mom Shares Her World and Deaf and Hard of Hearing People at Work. 

Karen was born with normal hearing and grew up hard of hearing. She became deaf from a fall while barefoot water skiing as a teen, as she took a hard fall and instantly went from hard of hearing to deaf. Karen abandoned the sport of barefoot water skiing and took up volleyball; she began playing volleyball in deaf tournaments with her husband across the United States. Karen and her husband went on to have three children, all three children lost their hearing when they were very young. 

Karen has been featured on the TODAY Show, CNN, O magazine, MORE magazine, espnW, AARP, and the Chicago Tribune. She is also the founder and past President of Illinois Hands & Voice and is the Co-Coordinator of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infusion. Karen is the author of multiple books, including The Parenting Journey; Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and The Passionate Lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. 

At the age of 44, Karen put her feet back on the water and skied competitively for four years. She has trained with the top barefoot water skiers in the world. Karen now has learned to barefoot ski forwards, backwards, and on one foot. Her remarkable comeback story has now led Karen on a quest to barefoot water ski in all 50 states.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Karen talks about her water-skiing injury, which activated a dormant gene that caused her to lose her hearing. They also discuss what led Karen to eventually find her way back into the water and what inspires her to write and mentor. Karen also shares advice to those who have/had to confront obstacles in their lives and how others can tap into their passions. Karen states, “I believe we all have it within us to create a life of joy, purpose, and meaning. And live passionately, of course!” 

Roy Tuscany, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the High Fives Foundation, had dreams of being a professional free skier. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in mechanical engineering, he headed out west to pursue that dream. In 2006, Roy suffered a life-altering injury while skiing that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Forty-three days after Roy entered the hospital as a paraplegic, he walked out. His determination to walk again was the catalyst for the creation of the High Fives Foundation.

Roy turned the financial and community support of his own recovery into a “pay-it-forward’ adventure. In April 2008, Roy put on his first event, called High Fives, a best 540 contest at Sugar Bowl (today the event is known as Trains). The idea was conceived during a backyard brainstorming session. Following the success of the event, Tuscany launched the High Fives Non-Profit, the name deriving from his hand slapping hospital antics and the high fives thrown at the event. 

On January 19, 2009, the High Fives Foundation became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The High Fives Foundation not only funds recovery for athletes with spinal cord injuries, but also aims to provide preventative information to young athletes. Through a program called B.A.S.I.C.S. (Being Aware Safe In Critical Situations) it aims to “promote smart decision making in the mountains.” B.A.S.I.C.S. creates a documentary every year focusing on one aspect of mountain safety and streams it for free online while also touring it around the country, showing it in schools and to professionals in the industry.

In 2011, Roy was the recipient of the “Spirit Inspires” Award from Disabled Sports USA and he once held the world record for the most high-fives in a 24-hour period. Roy has relearned how to walk, ski, and surf, which is Roy’s newest thrill-seeking activity. He currently lives in Reno, Nevada with his wife, Alana Nichols, and son, Gunnar, and enjoys finding fun in everything he does.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Roy opens up about his life changing incident, the power of being vulnerable, how your biggest enemy could be looking at you in the mirror, and why it is important to celebrate your moments. Roy also discusses the High Fives Foundation and how it is cultivated on inclusiveness. Roy’s secret to connecting with others, with or without a difference, is clear; it is the simple act of a high five.

Aimee Mullins is an athlete, fashion model and activist. She also stars in the hugely successful, Emmy-nominated Netflix series Stranger Things. Aimee’s film debut was a starring role in the highly acclaimed film Cremaster 3, by contemporary artist Matthew Barney, first presented in the US at the Guggenheim Museum in 2003. The Guardian called it “one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-garde cinema.”

She continued her work with Barney in River of Fundament, an adaptation of Norman Mailer’s novel ‘Ancient Evenings’, in which she starred as Isis. Chronicling the seven stages of a soul’s journey from death to rebirth, each filmed chapter is also accompanied by a one-time only live performance. The work, a six-hour operatic epic, premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music in February 2014.

Aimee first received worldwide media attention as an athlete. Born without fibula in both legs, Aimee's medical prognosis was discouraging; she was told she would never walk and would likely spend the rest of her life using a wheelchair. In an attempt for an outside chance at independent mobility, doctors amputated both her legs below the knee on her first birthday. The decision paid off. By age two, she had learned to walk on prosthetic legs, and spent her childhood swimming, biking, skiing, playing softball and soccer with everyone else.

After graduating high school with honors, Aimee was one of three students in the US chosen for a full academic scholarship from the Department of Defense, and at age 17 became the youngest person to hold a top-secret security clearance at the Pentagon, where she worked as an intelligence analyst.

While a dean’s list student at the prestigious School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, she set her sights on making the US Team for the 1996 Atlanta Games. She enlisted the expertise of Frank Gagliano, one of the country’s most respected track coaches. Through this partnership, she became the first woman with a “disability” to compete in the NCAA, doing so on Georgetown’s nationally ranked Division I track team.

Aimee set her sights on becoming the fastest woman in the world on prosthetic legs and began to wonder why legs made for sprinting wouldn’t be modeled on those of the fastest land animal, rather than just those of a human. Working in collaboration with a cutting-edge biomedical engineer and a visionary prosthetist she went on to set World Records in the 100 meter, the 200 meter, and the long jump, outfitted with woven carbon-fiber prostheses that were modeled after the hind legs of a cheetah.

These legs, which Aimee was the first to wear, are now the international standard for amputee runners.

After a profile in Life magazine showcased her in the starting blocks at Atlanta, the world took notice. Aimee soon landed a 10-page feature in the inaugural issue of Sports Illustrated for Women, which led to her accepting numerous invitations to speak at international design conferences.

The discourse regarding aesthetic principles sparked Aimee’s interest in issues relating to body image and how fashion advertising impacted standard notions of femininity and beauty. In 1998, Aimée made her runway debut in London at the invitation of one of the world’s most celebrated fashion designers, Alexander McQueen. Walking alongside the supermodels of the world, Aimee’s groundbreaking, triumphant turn propelled her onto the magazine covers of ID and Dazed and Confused.

An influential voice in today’s culture, she is regularly invited to share her ideas at global conferences, such as the world-famous TED conferences, where she is one of their most popular speakers and was named a TED All-Star. Her talks have been translated into 41 languages and have been seen by millions of viewers worldwide.

In 2012, she was designated a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In 2017, Aimée was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame joining fellow honorees “whose leadership and achievements have changed the course of American history.”

Aimee serves on the boards of various non-profit organizations, most notably the Women’s Sports Foundation, founded by Billie Jean King, of which Aimee was elected President from 2007 to 2009. Aimee also had four years as Vice-President for the nation’s oldest non-profit employment service for persons with disabilities, ‘Just One Break’. She was the first woman on the board since the organization was founded in 1947 by Eleanor Roosevelt.  As Secretary of State in 2012, Hillary Clinton appointed her to the State Department’s ‘Council to Empower Women and Girls Through Sports’.

Aimee’s impact on modern society and her influence on future generations is undeniable. Her likeness has been immortalized in exhibits at institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the NCAA Hall of Fame, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Modern, the Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Museum, where she is honored for her contribution to sport among the “Greatest American Women of the 20th Century.” In 2017, the National Women’s Hall of Fame inducted Aimée, making her one of the youngest honorees ever to receive this distinction.  In 2018, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Northeastern University and delivered their commencement speech which garnered a standing ovation from the audience of 22,000.  In 2019, Aimee delivered the commencement speech at Concordia University and inducted Jane Fonda into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Aimee shares how she uses her medical condition to inspire others and how she has broken boundaries to become a record-breaking athlete, model and film star. Alexandra and Aimee also talk about what defines beauty, Aimee’s twelve pairs of prosthetic legs, and how her incredibly diverse career has helped her, and others re-imagine the limits of one's potential. Aimee states, “Adversity isn't an obstacle that we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It's part of our life.”