Page 6 - Celebrating Disability Inclusion: The 30th Anniversary of the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Celebrating Disability Inclusion:

The 30th Anniversary of the Passage of the

Americans with Disabilities Act

Andrea Dalzell, BSN, RN
The Seated Nurse

Andrea Dalzell is the first registered professional nurse who uses a
wheelchair and successfully matriculated through a school of
nursing in New York City and was conferred a Bachelor of Science
degree in Nursing. Andrea completed her degree at the College of
Staten Island majoring in neuroscience, biology and nursing. She is
also a pioneering activist for people with disabilities. Andrea is a
force to be reckoned with, and has emerged victorious against all
the obstacles in her path. Transverse Myelitis left her paralyzed at
the age of 12, but she did not allow her disability to become or
define her. As an advocate and activist for the rights of people with
disabilities, she is the recipient of various awards. She was awarded
CUNY’s Emerging Leader of The Year Award and also received the
Cindy Loo Disability Rights Advocate Award in 2015. Aside from
juggling her career as a school nurse, she finds the time to travel
and spread awareness for issues that affect people with disabilities
such as health, transportation, and accessibility- amongst many
more. Most recently, Andrea has been a frontline nurse in NYC
taking care of patients with COVID-19.

Andrea was crowned Ms. Wheelchair New York 2015, and utilized
her title and platform, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Access" to
advocate change.

Kelly M. Bower, PhD, MSN/MPH, RN, APHN-BC
Assistant Professor and Chair Faculty
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

Kelly Bower’s research and her public health nursing practice focus
on the elimination of racial disparities in women’s health. Using a
lens of social justice, she aims to understand why these disparities
exist and to develop interventions to reverse them. Her research
examines the role of racism and respectful maternity care in
maternal and child health outcomes. She also studies women’s
involvement in maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting
programs and the impact childhood trauma has on involvement.
Dr. Bower applies a community-engaged approach to her research
that comes from her 18 years of experience practicing as a public
health nurse in Baltimore, currently with the Baltimore City Health
Department and the B’More for Healthy Babies Initiative. She has
received funding from the Johns Hopkins Clinical Research
Scholars (NIH KL2) program and the Johns Hopkins Urban Health
Institute. She earned her PhD from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health.
#ADA30 @JHUNursing