Tiffany Yu is an American entrepreneur and disability rights advocate who founded Diversability, which is a social enterprise to advocate for equality for people with disabilities.

Tiffany Yu
Tiffany Yu (2018)
Born1988 (age 35–36)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materGeorgetown University

Early life and education edit

Yu was raised in Bethesda, Maryland. At age nine, she became disabled in a car accident that left her with a permanent brachial plexus injury.[1][2] The accident also resulted in the death of her father. As a result of the accident, Yu developed post-traumatic stress disorder.[3]

Yu graduated from Georgetown College at Georgetown University in 2010.[4]

Activism edit

In 2009, while studying at Georgetown University, Yu founded Diversability, a social enterprise whose mission is to change the stigma surrounding disabilities and create community.[5] After graduation from Georgetown, Yu continued to run Diversability as she worked at companies including Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, and Revolt (TV network),[6] and in 2016, she won the Guardian's "My Side Hustle Wins" contest for her work with Diversability.[1]

Yu serves on the Leadership Committee for the Paul K. Longmore Institute's Disability Cultural Center in San Francisco.[7] She was also awarded the Bell Greve Award from the National Rehabilitation Association in 2015.[8] Yu was a speaker at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos as part of the "We Need to Talk About" series and named a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.[9][10] She is also a three-time TEDx speaker.[11]

Yu was the 2019 California Miss Amazing Queen.[12] In 2021, she donated $50,000 to Georgetown University to launch an endowment fund for disability inclusion-related initiatives and disability advocacy.[13] Yu also engages in social media activism on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram.[11]

Yu is also the founder of the Disability chapter of Awesome Foundation.[12]

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Shenolikar, Sachin (2016-02-04). "Childhood tragedy leads to a side hustler's inspiring community project". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  2. ^ Galic, Bojana (2017-11-07). "Meet the Woman Changing the Way We Talk About Disability". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  3. ^ Miranda, Gabriela (2021-07-02). "A chance to 'amplify one another': What is Disability Pride Month?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  4. ^ "Alumna Continues Advocacy on Campus for Those with Disabilities". Georgetown College. 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  5. ^ "What We Do". Diversability. Archived from the original on 2019-03-10. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  6. ^ Beck, Molly Ford. "Tiffany Yu Talks REVOLT Media & TV and Diversability". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  7. ^ "Meet the Disability Cultural Center Leadership Committee! | Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability". longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  8. ^ "Past Award Winners". National Rehabilitation Association. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  9. ^ Karaian, Jason (January 21, 2018). "Eight things Davos thinks "we need to talk about"". Quartz. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  10. ^ "Authors". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  11. ^ a b Vargas, Chanel (2021-05-12). ""Ending Discrimination Begins With Self-Reflection": Tiffany Yu on Democratizing Visibility". POPSUGAR Fitness. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  12. ^ a b Niver, Lisa (2020-07-03). "We Heart: These Seven Feminist Efforts to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 - Ms. Magazine". Ms Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  13. ^ Hawkinson, Katie (2021-07-14). "Georgetown Launches Endowment to Support Disability Initiatives on Campus". The Hoya. Retrieved 2021-07-24.