Born and raised in San Diego, CA, Azucena is a self-advocate with Cerebral Palsy and a communications professional with over 10 years of experience in Communications/Public Relations.
She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who did not speak English at the time they received Azucena's diagnosis, which left them with many questions but very few resources in Spanish to understand how this diagnosis would affect her in the future. Thanks to this, Azucena learned the importance of having resources available in multiple languages, and she learned to advocate for herself and others with disabilities from an early age. Growing up, she became keenly aware of the beauty, barriers, and challenges of having a developmental disability in a world that has not always been welcoming to her needs and those of others with disabilities.
This insight and first-hand experience motivate her to find policy solutions that address the systemic challenges that people with disabilities face when trying to access housing, employment, and other resources.
Azucena graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communications and Political Science from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Over the span of her 10+ year career she has worked with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NBC, SEIU California State Council and the Center for Policy Initiatives (CPI) in San Diego.
She is a very active member of her community and board member of organizations such as the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) and California Policy Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (CPCIDD)
In her free time, Azucena enjoys reading, walking, taking photos, traveling, spending time with her parents and hosting her podcast ParĂĄlisis Cerebral Respuestas (Cerebral Palsy Answers) where she interviews doctors and top specialists in the field of CP in Spanish to raise awareness about Cerebral Palsy among the Spanish speaking community. Above all, she tries her best to live by her motto: "What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others remains immortal.
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My Life Without Limits is a podcast by Cerebral Palsy Alberta
Music from Soundstripe: Astro Jetson by Mikey Geiger
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Carlos is a Hispanic male with cerebral palsy. He has short dark hair, dark eyes, some facial goatee hair, and uses crutches/canes to help him walk.
Leah is a white female with shoulder length brown hair, freckles, green eyes, wears glasses and is able bodied.
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lison@cpalberta.com for any questions!
We acknowledge that what we call Alberta is the traditional and ancestral territory of many peoples, presently subject to Treaties 6, 7, and 8. Namely: the Blackfoot Confederacy â Kainai, Piikani, and Siksika â the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Stoney Nakoda, and the Tsuu Tâina Nation and the MĂ©tis People of Alberta. This includes the MĂ©tis Settlements and the Six Regions of the MĂ©tis Nation of Alberta within the historical Northwest Metis Homeland. We acknowledge the many First Nations, MĂ©tis and Inuit who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations. We are grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before us. We make this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to those whose territory we reside on or are visiting.
