Stephanie Woodward
Pursuing Justice for All

Stephanie Woodward is president of the Disability Law Society at Syracuse University College of Law, a research assistant at the Burton Blatt Institute in Syracuse, N.Y., and volunteers for the Center for Disability Rights in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y.

She has even worked on the disability council of Sen. Tom Harkin, who authored the bill that created the American Disabilities Act (ADA).

At the young age of 23, Stephanie has undeniably accomplished many things and nothing can get in the way of her success; not even having spina bifida.

With her Q600 Power Chair from Quantum Rehab^®, Stephanie is able to take on the world and is currently completing her law degree at Syracuse University College of Law.

"I like that it really does everything," Stephanie said of her Q600. "It's not a chair that will tip over when I go in grass or hop curbs. I take it two miles to work because it's $7 to park my car and it's free to drive my chair. It also goes fast, which I enjoy very much when I'm running late to class and it can still get me there on time."

While attending St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., Stephanie studied abroad for one semester in Ireland. Many of the Irish citizens Stephanie interacted with could not believe she was studying overseas because she uses a wheelchair.

"When I came back to America, I wanted to know what people with disabilities actually do if they aren't traveling," Stephanie said.

It was that notion that inspired Stephanie to begin working as a transportation advocate part-time for the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester while attending college. In her position, Stephanie rode public buses, used the paratransit system and communicated with physically disabled riders to identify ADA compliance issues.

"I realized a lot of people don't comply with the ADA," Stephanie said. "That was really frustrating to me and made me want to become a lawyer so I can be an enforcer of the ADA."

Stephanie has completed her first year of law school at Syracuse University College of Law. She was chosen to be a member of the OUTLaw Moot Court Team, a team of three people who participate in an annual competition concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal issues. Stephanie was also recently invited to join the Moot Court Honor Society, in which members argue mock legal cases in competition with law students from other colleges.

This summer, Stephanie is completing an internship at Empire Justice, a non-profit legal organization in Rochester that helps people with disabilities get the proper legal services they need.

After completing her law degree, Stephanie hopes to work on issues surrounding the Olmstead Integration Mandate, resulting from a 1999 Supreme Court decision ruling that services to people with disabilities must be provided in as integrated of a setting as possible.

"I want to use the law to make sure transportation, businesses and housing are accessible," Stephanie said. "I'm looking to make the world more integrated and have people with disabilities more active in the world instead of being shoved to the side."

Stephanie says she relies on her Q600 to get her places and says not having it would be comparable to taking away the legs on an able-bodied person.

"I don't think I could get around and have fun without it," Stephanie said of her Q600. "I never think disability is a bad thing until I have a day without it and then I think, 'Wow, this stinks.' I feel like it's really given me independence. Even my boyfriend will notice if I take my old rickety wheelchair to the public market, no one will even talk to me. But if I take my Q600, everyone will make conversation with me. It makes me feel better as a person."