Carrie Greenwood – Then & Now…Champion of disability pride and advocacy

At one time, there was a shy little girl named Carrie who was told that she needed to better advocate for herself, however, she was too young to understand what that meant fully. Now, decades later, she uses her voice and life experiences to empower others living with disabilities across Kansas and the nation.

Born with Arthrogryposis, a rare, congenital condition (occurs in 1 in 3,000 live births), Carrie has contractures (or stiffness) and weakness affecting the bones, joints, and muscles in her arms, legs, and other parts of her body. Attending Capper Foundation’s inclusive Kidlink Preschool & Childcare Program and then Kindergarten (USD 501 had academic classrooms at Capper from 1959 to 1996) while concurrently receiving occupational and physical therapy helped shape Carrie into the person she has become, “Looking back at my time as a student at Capper, it taught me to have disability pride, embrace my differences and gave me such a great foundation for life.”

Right after graduating from Shawnee Heights High School in 2001, Carrie had the opportunity to participate in the first-ever Kansas Youth Leadership Forum (KYLF), a motivational five-day event for a small group of high school juniors and seniors with disabilities. “KYLF changed my life as it showed me what advocacy is, why it’s important, helped grow my confidence, and inspired me to be an advocate and a role model, especially for youth and women,” shared Carrie. In 2004, she became an independent delegate serving as the first Ms. Wheelchair Kansas titleholder. Since then, she has continued to build up and lead Ms. Wheelchair Kansas and Little Miss Wheelchair Kansas programs in a volunteer capacity.

After earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in Design Technology from Washburn University, Carrie’s passion for promoting diversity, empowerment, and education ultimately led her to work for the Kansas Youth Empowerment Academy (KYEA) since it opened as a non-profit in 2005. In her role as Program Coordinator, she now helps oversee the annual KYLF event and other programs among other duties. Carrie has spoken to over 500 groups about disability-related and empowerment topics.

Outside of work and volunteering, Carrie proudly owns her own home and vehicle both modified to meet her needs – giving her as much independence as possible. In the future, she plans to keep being a disability advocate and educator with hopes of getting married and having a family. “I believe in the saying ‘Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.’ We choose every day what kind of life we are going to live, and what attitude we are going to have…I choose to be positive, live my life to the fullest no matter what, and know that despite the challenges this is who I was meant to be.”

With your support, Capper Foundation can continue to help individuals build their abilities so that they can live a fulfilled life pursuing their passions, hopes, and dreams like Carrie.

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