Speaker:
Cody Unser
PhD Candidate
Medical Sociology
University of New Mexico
Moderator:
Jonathan Eldredge
Professor
Department of Family Community Medicine
Learning Objectives:
After becoming paralyzed at 12 years old due to the autoimmune disorder called, Transverse Myelitis, Cody Unser along with her mother Shelley, founded The Cody Unser First Step Foundation to raise awareness, encourage medical collaboration and improve the quality of life for those afflicted with Transverse Myelitis.
Through her foundation, she established Cody’s Great Scuba Adventure, which uses scuba diving as a therapeutic tool for people living with disabilities. She is a PADI AmbassaDiver and a certified Christopher Reeve Peer Mentor. She is a research consultant for MedStar Health, writing fact sheets related to paralysis issues as well as being a part of a Podcast Series. Cody is also a committee member on the Primary Care Committee of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), aiming at educating primary care physicians on how to treat individuals with spinal cord injury.
Currently 35 years old, Cody has become a leading advocate for people living with disabilities and spends much of her time traveling across the country to deliver keynote speeches, attend medical symposia and help other grassroots organizations that have similar missions. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Redlands in California where she created her own degree called Biopolitics: The Interconnection Between Biology and Political Action in Human Health. She received her master’s in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Policy at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. She currently writes as a patient advocate for US News and World Report about everything she experiences relating to having a disability and navigating the world. She is passionate about the health care of women with disabilities and presents the issues they face at numerous University’s OBGYN Grand Rounds. Cody hopes to keep making an impact for people with disabilities.
Cody was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM and is currently a graduate student at The University of New Mexico pursuing a PhD in Medical Sociology.
Sponsored by the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Learning Objectives
During this presentation, speakers will share their:
Audrey Eakman (she/they)
MD Candidate 2026
UNM School of Medicine
AREakman@salud.unm.edu
Audrey Eakman is a Deaf first-year MD student at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. She is a member of the School of Medicine’s Rural and Urban Underserved program. She graduated summa cum laude from UNM in 2022 with a B.S. in Biochemistry. As a member of the UNM Combined BA/MD program, she’s also specialized in medical sociology and health communications. She’s participated in research on the effects of the COVID pandemic on rural communities in New Mexico. She was diagnosed with progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at age seven and uses hearing aids, lip reading, and American Sign Language to aid her communication. She is a proud member of and advocates for the disabled community, especially in medicine.
Zainub Dhanani (she, her, hers)
MD Candidate | Stanford School of Medicine MS5/6
MS Health Policy Candidate | Stanford School of Medicine
A.B. Comparative Study of Religion | Harvard College '17
zdhanani@stanford.edu | (678) 665-9004
Zainub Dhanani is a medical student and MS Health Policy student at Stanford School of Medicine. She is the founder of the annual Stanford Conference on Disability in Healthcare and Medicine and a previous BNGAP Academic Writing Fellow. Zainub is also the founder and executive director of the national student-led disability advocacy organization, Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness (MSDCI). She has a keen interest equitable design of health systems as well as wellness and belonging amongst healthcare professionals and trainees. Her research focuses on the impact of disability disability in medical education and healthcare experiences, the use of digital and telehealth interventions in improving access to care for vulnerable populations, and health equity in radiology screening and imaging practices. She is thrilled to be able to share some of her work on disability advocacy with you all!
Sponsored by the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Speaker:
Grace C. Clifford, MAEd
Director, Disability Services/CAE Disability Specialist
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Learning Objectives
Following this presentation, attendees will be able to:
Grace Clifford is the Director for Disability Services at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. Born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, Grace is a double alumnus of Baldwin Wallace University where she received her undergraduate degree in Psychology (’09) and a Master’s in Leadership in Higher Education (’11). She has authored and co-authored several publications and pending publications regarding disability accommodation determination and disability access; including chapters in: Principles and Practice of College Health (Vaughn, Viera 2020), Equal Access for Students with Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education, Second Edition (Meeks, Jain, Laird, 2020), and Disability as Diversity (Meeks, Neal-Boylan, 2020). She is also an advisor and lead instructor for the inaugural Disability Resource Professional (DRP) academy launching this winter that seeks to develop the next generation of health science disability access advocates and experts.
Her current research focuses on developing group models to support students with executive functioning and psychological based disabilities, barriers to seeking accommodations for under-resourced students, and improving disability access in health science and professional education.
Sponsored by the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Speaker(s):
Kelly Cano Martinez (she/her)
HSC Accommodations Specialist
Accessibility Resource Center
University of New Mexico
Amanda Butrum
Director
Accessibility Resource Center
University of New Mexico
Learning Objectives:
About Kelly
Kelly Cano Martinez is an Albuquerque native and alumni of the University of New Mexico’s Sign Language Interpreter program. Upon graduation and working as an interpreter for over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity to work at the University of New Mexico. October of 2020, Kelly was hired to work at the University of New Mexico as an HSC Accommodations Specialist. Kelly works with Health Science Center (HSC) students with disabilities to ensure equal access to their didactic, clinical and testing experiences on campus. She is a self-proclaimed “Disney Adult” who enjoys watching Disney movies and spending quality time with her husband, family and friends.
About Amanda
Amanda Butrum has worked at the University of New Mexico since 2005. She is currently the Director for the Accessibility Resource Center where she coordinates academic accommodations for students with disabilities. Additionally, Amanda worked as a Deaf Services Specialist at several post-secondary institutions in California and as a Sign Language interpreter since 1989. She is nationally certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf as a professional Sign Language interpreter and in 2006 she received her Master's degree in Social Sciences with an emphasis in Women’s Studies.
Sponsored by the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Sponsored by UNM Hospitals and the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Sponsored by UNM Hospitals and the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Sponsored by UNM Hospitals and the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.