The Organizing Team

Emma, a woman with brown hair and a shoulder brace, sits next to her service dog. The dog is a black lab wearing a blue harness.

[Image Description]: Emma, a woman with brown hair and a shoulder brace, sits next to her service dog, Marlowe. Marlowe is a black lab wearing a blue service harness.

Emma Collington

STEM WITH DISABILITIES Lead
 

Emma Collington (she/her) is a PhD candidate in molecular genetics at the University of Waterloo. She studies mitochondrial metabolism in anaerobic eukaryotes, with a particular interest in parasitic helminths. Emma has a genetic connective tissue disease caused by mutations in collagen and fibrillin, which results in her joints, organs, and blood vessels being too elastic. When not studying or sleeping, Emma is involved in her local disability community and volunteers with the program that trained her own service dog, Marlowe.

To read Emma’s full story, visit STEM With Disabilities.

A headshot of Samantha smiling at the camera. She is experimenting with a curly hair routine (which is somewhat working) and is wearing a black blouse and brown pants and a multi-tiered silver necklace. She is sitting on the floor with a coffee mug.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION]: A headshot of Samantha smiling at the camera. She is experimenting with a curly hair routine (which is somewhat working) and is wearing a black blouse and brown pants and a multi-tiered silver necklace. She is sitting on the floor with a coffee mug.

Samantha Fowler

STEM WITH DISABILITIES LEAD
 

Samantha (she/her) is a science communication specialist and PhD student currently living with chronic pain, generalized anxiety disorder, and bulimia nervosa. She navigated being a student with disabilities at the University of Waterloo, graduating Valedictorian with a BSc in 2019, as well as Laurentian University, graduating with a MScCom in 2020. She currently works at the University of Waterloo as the Disability Inclusion Coordinator and is a lead for the STEM With Disabilities project. Samantha is a PhD student in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo studying critical disability studies.

To read Samantha’s full story, visit STEM With Disabilities.

 

What is STEM With Disabilities?

The Ontario Summit for Students with Disabilities is hosted by STEM With Disabilities, a visibility project for scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians. The project leads, Emma Collington and Samantha Fowler, are Ontario postsecondary students passionate about removing barriers, building community, and supporting Ontario institutions in advancing campus accessibility.

Why is STEM With Disabilities running the Summit?

Both Emma and Samantha are current PhD students with disabilities. The Summit is something they wish they had during their earlier degrees to support community, connection, and knowledge exchange. Emma and Samantha recognize the importance of events designed by students with disabilities, for students with disabilities. They hope that the post-Summit report will be impactful as a tool to amplify student voices and advance necessary changes.

I’m not in STEM…can I still attend?

Yes, the Ontario Summit for Students with Disabilities is open to students in all fields of study. We want to build a community of postsecondary students with disabilities without the exclusion of different disciplines.

 

Support Team

 
Soorena wears a suit and tie in a formal headshot image.

[Image Description]: Soorena wears a suit and tie in a formal headshot image.

Soorena Azarhazin

Soorena Azarhazin is a PhD candidate in Biotechnology at Lakehead University. His research field is relevant to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), numerical analysis of thermo-fluids processes, and flow control. He has a congenital profound sensorineural hearing loss and uses closed captioning and subtitles to better speech comprehension.

 
Ariadne smiles at the camera in a headshot, wearing a blue bow tie and clear glasses. She has a braid down the left side of her head.

[Image Description]: Ariadne smiles at the camera in a headshot, wearing a blue bow tie and clear glasses. She has a braid down the left side of her head.

Ariadne Jevnikar

Ariadne Jevnikar (she/her/elle) is a PhD candidate at Lakehead University in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies stream. Ariadne’s research explores how high school principals influence the school culture for sexual and gender minority youth.

 
Victoria smiles at the camera while wearing a black graduation gown and red striped sash.

[Image Description]: Victoria smiles at the camera while wearing a black graduation gown and red striped sash.

Victoria Parlatore

Victoria Parlatore (she/her) is a fourth-year PhD Candidate in Higher Education at the University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Her current research explores the self-reported needs of students with disabilities and the extent to which post-secondary institutions are meeting identified needs through current policies, practices, and supports, bringing disabled students together to reimagine access, on our terms. Victoria identifies as dynamically disabled, experiencing a combination of chronic mental and physical health disabilities such as generalized anxiety, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, severe mixed sleep apnea, chronic pain from thoracic spine immobility, and esotropia strabismus. In addition to her academics Victoria works as a Graduate Peer Mentor for Accessibility Services, research consultant, and has served on several advisory committees dedicated to improving accessibility and student experience. In her personal life Victoria enjoys spending time with family and friends or meeting new people, especially while exploring new places and eating delicious foods, activities in nature such as hiking and snowboarding, creative writing, volunteering with Rotary International, and a good cup of tea.