EVENT INFO

Time: 7:00 am
Room: Mirabella A-E

Presenter(s): Katy Neas
Time: 8:15 am
Room: Mirabella A-E

The Arc of the United States CEO Katy Neas will start MegaConference by sharing her thoughts on the state of the disability community.

Presenter(s): Richard Prangley and Manfred Tatzmann
Time: 8:30 am
Room: Mirabella A-E

To kickoff the 2026 MegaConference, Richard Prangley and his longtime friend and advocate Manfred Tatzmann will share in words and video Richard’s experience of living in an institution for fifteen years, from 1956 to 1972, age six to 21. They will describe their 46 years of friendship and Manfred’s work to end institutionalization in Michigan.

Starting in 1980, they developed one of the nation’s first traveling mental disabilities exhibits to teach schoolchildren about the stigma of disabilities. Eventually, it became a CD-ROM and curriculum used by over 100,000 schoolchildren.

The presentation will also provide a stark reminder of how recent that history is and why our fight for disability rights remains so important.

Time: 9:30 am

This is a time to meet Richard Prangley and Manfred Tatzmann and also chat with our wonderful exhibitors before breakout sessions start.

Presenter(s): Martez Williams, Emily Detre, Teaka Jackson, Blake Shearer
Time: 10:00 am
Room: Oakleigh C

Self-advocates are the driving force of meaningful systems change in the disability community. This panel brings together people with lived experience who have graduated from Partners in Policymaking, a training from the Council on Developmental Disabilities. Panelists will share personal stories about access, barriers, and opportunities, highlighting how programs, policies, and partnerships have impacted their lives. Participants will gain insight into the real-world outcomes of advocacy and learn how they can be part of a community working together for change.

Presenter(s): Feylyn Lewis, Darline Lewis
Time: 10:00 am
Room: Oakleigh B

After a botched spinal surgery over 25 years ago, Darline Lewis’ career as a registered labor and delivery nurse came abruptly to an end. She was classified as permanently disabled, and her life was marked by chronic pain and corrective surgeries. At 11 years old, her daughter, Feylyn, started providing care to support her activities of daily living. Thus began a lifetime journey of advocacy, caregiving, and disability for both Darline and Feylyn. This youth caregiving experience led Feylyn to study the psychosocial impacts of caregiving on children and adolescents, conducting research that led to the identification of 5.4 million children under the age of 18 with family caregiving responsibilities in the US. Meanwhile, Darline continued to advocate for her own dignified treatment, in the face of medical malpractice, bias, and a broken healthcare system. This presentation will delicately weave research insights with personal story, providing attendees with recommendations for best practice and advocacy for youth caregivers and disabled parents.

Presenter(s): Jen Vogus, Nicholas Coakley, Jack Burrows, Charlie Burrows
Time: 10 am
Room: Oakleigh A

This interactive session invites participants to experience how photography can be a powerful tool for self-expression, creativity, and advocacy for people with disabilities. Led by the team from AbleVoices, including self-advocate photographers, this session moves beyond a traditional presentation and into hands-on learning. Participants will explore the benefits of photography as an accessible and meaningful form of communication, hear directly from self-advocates about their lived experiences behind the lens, and learn practical techniques used in AbleVoices programming. Attendees will then engage in a guided, hands-on photography activity, capturing images that represent “something important about me.” Through structured partner sharing, participants will practice storytelling, perspective-taking, and connection using their own images. By the end of the session, participants will not only understand AbleVoices’ mission, they will experience how photography can amplify voices, build confidence, and foster meaningful connections across diverse communities.

Presenter(s): Kay Rankins Depew, Sheneva Graham, Kimerly Brown
Time: 10 am
Room: Cambridge

This breakout session will allow the audience to learn from the personal experience of a MAPS participant who has successfully completed milestones in independence in their home, community, and employment. Innovation team members will share how the work they are doing in employment, technology, and housing is helping self-advocates live the lives they want. Interactive components include tech demonstrations and an audience participation game called Innovation Connection Squares (think “Hollywood Squares”).

Time: 11 am (Awards begin at 11:45 am)
Room: Mirabella A-E

Get ready for an awesome performance from a local team of talented cheerleaders from Special Olympics Tennessee right before The Arc Tennessee’s Board hands out two historic awards.

Presenter(s): Alice Starnes, Louis Starnes, LeAnne Maness
Time: 12:45 pm
Room: Oakleigh C

A mother shares her experience of raising a child with autism in the world. This presentation explains how important networking and the inclusion of community involvement and family support groups can be when giving individuals with disabilities the opportunities to practice the skills needed to be contributing citizens and self-advocates.

Presenter(s): Ayctivia Palmer
Time: 12:45 pm
Room: Cambridge

This presentation aims to explore the unique factors that intersect and impact the development of individuals with visual impairments. Through a professional and personal lens, this presentation discusses the need for professionals assisting individuals with VIs to consider the intersectionality between disability, identity, and various biopsychosocial factors. The goal of this presentation is for professionals, parents, and advocates to walk away with a deeper understanding of how they can best relate, support, and assist individuals with disabilities, especially those with visual impairments as they transition through life’s many stages.

Presenter(s): Jay Camperlino, Andrew Hinkle
Time: 12:45 pm
Room: Oakleigh B

Seating and positioning are critical components in the delivery of quality care for individuals requiring support due to physical disabilities or health challenges. Proper ergonomic positioning not only aids in comfort but also enhances functional outcomes and quality of life. As the landscape of services evolve, Tennessee’s Innovation Centers are driving advancements in therapeutic strategies focused on seating and positioning while expanding the use of additional innovative approaches to assist people to meet their goals. This presentation will share case studies illustrating successful implementations and outcomes stemming from the Innovation Centers’ initiatives.

Presenter(s): Rion Humphries, Joseph Conyers
Time: 12:45 pm
Room: Oakleigh A

This presentation will demonstrate self-advocacy by centering the voices of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and asking them directly what supports they need and what barriers they face. It highlights how individuals must often speak up for accommodations, services, and understanding — especially when systems are difficult to access or dismiss their needs. The study also reflects the idea of “nothing about us without us,” which is a core principle of self-advocacy, emphasizing that people with disabilities should be involved in decisions that affect their lives.

Presenter(s): Annette Graves, Sandra Hawkins, June Graves
Time: 2:00 pm
Room: Oakleigh A

This presentation focuses on the importance of self-care and how it supports a healthy mind and overall well-being. Participants will learn simple, practical ways to manage stress, improve emotional health, and build daily self-care habits. The session is interactive and encourages reflections, discussion, and real-life application.

Presenter(s): Jasmyn Cheatham, Haverly Moss, Eric Chen, Asa Saywell and Misha Kavdia of the Tennessee Department of Health Youth Advisory Council, Chrissy Hood
Time: 2:00 pm
Room: Oakleigh B

This youth-led session is designed to educate youth and advocates about the importance of having a medical home and when and how to advocate for themselves in a medical setting. Topics include communication with healthcare providers, self-advocacy skills, self-management of healthcare, transition planning, and preparing for the transition to adult healthcare.

Presenter(s): Emily Detre, Kristin Byrd
Time: 2:00 pm
Room: Oakleigh C

Emily describes her experiences in different educational settings in GA and TN, and her postsecondary experience at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s FUTURE program. As a student who was moved from inclusion to a self-contained classroom when her family moved from GA to TN in high school, Emily was isolated from her peers and missed out on many social opportunities. When she learned about postsecondary programs, Emily was determined to have a full college experience and focus on independent living. She will talk about programs available in Tennessee, and how her campus involvement helped her gain independence not just in FUTURE, but by accessing opportunities like Student Government Association, service clubs and organizations, and social clubs.

Presenter(s): Penny Johnson, Breanna Atwell, Rion Humphries, Ian Faulkner
Time: 2:00 pm
Room: Cambridge

Step into a fun, interactive “Jeopardy”-style session designed to explore key topics that impact individuals with disabilities as they plan for the future. Participants will test their knowledge and learn about planning, life skills, and supported decision-making in an engaging format. This session highlights the importance of building a strong support system, understanding available services, and making informed choices to promote independence and self-determination.

Time: 3 to 3:20 pm
Room: Mirabella A-E

Grab a soda and a cookie as the day comes to a close!

Presenter(s): Mary Kate Brown, Josiah Brown
Time: 3:30 pm
Room: Cambridge

What happens when a student with a disability cannot fully access his own public-school building? This session shares the real story of a mother and son who spent a year pushing a local school district to install an elevator in a two-story school. Through persistence, documentation, relationship-building, and refusal to accept exclusion as normal, they turned a barrier into a concrete accessibility win. This breakout will explore self-advocacy as both personal and collective action. Participants will hear how lived experience, student voice, and sustained pressure can move systems that are slow to act. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for identifying barriers, documenting concerns, communicating effectively with decision-makers, and staying grounded through long advocacy efforts. While this will be delivered as a lecture, it will include audience engagement in the form of questions and small group sharing.

Presenter(s): Richelle Hurtado, Chloe Rothschild
Time: 3:30 pm
Room: Oakleigh B

“Masking” is something many autistic people feel pressured to do to function in the social environment. It means hiding autistic behaviors to fit in with non‑autistic expectations. This pressure often comes from being misunderstood by others (i.e., the double empathy problem) and from difficulty noticing or understanding body signals (i.e., interoception) like hunger, pain, or stress. This presentation centers autistic lived experiences to show how invisible barriers affect daily life for self‑advocates. We will explore how masking over time can lead to extreme tiredness, burnout, and feeling disconnected from one’s body and needs, especially for autistic people who struggle with noticing body cues. Self‑advocates and allies will leave with helpful knowledge and practical ways to create environments where autistic people are respected and supported to be themselves.

Presenter(s): Sam Long
Time: 3:30 pm
Room: Oakleigh A

This adults-focused session is a combined presentation and interactive workshop from an Autistic self-advocate designed to equip self-advocates with practical tools for navigating safer, healthier, and more satisfying sexual and romantic relationships. Participants will explore the foundations of consent, including how to recognize and interpret internal signals of “yes,” “no,” and “maybe.” Through guided exercises, attendees will practice identifying their own boundaries and desires, and develop communication strategies to express these clearly and confidently. The session includes opportunities to draft and rehearse scripts for discussing wants, needs, and limits in relationships. Participants will also learn concrete strategies for negotiating desire, handling uncertainty, and advocating for themselves in a variety of relationship contexts.

Presenter(s): Steve Pelton, Amanda Fusarini
Time: 3:30 pm
Room: Oakleigh C

Social isolation is one of the biggest barriers facing people with disabilities. Transportation, health challenges, and lack of local opportunities often prevent people from fully participating in their communities. This highly interactive session will show how virtual events can remove barriers and help people build friendships, advocacy skills, and confidence. This session will be co-presented by the Executive Director of We Thrive Together (WTT), a national virtual community hosting over 300 events per month, and a local Tennessee advocate who is President of the Virtual Kiwanis Aktion Club and used WTT to find her voice, make friends, take on new leadership opportunities, and advocate for herself and others. Participants will leave with practical ideas and activities they can use right away to increase inclusion and self-advocacy.