Interviewee: Dr. Brooke Ellison
Interviewer: Dr. Peter Poullos
Note: This episode was recorded prior to Dr. Ellisons death on February 4th. We are honored to have had the opportunity to interview her before she passed away and hope this podcast episode honors her and her contributions to science.
Description:
In this podcast episode, Dr. Peter Poullos interviews Dr. Brooke Ellison, a disability rights advocate and bioethicist. Dr. Ellison shares her journey of embracing disability, finding strength, and building resilience. She discusses the inspiration behind the title of her book, Look Both Ways, and highlights the significance of understanding the power of disability.
Dr. Ellison emphasizes the need for healthcare professionals to learn from people with disabilities and include their perspectives in medical education and decision-making. She talks about her role in teaching future healthcare professionals and her work with organizations focused on disability rights, advocating for better access and opportunities for people with disabilities.
Dr. Ellison also shares her experience of creating a shared interest group on disability at Harvard and stresses the importance of integrating disability into every discipline. The conversation explores the intersection of ethics and disability, emphasizing the importance of including disabled voices in these discussions.
She explains her understanding of hope as an action-oriented perspective that arises from living with challenges. The episode concludes with a discussion on the benefits of interdependence and the advice Dr. Ellison would give to young people with disabilities entering academia or medicine.
Bio:
https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/bioethics/people/ellison.php
https://www.brookeellison.com/about
Key Words: Spinal Cord Injury, Science, STEM, DocsWithDisabilities, Resilence, Brook Ellison, SCI, bioethicist
Transcript: https://bit.ly/DWDI_Podcast_Transcript93
Produced by: R.E. Natowicz, Jasmine Lopez, and Dr. Lisa Meeks.
Audio editor: R.E. Natowicz and Jacob Feeman
Digital Media: Katie Sullivan
Resources:
National Women’s History Alliance. (2024). The 2024 National Women’s History Theme.
https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/2024-whm-theme/
