Ms. Wheelchair America 2005 Shares Message of Empowerment and Ability

Contact: Brewster Thackeray, 703/508-4418; BrewThack@aol.com

Who was that beautiful young woman in a tiara spotted hobnobbing with Rudolph Giuliani, Condoleezza Rice, and Don King at a Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington last week? And earlier this month at the Rose Bowl with Bob Eubanks in Pasadena? Why, it was Ms. Wheelchair America 2005, Juliette Rizzo. At President Bush’s second inauguration, she was a guest of the Inaugural Committee, invited on behalf of the roughly one million women in this country who use wheelchairs and as an advocate for the one-fifth of the population who have disabilities of every kind.

A living example of her platform, “Power Through Participation: Illuminating Opportunities for People with Disabilities,” Ms. Rizzo, 36, of Rockville, Md., is ready to take disability awareness to new heights, traveling the country to speak, advocate, educate, and inspire others in 2005. She was crowned at the 32nd Annual Ms. Wheelchair America at a pageant in Richmond, Va., last year, following a week-long competition with women representing states and territories around the U.S.

The mission of the Ms. Wheelchair America program is to improve public awareness of the needs and achievements of people with disabilities, and reduce the architectural and attitudinal barriers that still impede their quality of life. The competition identifies the most accomplished and articulate spokesperson for people with disabilities. As Ms. Wheelchair America, Ms. Rizzo travels the country, taking public speaking opportunities and meeting with civic, church, and school groups, and state, local and national political leaders to advance her platform and the Ms. Wheelchair America mission. In addition, she works to help start Ms. Wheelchair programs in the states that do not currently have state-level competitions.

At the age of three, Ms. Rizzo contracted a systemic infection that resulted in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and later scleroderma, and fibromyalgia. She has used scooters and wheelchairs since she was 22, and utilizes personal care assistance at home and work. “I have always felt it is important to fight the negative stereotypes and perceptions of wheelchair use,” she notes. “In the old days, they used to say someone was ‘confined to a wheelchair.’ I am glad to have the chance to show the country what the wheelchair’s liberating assistive technology makes possible.” Ms. Rizzo uses her power wheelchair daily while working as a Special Assistant for Communications in the Office of Internal Communications, Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. She feels a unique responsibility as an ambassador for the disability community, sharing a message of hope reflecting what is possible with appropriate supports in place in education, the community (including housing and transportation), and the workplace.

Ms. Rizzo has a B.A. from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Journalism with a minor in Rehabilitation Studies from the University of North Texas. She brings to her reign extensive experience as a disability advocate. She has advocated with the Arthritis Foundation for over a decade, was appointed Commissioner of the Montgomery County Commission on People with Disabilities, and was recently appointed by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich to the Maryland Commission on Individuals with Disabilities. Her hobbies include a new-found fitness regime of aquatics and sailing, which led to her receiving the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award and an appearance on the Discovery Health Channel’s National Body Challenge; accessible container gardening, and traveling. She serves on the Women’s Committee of the National Symphony Orchestra.

To participate in the Ms. Wheelchair America program, women must be 21-60 years old and use a wheelchair for daily mobility. Marital status is not a consideration, and it is not a beauty pageant. Contestants are judged on platform speech presentations, personal interviews and on-stage interviews.

Ms. Wheelchair America 2005 is available for public speaking and appearances at both mainstream and disability-related events. For more information on Juliette Rizzo and the Ms. Wheelchair America Program, please visit www.mswheelchairamerica.org