“I hope that my work here will encourage the way we think about the disability community in our daily lives,” says Dallas Adams, SDI’s new Communications Coordinator.

“As a writer, one of my biggest goals at SDI is to craft narratives that empower people without disabilities to honestly think about how they personally interact with the disability community,” she says. Dallas has great expectations for success because of the existing conversations about diversity and inclusion. “Unfortunately,” she explains, “the discussions surrounding the disability community are told from a stance of pity or ‘inspiration,’ which does not help to examine the way we think about it in our daily lives.”

Dallas graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor’s in Public Relations in May of 2016. She had not been involved with Starkloff prior to her employment, but came across the job through a former colleague. “I really enjoy working here and learning all about the opportunities SDI offers to people with and without disabilities,” Dallas says.

“I have been lucky enough to attend a week of our DREAM BIG program for high school students heading for the technical workforce,” she reports. “I’ve watched our students blossom through their interactions over the week.” Being able to see the impact of DREAM BIG explains its necessity to Dallas. “Not only are students able to explore other paths before committing to one,” she says, “our corporate partners are also able to see how people living with disabilities are as much of an asset as anyone else.”

In her free time, Dallas sings and acts. “I especially love to participate in musicals,” she says.

We are grateful that Dallas discovered SDI and look forward to her contributions!