Alumni
The University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work’s commitment to lived experience and diverse voices is reflected in the Florence Gibbs Momeyer Endowed Lecture, made possible through the generosity of Alan G. Momeyer (MSW ’72) and his brother, Richard W. Momeyer, who established the lecture in 2021 to honor their mother, a social worker who fought to ensure that all children received a free quality education as promised in the Pennsylvania constitution. Alan Momeyer spoke and shared that they created the lecture because “the battle is not won yet…there exists in our society some opposition to and discrimination against” individuals with disabilities.
Previous speakers for the Momeyer Lecture were disability rights lawyer Haben Girma and autism activist and animal behavior scientist Temple Grandin. In September 2024, the school welcomed Josie Badger, who spoke about the crucial role of individuals with disabilities and their allies in shaping policy and driving systemic change. Dean Betsy Farmer began the event with a call to the audience to “open our minds and think about how we can be part of the solution.”
Badger’s lecture, “Inclusive Policy and Systemic Change: The Critical Role of Disabled Voices and Allies,” delved into pressing disability issues, emphasizing the importance of inclusion, justice, and equity in policy making and systems change. Badger spoke about individuals with disabilities facing issues with housing, health care, and even marriage. “What are we telling people with disabilities,” she asked, “and what are our policies telling the world about disability, about ableism, about the fact that somehow we not only have a physical or mental disability, but we are also unable to work, own a home, get married?” She noted that people with disabilities have been excluded for far too long from making decisions about their own lives and underscored the critical importance of incorporating disabled voices in the policy-making process, ensuring that their unique perspectives and needs are acknowledged and addressed.
The conversation with attendees after her lecture touched on the intersection of disability, policy, and justice to learn how we can collectively work toward a more inclusive and equitable society. “We are not talking about how disability is part of the human experience,” Badger noted. “The disability community is just starting to talk about [intersectionality], but where we’re missing is in other diversity conversations as members and not just visitors.”
Badger received her bachelor’s degree in disability law and advocacy from Geneva College, her master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Pittsburgh, and her doctorate in health care ethics from Duquesne University. She recently founded PEACOCK, a nonprofit that will further support the needs of the disability community and diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
Find this recording on our YouTube Channel @PittSocialWork.