Florida's Go To Source for Self-Advocacy News & Information
Chatequa Pinkston
has the heart to encourage individuals with disabilities through her life experiences. She was born with cerebral palsy. She earned a master's degree in computer science from the University of South Florida. She is an entrepreneur, an ordained minister, an author of several self-published books, and a public speaker. Chatequa is the founder of Hidden Treasures Ministries, which works to empower people with disabilities. She also serves on several other disability-related boards.
Michelle Zeman
was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder-not other specified when she was three years old and was considered “borderline severe.” Despite being told she would never be a functioning member of society, she earned her master’s degree in applied behavior analysis with an emphasis in autism and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2016. She discovered the value of self-advocacy and activism through her career in behavior analysis and her time in Partners in Policymaking (as she is a 2023 graduate). She is passionate about policy change in mental health services and disability training for all community workers.
Amanda Ranochak
Amanda "Mandy" Ranochak is a founding member and former president of MAGICAL Self Advocates, FL SAND’s self-advocacy group in Greater Orlando. Born legally blind and later diagnosed as autistic, Mandy began her journey in self-advocacy after a friend tricked her into presenting an "About Me Box" at a self-advocacy conference in Rhode Island during college. A graduate of Partners in Policymaking (PIP) 2024 and recipient of PIP's Alan C. Wesley Award, she holds an associate's degree in advertising from Johnson & Wales University. Mandy also blogs for "The Mighty," works as an administrative assistant for a social services agency, and creates TikToks for United Against Poverty Orlando in her spare time.