Celebrate Disability Pride and the 35th Anniversary of the ADA!

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Celebrate Disability Pride and the 35th Anniversary of the ADA! lisadanford May 7, 2025

Join us on Saturday, July 26 to celebrate Disability Pride and the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

From 3-8 p.m. at the OTR Stillhouse, we’ll have entertainment, a panel discussion about disability rights, interactive exhibits, local resources, giveaways, and more!

Logos of Independence Alliance, Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services, and Human Services Chamber of Hamilton County
When: 3-8 p.m. Saturday, July 26
Where: OTR Stillhouse, 2017 Branch Street, Cincinnati, 45214
Outdoor beer garden with multiple wooden picnic tables, people sitting and socializing—some in sports jerseys—celebrating the ADA Anniversary in Cincinnati on artificial grass in front of a large building.
Schedule of events
  • 3:30 p.m. Welcome & Introductions from Neil Kelly, Independence Alliance Board President, and Leia Snyder, Superintendent of HCDDS, and others.
  • 4 p.m. Performance by KAA Advanced Band, The Screamers
  • 5 p.m. Panel discussion with disability rights advocates Robert Harris, Joshua Kayes and Bree Moss, moderated by Sara Birkofer
  • 5:45 p.m. Remarks by Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney 
  • 6:45 p.m. Open Mic speak-out

 

We’re also featuring entertainment from DJ Brody Flynn throughout our celebration at OTR Stillhouse!

Event Accessibility

CART captioning services provided by A La CARTe Connection and ASL interpretation by Cincinnati State will be provided. We’ll also have a space for sensory breaks and Braille menus, thanks to our partners at Clovernook.

OTR Stillhouse has accessible restrooms, and Momentum Refresh, a universally designed and fully accessible mobile restroom, will be on-site. 

There are multiple parking lots with accessible spaces, as well as street parking and a drop-off zone located at the venue’s gate. Click here for a map.

Have other accessibility accommodation requests?

Contact Dee Henry, Disability Rights and Advocacy Specialist for Independence Alliance, at dee@independencealliance.org or 513-241-8046.

Local resources & activities

We’re excited to have so many wonderful partners join our event to share resources with the disability community.Vendors include:

  • Disability Rights Ohio
  • City of Cincinnati, Office of Aging and Disability
  • Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI)
  • NAMI Southwest Ohio
  • LADD
  • Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI)
  • Cincinnati Metro
  • Caracole
  • Hamilton County Board of Elections
  • Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
  • Momentum Refresh
  • Fox’s Forest Art
  • Cincinnati Art Museum
  • Cincinnati Museum Center
  • Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Logos of various Cincinnati-based organizations, including Disability Rights Ohio, the Cincinnati Art Museum, NAMI Southwest Ohio, Clovernook, and the Cincinnati Public Library for the ADA Anniversary Cincinnati celebration.
Person wearing a pink shirt and chef hat smiles beside a tray of decorated chocolate cupcakes on a kitchen table, ready for an ADA Anniversary Cincinnati celebration, with containers of chocolate chips nearby.

We’re excited to have sweet treats from Maggie’s Marvelous Mini-Cheesecakes! Maggie is a small business owner who has spina bifida. She always dreamed of working in a bakery, but most were not wheelchair accessible. Learn more about Maggie and her journey in this article from My Life magazine. 

On-stage speakers and entertainment

Disability Rights Panel: Discussing the past, present & future of the ADA
A person wearing a bright pink knit beanie and pink makeup looks at the camera in sunlight, wearing a beige shirt.

Joshua Petty-Kayes, a Korean American gay man with Spina Bifida, was adopted at seven and has been advocating for disability rights since fourth grade.

Joshua currently serves on several boards and organizations, including the Cincinnati Accessibility Board of Advisors, as the Advocacy Chair of the Spina Bifida Coalition, the Disability Rights Ohio Board of Directors, the chair of TriHealth’s Disability-based Employee Resource Group.

He is also the President of TreeHouse Cincinnati, an LGBTQIA+ Resource Center in Mt. Auburn that advocates for LGBTQIA+ rights with an intersectional lens.

Through his work, Joshua partners with organizations to improve accessibility. He and his husband, Jonathan, hope to one day launch a foundation promoting Universal Design to reduce barriers in areas like health, housing, employment, arts, and recreation.

An older man with glasses, a gray beard, and a striped sweater sits in front of a plain white background, looking at the camera

Rev. Robert Lee Harris has been a disability rights advocate for more than 70 years. He began championing accessibility and inclusion at a young age, fighting to continue his education after completing elementary school at Cincinnati’s only school for students with disabilities.

Robert contracted meningitis when he was 8 months old and his experience inspired him to become a lifelong community advocate.  In 2013, he was inducted into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame. 

Robert is an accomplished visual artist and has been a leader for the Cincinnati Human Rights Commission, Bridges for a Just Community, the Cincinnati Coalition for People with Disabilities, the Board of Hamilton County Development Disabilities Services, the Ohio Arts Council, the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), and many other organizations.

Woman with light blond hair with teal tips, wearing glasses, a black top, green jacket, and layered necklaces, posing against a plain gray background

Ms. Moss is a certified ADA Coordinator, strategic navigator of complex systems, and bold advocate for accessibility and inclusion. Providing a uniquely cross-sector perspective, she has a professional background that spans from radio broadcasting to public transit and social services.

At the YWCA Greater Cincinnati, she’s responsible for Project CARE, a program that serves individuals with disabilities who are at risk or have been impacted by violence. A proud Northsider, musician, and vintage curator, Ms. Moss consults with the Greater Cincinnati Accessibility and Inclusion Network and recently co-developed the Hamilton County Accessibility Advisory Board.

Additionally, she serves on the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Accessibility Community Advisory Council, is Vice Chair of the Cincinnati Accessibility Board of Advisors, and currently serves as President of the Northside Community Council.

Sara Birkofer, the Manager of Accessibility and Gallery Programs at the Cincinnati Art Museum, will moderate our panel. She established a cross-divisional accessibility committee that addresses accessibility and inclusion throughout CAM. 

A woman with wavy brown hair, wearing a sleeveless patterned top and large yellow earrings, stands outside in front of a leafy tree
Photo on left: A man wears a "BRO DJ FLYNN" cap and T-shirt outdoors. Photo on right: A man and woman stand indoors by shelves with audio equipment and drums at the ADA Anniversary Cincinnati celebration.

The Screamers, the Ken Anderson Alliance Advanced Band, will take the stage at 4 p.m. to perform classic rock hits. 

DJ Brody Flynn will keep the party going and provide a soundtrack to our celebration. Brody has been presenting his love of music in many different settings, weddings, fundraising and community events since 2017. Learn more about Brody’s Music Service on his Facebook page.

A woman with shoulder-length dark hair wearing a navy blazer, pink top, and hoop earrings poses in front of a gray background.

City of Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney will speak at our event about the city’s initiatives to improve accessibility and inclusion in our region. 

About your event hosts

Logo for Independence Alliance featuring five stylized buildings above the text "Independence Alliance" and the words "Empowerment," "Inclusion," and "Advocacy" below,

Independence Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing services for people with permanent disabilities in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Independence Alliance was founded in 1977 by people with disabilities who wanted to provide a support system to help people with disabilities reach their greatest potential and independence.

Through five core services, we empower people with disabilities to live productive, rewarding lives with pride and dignity. Learn more on their website.

DD on top in shades of blue and yellow, stylized to look like a person with raised arms. Words below say Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services in gray, blue and yellow.

Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services (HCDDS) supports more than 10,000 people with developmental disabilities at all ages and stages of life. 

We promote and support opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to live, work, learn, and fully participate in their communities.

HCDDS provides a variety of services, including case management, monitoring service quality, and funding services provided by our community partners. Learn more on our website.

Logo for the Human Services Chamber of Hamilton County, featuring three abstract human figures in shades of blue arranged in a circular formation above the organization name

The Human Services Chamber represents and serves over 90 human services organizations in Hamilton County, Ohio. Our mission is to develop and advocate for public policies that provide equitable opportunities for all community members to reach their full potential.

The Human Services Chamber has five priority areas, including Local Government, Housing, Mental Health, Older Adults/Disability, and New Americans. Learn more on their website.