New Jersey activist Priscilla Garces wants to keep people connected worldwide, and to that end she co-organized a summit with representatives from different groups for a “Discussion on Empowering Different Abilities.”

Blind since birth, Garces welcomed leaders from their respective fields and areas of expertise, among them Nikwongu Robert, executive director of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf; Nathan Stenberg, disability and aging policy intern for the United States Senate; and Kenneth Mimms, founder of the Neurodiversity Education Research Center.

“I organized [the forum] in partnership with UNESCO Center for Peace to consider how we should have more inclusive alliances and spaces to better support people with disabilities, families, and those who care for them,” Garces told InsiderNJ, referring to the March 27th summit.

“We still don’t get enough help through supportive services and the most important thing we can do is share our stories,” she said.

A member of Emerge New Jersey, who worked in the office of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and later ran for the School Board in Newark, Garces also works as a climate activist and routinely publishes articles related to her work in climate and disability advocacy. She holds a Master’s Degree in nonprofit leadership from Fordham University and a translator certification from New York University. Her latest piece appears in the Friends National Resource Center’s Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Advisory Council newsletter, titled, “The Shortcomings of Standardized tests for People with Disabilities.”

This week, InsiderNJ caught up with Priscilla Garces (a follow-up to an interview we did a year ago) to discuss the March summit she co-organized, listen to her reflections on the importance of organizing in politics and activism, and get an update on the latest technology she’s using – an E-Reader – to assist her in her ongoing work.

Please find the InsiderNJ Interview with Ms. Garces in two parts below: