2024 Unstoppable Voters Fellow Alexia Kemerling
Alexia Kemerling (she/her) is the REV UP Coalitions Coordinator at American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). She works with grassroots activists across the U.S. to build civic engagement in the disability community and increase election accessibility. She believes strongly in the power of community and that advocacy can come in many forms.
Alexia is passionate about ensuring everyone has access to the ballot. In addition to movement-building and advocacy around the disability vote, Alexia has spent time registering voters in jails, state psychiatric hospitals, developmental centers, and nursing homes. Alexia is also a proud poll worker.
Before focusing her work on voting, Alexia led advocacy efforts around disability policy at the state level. Her organizing has ranged from traditional methods, like coordinating testimony and meeting with policymakers, to creative campaigns using art and storytelling.
Alexia finds joy in cooking, sharing fun facts, snuggling with her two dogs Rocky and Rupert, going on walks, reading, and drawing. She also occasionally writes for The Squeaky Wheel, a funny disability satire publication, and has a self-published zine (a small magazine with hand-drawn images) about hearing loss called XO.
About American Association of People with Disabilities
As a national disability-led and cross-disability rights organization, AAPD advocates for full civil rights for over 60 million Americans with disabilities. They do this by promoting equal opportunity, economic power, independent living, and political participation. Their REV UP program stands for “Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!” and is a grassroots movement to increase civic engagement in the disability community and improve the accessibility of elections. They have REV UP coalitions in twenty states and partners across the country. Their advocacy and voting outreach take many forms.
Alexia on being an Unstoppable Voters Fellow
“When you’re disabled, it can often feel like you HAVE to be an activist in order to get equal access. But the disability community has taught me that advocacy can be fun and creative and joyful. I am so excited to join this amazing cohort and the broader artistic activism community, and to continue to contribute to the advocacy work of disability community that’s shaped me.”
– Alexia Kemerling, REV UP Coalitions Coordinator, American Association of People with Disabilities
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