"Her new role is fighting old label"

Her new role is fighting old label
By JEMIMAH NOONOO

Michelle Colvard, 32, was recently crowned Ms. Wheelchair America, a position that will have her touring the nation to challenge stereotypes about women with disabilities. She's also executive director of the mayor's office for people with disabilities in Houston. Chronicle reporter Jemimah Noonoo spoke with Colvard about her new title and her work with the city.


Q: What is Ms. Wheelchair America?

A: It's a nonprofit organization set up to promote and challenge stereotypes of women who use wheelchairs or people with disabilities in general. It's not a beauty pageant. And, fortunately, there is no talent contest, because I would be hurting. (Laughs).

Q: How did you hear about the competition?

A: My husband, Brian, brought me a brochure. I guess someone had told him about it. My husband e-mailed the coordinator behind my back and got all my friends to bug me about it.

Q: What are some misconceptions about women with disabilities?

A: They're two main ways that the media portray women who have disabilities. It's either kind of passive, needing help, victim, suffering. You hear a lot of those words, wheelchair-bound, these negative-word connotations. ... On the other hand, women with disabilities who have done pretty well for themselves are put up on a pedestal. I think sometimes that's a bad thing, too.

Q: How do stereotypes translate to how the public treats people with disabilities?

A: I think people have good intentions and want to help. I will be in a Wal-Mart and somebody will come up behind me and start pushing me. And I'll say, "No, I've really got it." And they'll argue with you about it. But on the other hand, if you see somebody who looks like they clearly need some help, like they're struggling, you should help them.

Q: You were born with spina bifida. What is that?

A: In the first trimester of pregnancy, the base of the spine fails to fully finish developing.

When I was born, my mom kept saying to the doctor I couldn't move my legs as much. He kept saying, "You are just being a new mother."

She got a second opinion, and I was diagnosed. I could walk with braces and crutches until I was in the fifth grade.

Q: What was your childhood like?

A: My mom taught me to read when I was 3, because she wanted to make sure I had an extra advantage in life. My parents tried their hardest to make sure I wasn't treated differently.

When I was a kid, I just felt like I was always set apart. I really attribute the school system for that. At one point, they put me in the "special class" because I had a physical disability. I remember they had words on the spelling board misspelled.

The country Chile was spelled like it was cold outside, the word magic with a "J." When kids see teachers or the school system treating you differently, they, of course, are going to treat you differently, too.

Q: How did you begin working with the mayor's office?

A: When I went into public health and started working on my master's, it occurred to me that there wasn't a lot of recognition about the importance of public health for people with disabilities, and that disturbed me.

While in graduate school, I volunteered for and chaired the Houston Commission for Disabilities and was appointed to the Mayor's Wellness Council. ... When the position with the mayor's office became open in 2006, I applied. I began working for the mayor's office last year.

Q: Do you have time for recreation?

A: I do weights. I do the stationary hand cycle for an hour three days a week. I only recently learned to play (wheelchair basketball). I am really horrible with the rules.

Q: What are some issues concerning people with disabilities that you feel need to be addressed?

A: Even though we passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, the rate of employment has not really increased. It has pretty much stayed the same for the past 30 years. And there are a lot of other challenges related to housing and transportation. Employers have biases and are afraid to hire people with disabilities.

Q: How is Houston doing in meeting these issues?

A: Our city just won the Accessible America Award. We are not perfect, but I could give you lots of (good) examples. The Parks and Recreation Department now has programs that focus on services for people with disabilities. We have a volunteer enforcement parking task force, where people with disabilities can write tickets to people who are abusing the space in parking spaces.

Q: What is one of your most heartwarming moments as Ms. Wheelchair America?

A: I got to go on the ice for the Houston Aeros game as Ms. Wheelchair Texas. I had a little table during intermission to sign autographs. At one point, I went through this line of little girls, and they're like, "Ms. Wheelchair, I need your autograph." All of a sudden, I was mobbed.

I grew up with my peers treating me a certain way. Back then, if those kids would have been exposed to this kind of figure — an image that portrayed a strong, confident, attractive woman who just happened to have a disability — I don't think they would have treated someone who is in a wheelchair differently.

When I realized that, I started getting choked up.