Raquel Quezada
Northern Essex Community College
Raquel Quezada is a strong leader in the local Latino community and beyond. As an avid advocate for children with special needs, Raquel assists and empowers families to navigate educational systems. She has written multiple books both for parents of children with disabilities and also for children about overcoming the barriers. Raquel also founded a non-profit, whose mission is to educate, inform, and share knowledge about rights and opportunities for people with special needs. Prior to coming to NECC to pursue a degree in Psychology, Raquel studied Communications in the Dominican Republic. Using her knowledge and skills, Raquel produces and hosts a Spanish radio show: Changing the World of Persons with Disabilities. This work gets to the heart of her approach to creating a more socially just world. Raquel believes educating people of their rights and opportunities through diverse media will empower others to address issues of equity and make needed change. Raquel has strong motivation to continue her social justice work as she is the mother of four children, one of whom has special needs. Although Raquel is quite accomplished, she continues to learn and grow while advocating, educating, and inspiring others.
Personal Statement
As a mother of a son with disabilities, I have realized how some people in our society do not have equitable opportunities. People with disabilities and their families have to constantly struggle to access their rights. I faithfully believe that the way to help the world become aware of inclusion, rights, and opportunities is to talk more about these issues in the media, written press, and digital platforms. I believe that each media outlet should educate about disability issues and similar challenges for other diverse populations. This will create more awareness, empathy, patience, education, love, knowledge, and above all, inclusion.
