Project EMERGE Staff Member Honored!
More than 2,000 people gathered in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University on January 23, 2011 for the University’s 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. A wonderful gathering filled with celebration of community, a blend of multicultural words and music, the event also honored individuals as Unsung Heroes.
Among the honorees was our own Omolara Funmilola “Funmi” Akinpelu, Research Associate with the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, who helps coordinate Project EMERGE. Through her work in Project EMERGE, Akinpelu is helping increase access to services for women with disabilities who are surviving domestic and sexual violence.
Akinpelu, who is pursuing post-Doctorate research at the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, has spent her academic career studying disability policies, human rights of persons with disabilities, gender equality and empowerment of women with disabilities.
ARISE is proud to have Akinpelu working with us and Vera House on Project EMERGE, and to see her honored as one of the Unsung Heroes of our community.