Disability Rising Fellowship

A fellowship for disabled leaders shifting culture and building narrative power through media. Expression of Interest form for 2026 cohort open until Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Applicants invited to move forward to the full application process will be notified by July 17, 2026, and will have until August 7, 2026, to complete the full application. 

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Two people monitor a live video production in a broadcast control room. One operates a video switcher while monitoring screens showing Disability Culture Lab Fellow Dennis Tran, and the other stands nearby observing.
Disability Culture Lab 2025 Fellows and DCL staff pose for a group photo on an outdoor patio. Eight people smile at the camera, with one person using a power wheelchair. Modern buildings and outdoor seating are visible in the background.

About the Fellowship

Disability Culture Lab's Disability Rising Fellowship is a year-long program that supports multi-marginalized disabled leaders to build public media profiles to shift narratives and culture around disability and other critical social justice issues of our time.

You do not need to have media experience, but you do need to have deep experience or expertise in your field. We are looking for disabled fellows working across all social justice movements and issue areas, as we believe every issue is a disability issue. But we need your expertise to connect the dots on why your issue is a disability issue.

Fellows will receive high-level coaching and training in media interviewing, opinion writing, storytelling, digital strategy, and narrative strategy. They will also receive support from media relations and PR strategies to ensure their expertise moves from idea to impact.

Fellows are expected to pursue a public media profile as a part of this fellowship, working weekly with a media booking agency to complete and publish at least three (3) media interviews or written pieces by the end of the fellowship. Depending on fellow talent and interest, op-eds, personal essays, podcasts, tv, radio, print, etc. are all possible ways to fulfill this requirement. Fellows receive an optional stipend of $5,000 as an honorarium for their time, payable individually or to their organization, dependent on completion of Fellowship obligations.

Disability Culture Lab Fellow Jaz Williams speaks into a microphone during a studio interview, seated across from another speaker. The two face each other in front of gray curtains, framed by teleprompters and production equipment.

Who Should Apply

We’re looking for disabled leaders who:

  • Are active in disability justice, social justice, or cultural organizing through work at an organization or as an individual via an academic institution or within social movements.

  • Work from, or organize deeply with, a specific social justice movement, organization, or regional community

  • Want to regularly appear on public-facing media through interviews and/or published writing

  • Have a big message or story they’re ready to share via media

  • Are interested in connecting the dots between disability justice and other issue areas

  • Come from multi-marginalized backgrounds

  • Live or work in the U.S. South (we aim for 1/3 of fellows to be based in the South)

You do not need to be an influencer or media expert; we’re looking for issue- and community-expertise, media potential, values-alignment, and a commitment to being a public advocate for disability justice.

Our selection of fellowship recipients takes into account many aspects of each applicant’s background, experiences, prior and current work and leadership, skills, objectives and focus areas. No single criterion is determinative.

Questions? E-mail Hello@DisabilityCultureLab.org.

What Fellows Receive

  • Intensive virtual training focused on media interviewing for television, radio, podcasts, and print, op-ed writing, social media, public speaking, and more

  • Individual media pitching and booking support

  • Mentorship and coaching from experienced disabled media professionals

  • Optional in-person media training

  • A supportive cohort of disabled peers across social movements

  • An optional $5,000 stipend for you or your organization, dependent on completion of Fellowship obligations

We ask that fellows have:

  • Commitment to disability community, social justice values, and cultural change

  • Availability to do the work of being in the media, whether through writing, tv, radio, podcasts, or print

  • A willingness to try new things

  • An interest in culture change across issues, and an interest in breaking down barriers and silos between disability and other social justice causes

2026 Fellowship Timeline

  • Expression of Interest Application Opens: Monday, June 8, 2026

  • Expression of Interest Application Closes: Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET

  • Full Application Opens (By Invitation Only): Friday, July 17, 2026

  • Full Application Closes: Friday, August 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET

  • Interview Period: Friday, August 31, 2026 – Monday, Sept 10, 2026

  • Fellowship Period: Late September 2026 – June 2027

Applicants invited to move forward to the full application process will be notified via email by July 17, 2026, and will have until August 7, 2026, to complete the full application.

Accessibility Statement

Access is at the core of this program. We encourage applicants to share detailed access needs. We’ll work with each fellow to ensure necessary accommodations are in place for full participation, including ASL, CART, and translation support. If this application is not accessible to you, please reach out to us.

Learn More

Read our full Frequently Asked Questions below.

Disability Rising Fellowship Frequently Asked Questions

  • The Disability Rising Fellowship is a year-long program designed to amplify the public voice and cultural impact of multi-marginalized disabled leaders.

    Fellows receive media coaching, social media training, mentorship, pitching and booking, and hands-on support to develop their public presence and use storytelling to shift narratives around disability and ableism.

  • This fellowship is for all U.S.-based qualified disabled people who are:

    • Active in social justice movements as an organizer, researcher, leader, policy maker, legal expert, academic, communicator, etc. Movements could include abolition, care, labor rights, AI, racial justice, gender justice, disability justice, health equity, immigrant justice, trans rights, and beyond

    • Passionate about using media and storytelling to create cultural change

    • Representing multiply-marginalized communities (especially BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrant, low-income, or Southern-based disabled leaders)

    • Looking for opportunities to appear regularly on local and national news outlets and platforms through skill-building in areas like TV and radio, op-ed writing, and digital media creation

    • Interested in shifting the narrative, culture, and politics around disability from fear and pity to solidarity and liberation

  • Each Disability Rising Fellow receives:

    • An optional $5,000 stipend to an individual or their organization, dependent on completion of Fellowship obligations

    • Monthly virtual training sessions in public speaking, TV and podcast/radio interviews, op-ed writing, and social media creation

    • 1:1 coaching and editing support from media experts

    • Weekly media pitching and cooking support

    • Optional in-person media training [Date TBD]

  • The fellowship runs from September 2026 through June 2027, with::

    • Fall 2026: Virtual media training intensive

      • Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET

    • January to June 2026: Monthly cohort training virtual sessions

      • Every second Wednesday, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET

    • September 2026 through June 2027: Ongoing, asynchronous coaching

    • September 2026 through July 2027: Weekly media placement support and pitching

    • Date TBD: Optional in-person media training

  • We’re looking for emerging advocates who are committed to using their platform to shift public narratives via media placements.

    We want people who are interested in connecting the dots between disability and other issue areas (ex. bringing a disability lens to reproductive justice or climate change.) All qualified disabled people are welcome to apply.

    Successful applicants understand and are ready to communicate the message that all forms of oppression are disabling. We want to hear how you would share this message through your perspective and help you access that broader exposure in media, whether it's through op-ed writing or TV and podcast/radio appearances.

  • We are committed to making the fellowship accessible for all. We will work with each fellow to meet access needs for all sessions and materials. There’s space in the application to share your access needs and we encourage detailed responses.

  • We plan to select ten fellows for the 2026 cohort.

  • This year, Disability Culture Lab is asking applicants to submit an initial Expression of Interest (EOI). Estimated time to complete the EOI is 45 minutes. This is the first round of the application.The deadline for the EOI is Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

    [Apply here]

    A smaller number of applicants will be asked to move forward to the full written application, which requires a letter of recommendation. This is the second round of the application.

    Applicants moving forward to the full application process will be notified by July 17, 2026, and will have until August 7, 2026, to complete their application. 

    Approximately 20 applicants will be invited to join remote interviews in September 2026. This is the third and final round of the application. 

    Fellows will be notified of acceptance by mid-September 2026, and announced publicly in late September 2026. 

  • Yes! Please email us at Hello@DisabilityCultureLab.org for more information.

  • Absolutely! Click here to review the full-length Word version of the Expression of Interest form.

  • Applications close Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

  • The Disability Rising Fellowship is a project of the Disability Culture Lab. The Disability Culture Lab works to shift the narrative on disability in the United States from fear and pity to solidarity and liberation, and move the needle on ableism from indifference to action.

  • The stipend will be paid in two payments of $2,500, one at the end of the intensive training in late 2026, the second after the completion of at least one media placement in 2026. Both payments require meeting program requirements for participation.

  • Sign up for updates through the Disability Culture Lab or follow us on social media. You can also email us at Hello@DisabilityCultureLab.org with any questions.

Contact us at: Hello@DisabilityCultureLab.org or follow us on Instagram: @DisabilityCultureLab