American activist who dedicated her life to fighting for disability rights. She is known for the Heumann v. Board of Education of the City of New York case, where she sued the Board of Education on the basis of discrimination after not being allowed to obtain a teaching license because she was in a wheelchair. She became the first wheelchair-user teacher in New York City after the case was settled without trial. She contracted polio at only 18 months old and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. From ages 9 to 18, she attended a disability-focused summer camp called Camp Jened in New York.
