SBC is pleased to welcome Sarah Jones as our new ambassador in West Virginia. Sarah lives in Wayne and has a passion for working with, and for, people with disabilities across the state. She is a Marshall University graduate with a degree is Public Communications and a Masters in Health Communications. Before taking time off to stay at home with her 2 sons, Sarah worked with Disability Rights of West Virginia as a Community Education and Resource Development Specialist and Intake Advocate. Prior to this, she spent some time as a personal attendant through the I/DD waiver program. She currently chairs the disability advocacy organization, Fair Shake Network, that provides education and opportunities for legislative advocacy within West Virginia as well as working as a parent educator for Project DOCC which teaches physicians about family-centered care for children with disabilities and chronic health conditions. In addition, she served 2 terms on the WV Statewide Independent Living Council.
Sarah’s three-year-old son was born at 25 weeks with a dual diagnosis of spina bifida and Cystic Fibrosis. Her younger son also has Cystic Fibrosis. Sarah became interested in working with disabled individuals however before her children were born. Sarah has a brother born with Cerebral Palsy who is blind. She has collaborated with him on an award-winning film on the harms of institutional bias on the disability community.
We are excited to work with Sarah moving forward. A big thanks goes to Katie Arbaugh for her time and expertise as our first WV ambassador. Although Katie was generous in her willingness to take on the role, her prior commitments of family, full-time employment, and volunteer for the sled hockey team made it challenging to add the ambassador duties into her already busy schedule. Katie will continue to support the expansion of SBC into West Virginia, as she is able.