Roots of Inclusion

Transforming Systems, Led by Disabled Youth

Join us in empowering disabled youth to lead the transformation of their schools, communities, and educational systems from the inside out—because those most historically excluded deserve to lead the change, now more than ever.

What You’re Funding: Building a Youth Organizing Fellowship

"Finding a community of other disabled students made me feel like I wasn't alone. I wish I had known how to build that support system earlier."  —Disabled Student, ROI Survey

In classrooms across Washington State, disabled youth who face multiple systemic barriers are navigating ableism, racism, and systemic exclusion—often alone.

We believe they should be leading.

The Youth Organizing Fellowship is a two-year, youth-led leadership and organizing institute for middle school students with disabilities, grounded in disability justice, racial equity, and empowered identity development.

Fellows will:

• Grow advocacy skills under the mentorship of disabled adults
• Build community across differences
• Explore identity, systems of power, and self-advocacy
• Lead a listening tour across schools and communities 
• Co-create replicable, youth-led tools and community resources
• Deliver advocacy trainings to peers similarly affected by systemic exclusion 

Let’s change who gets to be seen as a leader.

Why It Matters—Now More Than Ever

The call to transform systems that were never built for all of us grows louder every day. Right now, we face a historical crossroads where:

• Offices responsible for protecting students’ civil rights are being dismantled
• Oversight for upholding inclusive education standards is being handed over to medical bureaucracies 
• Basic support systems for those with disabilities are facing devastating cuts
  
  

In this climate, disability rights are under threat—and disabled youth of color and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities are most at risk.

We can’t wait for systems to protect our young people. We’re building leadership from within.

What Makes ROI Different

We collaborate, co-design, and empower to build systems where disabled youth thrive.

Our work is guided by five core principles:

1. We fight for disability justice through whole-system equity. Ableism doesn’t operate alone. We address how race, language, gender, and income shape both opportunity and exclusion.
2. We connect lived experience to policy. Students shouldn’t have to navigate systems alone to be heard. ROI brings youth voice directly to decision-makers to inform inclusive systems change grounded in lived experience.
3. We help schools and communities grow cultures of belonging. Envisioning beyond compliance, we co-create environments where multiply marginalized students are seen, valued, and supported.
4. We equip disabled youth to lead systems change. We’re fueling the potential of disabled youth to know their power and use it to push for change.
5. We lead by listening—with humility and accountability. We don’t speak for youth—we follow their lead, amplify their stories, and challenge systems to respond.

Hear It From the Community

“ROI centers youth not as participants, but as visionaries shaping more equitable schools and communities.” 
— ROI Partner Organization Leader

“They create authentic opportunities for youth leadership and are intentional in addressing disparities affecting marginalized youth.” 
— Dr. Vicki Nishioka, Education Northwest

“I have never seen my kid feel so affirmed in who they are.” 
— Parent of a biracial, disabled middle schooler

Your Gift Plants the Seed for Youth-led Justice

With your support, we’ll:

• Provide stipends, mentorship, and curriculum design support to youth fellows
• Launch a youth-designed rights and empowerment campaign across fellows’ communities
• Fuel a generation of leaders ready to challenge ableism, racism, and exclusion across our systems

Give Today. Shift the Narrative. Share the Power.

This is more than a fellowship. It’s a movement for systemic change led by youth with the lived expertise to transform exclusionary systems, from root to treetop.