In 1993, Anastasia Somoza, then in elementary school, petitioned then President Bill Clinton to assist in getting her twin sister, Alba, into a mainstream classroom alongside her. Both Somoza sisters have cerebral palsy and complex support needs, but a key difference was that while Anastasia communicated verbally, Alba did not. This meant their educational opportunities were vastly different, and Alba was in a special education class, which she likened to being “warehoused.”
Somoza credits her parents for instilling an egalitarian ethic into their family. “We all had jobs that worked with our abilities.” If her oldest brother, Oliver, was cleaning, Somoza was also given a cloth to wipe down a table. Inclusion meant not only having a place at the table, but chipping in to help prepare it, too.
Somoza has indeed been at the forefront of the inclusion revolution, working toward a world that truly embraces the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Her goal? “Doing the advocacy that’s necessary so the greatest number of us as disabled people live the life that we want to create for themselves and minimize the societal/attitudinal barriers that stop so many of us who live in our beautifully disabled bodies from achieving those goals.”
While the ADA breaks down barriers, Somoza emphasized that if attitudes towards disability don’t change, then laws like the ADA can’t be nearly as impactful as they were intended to be. While the ADA was a gamechanger for the disability community, there is more yet to be done. And Somoza is committed to continuing the efforts of leaders in the community who came before her.
At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Somoza spoke about her experience as a disabled American, and then traveled the country as a surrogate for Hillary for America. She served as the Community Liaison for the disability community with the New York City Council, and was appointed to the City Council Civic Engagement Commission by former Speaker Corey Johnson. She held this position until 2024.
Last fall, Somoza served as the National Director of Disability Engagement on Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, working with fellow advocates to engage disabled voters.
Somoza continues to be empowered by the spirit of the ADA. “Disability is an inherent part of the human story,” she said. “We need to shift societal and cultural perception so that it is reflective of our collective, lived experience and the complexity and diversity of our human experience.” She hopes her work is changing perspectives and helping society get to the place where our humanity is fully recognized, respected, and loved by all.
Read all 35 stories of the New York-based leaders profiled in our ADA 35 edition.