Axis Project

Partners in everything.

In life. In love. In purpose. In the work. In the mess. In the magic.

Building a life together while building something bigger than ourselves.

Photo by Helena Kubicka De Bragança from the launch of our People, Policy & Play series, Democracy Is for Everyone.

Also, VOTE!

People, Policy + Play: Democracy Is for Everyone was a SUCCESS. 🔥

A full room. Rich conversation. And so much shared that was new to so many of us.

We talked about how civic agency doesn’t end with your vote. It starts with finding community, recognizing the power of your voice, and using it.

We learned that federal law still allows employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage.

And we talked about employment and opportunity, and the need for our city to ensure that youth with disabilities have access to the same kinds of employment, internship, and career-building opportunities created for their nondisabled peers.

And we learned that individuals can help write policy, and sometimes the policy that changes lives isn’t a bill at all. It’s a budget.

And somehow, in the middle of it all, Axis made the news TWICE in one week. 🔥

Huge thanks to our speakers:
Nisha Agarwal • Yaw Appiadu Nana Yaw Adu • Rasheta Bunting Rasheta Star-child Bunting • Rebecca Cokley • José Hernandez Jose Hernandez • Luke Messina • Chris Noel • Mike Schweinsburg • Emmet Terran Emmet

And to Pavar Snipe + Emily [email protected] of Pavar Snipe and comedians Nicholas Astor • Mike Favor • Pamela Rae Schuller • Pavar Snipe • Liv Talley for bringing the PLAY. ❤️

Special love to Helena Kubicka De Bragança for capturing it all so beautifully, and to everyone who showed up, volunteered, connected, and registered to vote with NYC Votes.

People, Policy + Play is a six-part series, and this was only the beginning.

What did you learn? What stayed with you? And what should we talk about next?

With love + gratitude,
George + Danniel

VOTE BABY VOTE🔥

Join us for People, Policy + Play: Democracy Is for Everyone at Axis next Tuesday, September 29!

Learn how to use your voice, build civic agency, organize within your community, and help shape the policies that impact your life.

We have an incredible lineup of speakers, followed by a disability-led comedy show curated by Pavar Snipe 🎤

We’d love to see you there. Bring your friends + spread the word!

🤟🏽ASL provided
♿ Wheelchair accessible
🍕 Food + drinks
🔥 Nonpartisan

Limited capacity — RSVP now!
Axis App or [email protected]

Alt text: Graphic for The Axis Project’s People, Policy + Play: Democracy Is for Everyone, September 29. Schedule: 4–5:15 PM, register, mingle and grab a slice; 5:30–7 PM, Policy, Power + Perspectives; 7–8 PM, Limitless Laughs Comedy Show. ASL interpretation provided, wheelchair accessible, and nonpartisan. RSVP through the Axis app or [email protected].

What an incredible evening celebrating 80 years of United Spinal Association alongside the launch of Wandercraft’s EVE.

It was especially meaningful to celebrate Matthew Castelluccio in his role as CEO of United Spinal and to see Jim Weisman, whose decades of leadership and advocacy helped shape so much of the organization’s legacy.

And bravo to Wandercraft CEO Matthieu Masselin and his entire team for bringing EVE to this moment. EVE is the first FDA-cleared self-balancing personal exoskeleton for eligible adults with SCI at any level, designed to expand opportunities to stand, walk, bend, turn, use your hands, and participate in everyday life while upright, with a companion.

There was something especially powerful about celebrating 80 years of progress while getting a glimpse of what’s possible next. Innovation is most meaningful when it expands access, autonomy, choice, and participation.

Join us this Thursday for the 504 North Star Monthly Meeting at The Axis Project! We’re adding an extra hour dedicated to Disability Pride Parade outreach and planning, along with updates on Intro 303, the Medicaid moratorium, and new club initiatives.

Free + open to the public. Food & refreshments will be served.

It’s already been a week since the Disability Economic Summit and the announcement of the first-of-its-kind Artichoke Credit Union, designed with and for the disability community.

Our heartstrings are still singing.

In a room full of people at the intersection of disability, banking, business, caregiving, education, policy, social justice, technology, and more, the name Artichoke felt especially fitting.

Inspired by Independent Living pioneer Ed Roberts, who was told he would be a “vegetable” after contracting polio, he decided instead to be an artichoke: a little prickly on the outside, with a big heart inside.

We left with new friends, co-conspirators, ideas, energy, and most of all, hope.

And a huge thank you to Rebecca Cokley. Your legacy could be measured by the people in that room, the lives you’ve touched, the connections you’ve created, and the chain of people who are now carrying this work forward and bringing others with them.

At a time of Medicaid cuts, shrinking caregiver services, insurance denials, closing and strained hospitals, frozen grants, cuts to international aid, and attacks on policies and civil rights that support independence, disability sits at the intersection of everything. What is being dismantled or weakened doesn’t exist in a silo, and its impact doesn’t stop with people who currently identify as disabled.

And still, we left with hope.

That hope comes from the energy in a room. An energy created by people who each have the power to build, create change, fight for our rights, open doors, move resources, shape policy, and bring more people into this movement.

So please share the exciting news about
Artichoke Credit Union. Tell everyone you know that new opportunities are coming and bring others into the conversation.

🌱 Big hearts. A little prickly. Ready to take back our power. 👑