Episode 19: Advocacy, Entrepreneurship, and Parenting with Purpose

In this episode of Reimagining Life: From Pain to Purpose, we hear from Cindy Liu, a disability advocate, entrepreneur, and parent to a child with Down Syndrome. Cindy shares her journey of advocacy, her innovative projects, and the lessons she has learned in reimagining accessibility and equity for the disability community.

With humor and authenticity, Cindy sheds light on the challenges and joys of raising a preteen with a disability and how deeply rooted ableism affects individuals and families. As the first guest with a parent’s perspective, Cindy discusses a wide range of topics from systemic change to everyday parenting strategies. Cindy's perspective is both uplifting and thought-provoking. 

Whether it is nepotism (as she jokes) or the desire to end ableism that drives her numerous efforts, Cindy is an inspirational powerhouse in this community who is working tirelessly to make the future brighter for people with disabilities and their loved ones.

Key Topics:

Parenting and Ableism: Cindy highlights examples of how her daughter’s challenges often stem from societal attitudes rather than her diagnosis and how this affects the entire family unit.

Radical Customer Service: Cindy proposes a paradigm shift - approaching disability inclusion with the same anticipation and care seen in top-tier customer service.

Advocacy and Policy: Cindy’s grassroots organization, We Belong, focuses on safety, education, and employment for individuals with disabilities. Recent successes include California's passage of AB447 and securing $2 million in California’s budget for an inclusive college coordinating center.

Entrepreneurial Pursuits: Cindy founded LooHoo’s Enterprises, which includes:

• A cooperative cafe project designed to create equitable employment opportunities for people with disabilities called, LooHoo’s Cafe.

• A social impact media series, The Hidden Civil Rights Movement, spotlighting the disability rights movement and employing individuals from the disability community in the recording of the series.

Exclusive Opportunity

Listeners of Reimagining Life Podcast have an exclusive opportunity to preview the trailer for Cindy's upcoming film, The Hidden Civil Rights Movement! Follow The Hidden Civil Rights Movement and contact Cindy by email or DM to get an Early Access link:

Instagram: @HiddenCivilRights

Facebook: HiddenCivilRightsMovement

Email: HiddenCivilRightsMovement@gmail.com

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For speaker bio, references and full transcript, click here