Cristina Cortez Author, Poet, Independent Researcher, Advocate & Speaker Cristina Cortez is a first-generation Latin-American BIPOC author, poet, memoirist, disability advocate, public humanities educator, and interdisciplinary scholar whose work explores the intersections of disability, identity, memory, mythology, travel, literature, and cultural inheritance through poetry, memoir, hybrid nonfiction, and public scholarship. She holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing & Poetics from the University of Washington Bothell and a Bachelor of Arts in English, Creative Writing & Literature and History from Hofstra University, where she graduated with Highest Honors with Distinction. Cortez is the author of Poems from the Road: A Travelog Renga in Haiku, Haibun, and Senryū (2025), a multilingual literary project influenced by Japanese linked-verse traditions, literary journaling, and travel writing; the bilingual poetry collections As I Am / Soy como soy (2023) and Yo Soy, Yo Vivo (2022); and Tawantinsuyu: Poems of the Time of the Inca(2020). Her creative and advocacy work centers disability not as tragedy or limitation, but as culture, embodiment, lived experience, and human identity. Through her writing, public speaking, and interdisciplinary work, she bridges literary art, disability justice, education, accessibility, and cultural memory. Her essays, poetry, and advocacy writing have appeared in literary journals, anthologies, disability publications, and public humanities platforms, including I Come From the World Literary Journal, La Guagua Poetry Anthology, the United Spinal Association blog, New Mobility Magazine, and the Central American arts and culture magazine Tres Mil. As a speaker and advocate, Cortez has participated in literary events, conferences, podcasts, cultural programs, and disability leadership initiatives focused on accessibility, education, writing, representation, and public advocacy. She completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) fellowship program at Boston Children’s Hospital Institute for Community Inclusion as a self-advocate fellow. Her leadership and advocacy affiliations include the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, the United Spinal Association Tech Access Group, Mass Families for Change, LifeCourse Nexus, and other disability and public leadership initiatives. In 2025, Cortez received a grant award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in recognition of her literary and interdisciplinary creative work. Multilingual in English, Spanish, and Italian, Cristina Cortez continues to develop a distinctive literary and public voice situated at the intersection of memoir, disability justice, interdisciplinary humanities, and cultural experience. For more information, visit www.cristinacortezauthor.com or follow @cristinacortezwrites. Takeaways Cerebral palsy and its impactFamily support and influenceMental navigation and challenges in schoolWriting, advocacy, and 'Poems from the Road' Disability experience and storytellingImpact of technology on communication Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Spinal Cord Injury05:58 Childhood and Family Support11:53 Navigating School and Challenges21:03 Impact of Social Interactions27:03 Writing, Advocacy, and Interdisciplinary Research32:01 Authoring 'Poems from the Road'58:18 The First Thing to Do If Able-Bodied
