Co-Trainer and Collaborator Specialist and Access Coordinator

melissa kelley colibrí is a Deafdisabled queer trans mixed latinx non-binary femme living on unceded Kumeyaay land in San Diego, CA. They work full-time as a disability justice movement worker in the LGBTQ community of San Diego and beyond, ensuring spaces, events, and meetings are accessible for all people with disabilities, including Deaf folks. In addition to access coordination services, they provide accessibility training and LGBTQ as well as workshops for community members, organizers, and agencies that serve LGBTQ folks and give presentations on accessibility nationally. melissa works as the Assistant Director for Deaf Queer Resource Center and as the Operations Manager for jooux, a Deaf sexual wellness center. They coordinate access for Transform Together and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop firms and co-coordinate access with another Deaf coordinator for People’s Collective for Justice and Liberation (PC4JL). They are honored to serve on PC4JL’s advisory council, as well as the advisory board for Trans Law Center’s Disability Project.

melissa believes inaccessibility is a wide-ranging social justice issue of growing importance, as more individuals navigate the world with the experience of disability, and especially for those who also experience intersectional oppression and discrimination. melissa believes that it is vital for all people with disabilities, including Deaf folks, to have a sense of community within all LGBTQ spaces. Community enables us to connect, thrive, and organize. It brings feelings of identity and pride as well as kinship. This is possible through full accessibility, communication, inter-group relations, and networking.

melissa is deeply passionate about breaking isolation through networking, building a support system with ready access to education, resources, services, and spaces for all disabled and Deaf members of the LGBTQ community in San Diego and beyond. melissa holds an AA degree in Alcohol and Other Drugs Studies and a BA degree in Sociology. They are currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health. When not studying, advocating, or coordinating events, melissa can be found meditating, traveling, hiking, reading, watching hummingbirds, or whisking matcha.