A Message from Disability Victory Co-Founder, President & Co-Director, Sarah Blahovec

Beloved community members,

I hope you are all taking care of yourselves in these extremely stressful times. Today, I wanted to share an update on Disability Victory’s mission and future. We are living in a time and a country when disabled people’s very existence is under threat. This threat is even more severe for our disability community members who are queer and trans, racially marginalized, and immigrants. Disability Victory continues to be committed to supporting disabled progressive leaders who are fighting back to protect themselves, their families, friends, and communities. This has not been an easy battle. 

Disability Victory has faced challenging circumstances head on since our inception. We launched Disability Victory in 2023, a year where we saw a downturn in support for progressive causes. These challenges have continued into 2025 as progressive groups fight against the firehose of authoritarianism unleashed by the Trump Administration, and as Americans struggle with economic hardship, cuts to Medicaid, attacks on our civil rights, and ICE attacks on our immigrant communities.

Despite these difficulties and with the support of our grassroots network, Disability Victory has created accessible training resources and programming that equip disabled progressives with the knowledge and skills they need to lead as candidates, campaign staff, and organizers. From educating prospective candidates on the challenges of running for office as Social Security disability recipients to candidate skills workshops with American Sign Language and CART captioning, we are dedicated to empowering disabled progressives around the country who want to lead and take care of their communities. We continue to educate our partners around the country on accessibility and disability inclusion, and we are dedicated to dismantling the systemic oppression that directly and negatively impacts the lives of millions of marginalized Americans. 

This work is necessary, but it is difficult. The stress of organizing in this environment impacts our minds, bodies, and spirits. As Co-Director and President of this organization, the past two years have been some of the most rewarding but some of the most challenging of my life. Those challenges have more recently translated to impacts on my health and my ability to contribute to Disability Victory’s leadership. After careful consideration and discussion with Neal and the rest of Disability Victory’s board, I have decided to step down as Co-Director and President of Disability Victory at the end of 2025. I’m so grateful to Neal, Rebecca, Atima, and Dom for their understanding and support in this decision. 

In the last few months of 2025, I will continue to serve as Co-Director and President to ensure a smooth transition and equip Disability Victory with what it needs to continue building disabled progressive power into 2026 and beyond. While I am leaving the organization’s leadership, this certainly isn’t goodbye. Next year, I look forward to supporting the organization’s ongoing leadership and contributing in an informal capacity. 

I am so grateful to everyone who has believed in Disability Victory, and who has believed in Neal’s and my idea for disability-led campaign training that began back in 2018. I appreciate every single grassroots donor who donated $1 or $5 or more dollars to our mission, as you have been the heartbeat of this organization, ensuring that we can create accessible programming and keep the virtual lights on. I am grateful for every single person who has offered words of support and enthusiasm for our mission. Most of all, I’m grateful to the disabled leaders around the country who are mobilizing and fighting back. You give me hope for the future. 

I look forward to working with the board as they dream up the future of this organization and revitalize this work as we approach the midterm elections in 2026. We are committed to the survival of our disabled community in an administration and country that are currently deeply hostile to our existence. Now more than ever, we must fight back to protect our rights and expand protections for millions of marginalized Americans.

In solidarity,

Sarah Blahovec

P.S. Disability Victory’s work isn’t done. Please consider supporting our work in 2025 and beyond.

Are you a disabled progressive who wants to run for office or organize in your community? Reach out at hello@disabilityvictory.org to let us know your questions about running for office and we will try to answer them in a future training or resource.