RaeAnne Lindsay

RaeAnne is a 37 year old disabled woman who was diagnosed at 10 months old with Transverse Myelitis. She spent almost 18 years with Shriners Hospital in Chicago where she had a surgery, spent summers there rehabbing, and went to many of their camps. She has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a licensed Social Worker in the state of Illinois. RaeAnne currently works for Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN as a Research Coordinator in the Special Education Department. The grants that she works on are about Section 504 plans in the school settings and accessible housing. RaeAnne is a Disability advocate, which lead her to begin an adventure that she has always wanted to do, be in a pageant. She was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Illinois USA in 2023 then competed for the national title of Ms. Wheelchair USA in July of 2024 and won. Her platform was Inclusive playgrounds are for everyone. She has been a huge part of many different inclusive and accessible playgrounds in the last two years and continues to keep the movement going. RaeAnne made a promise to herself when she was younger that she would do whatever she had to do to make sure the future generations of disabled individuals never went through the trauma that she did and has strived to continue to keep that promise alive.