To me, mentoring means centering disabled voices. Guiding as they discover their power, purpose, and pride. It’s about creating space for disabled individuals to be fully seen and supported to reach their potential. Mentoring is not about fixing, it’s about affirming, empowering, and believing in someone’s right to thrive just as they are.

Dr. Gabrielle Ficchi is a disabled scholar, licensed therapist, certified rehabilitation counselor, and advocate for disability rights. As someone with a disability herself, Gabrielle brings both personal experience and professional expertise to her work, bridging the gap between lived experience and systemic change. Her unwavering commitment to advancing equity and justice for the disability community has shaped her career across counseling, education, nonprofit leadership, and public advocacy. 

Gabrielle serves as the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Care 4 the Caregivers, a nonprofit organization supporting families raising children with disabilities through mental health services, education, and advocacy. She is also the CEO and therapist at New Perspectives LLC, a private practice dedicated to providing affirming and accessible therapy for disabled individuals and their families. Her therapeutic work is grounded in the principles of independent living, disability pride, and the dignity of risk, fostering resilience and self-acceptance in the face of systemic barriers. In addition to her clinical and nonprofit leadership roles, Gabrielle is a full-time faculty member at the University of Phoenix, where she teaches graduate courses in counseling 

Gabrielle’s impact extends beyond individual support she guides emerging disabled professionals and advocates, consults with organizations and champions policies that center disabled voices in decision-making. Her work continually emphasizes the importance of shifting narratives about disability from deficit to pride, particularly during life transitions such as adolescence to adulthood. Whether in a therapy, classrooms, or community, she remains dedicated to helping disabled individuals see themselves as whole, capable, and deserving of true happiness.  She encourages disabled individuals and their families to embrace their identities, take risks, and challenge the low expectations society often places on them.  She believes in a world where disability is celebrated and disabled people have the equal opportunity to thrive.