Mentoring to me involves two things. Firstly, it means making yourself – your time, knowledge, and experience, or just a different perspective – available to others in order to help them figure out their next step, solve a problem, and achieve their first and next great thing. Secondly, it means taking the time to uplift others.

Kathryn “Katy” Carroll (she/her) grew up on Long Island in New York State. She was motivated to become involved in disability rights advocacy by other blind people she met as a young woman. She also learned the value of being connected to people with similar experiences. She studied international studies at American University in Washington, D.C, and participated in several study abroad programs in France and Norway. 

When nearing the end of her bachelor’s degree program, she developed an informal mentor-mentee relationship with another blind woman, who helped connect Katy with work experiences. As a result of these experiences, Katy decided to apply to law schools. She attended St. John’s University School of Law and did summer work with a consulting firm and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. While in law school, Kathryn met her partner, Alex. 

After graduating law school, Katy did contract work while studying for the exams to become an attorney. She worked on several projects for international human rights advocacy organizations, the United Nations, and with the Burton Blatt Institute based at Syracuse University. Later, she relocated to Albany, NY and worked for an independent living center, satisfying her love of policy analysis and advocacy, starting as a policy associate and rising to interim director of advocacy. Since 2021, Katy is proud to work for the Association on Aging in New York, where she supports the equitable provision of aging services to older people and caregivers with disabilities. 

Kathryn serves or has served in numerous formal roles to promote accessibility and improve service systems, including as Chairperson of the New York State Independent Living Council, Chairperson of the Community Advisory Committee to one of New York’s University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Chairperson of the State Rehabilitation Council to the New York State Commission for the Blind, a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee to the NYS Adirondack Park Agency/Department of Environmental Conservation, member of the Interagency Partnership on Assistive Technology, and more. 

She also organizes poor and low-wealth people in the Capital Region with the NYS Poor People’s Campaign, and regularly engages in disability rights advocacy locally. In 2020, Katy was invited to be a part of Disability EmpowHer Network’s inaugural board of directors, and currently serves as Board Chairperson. 

Katy loves to learn and will take a class in almost anything. She is an amateur radio operator, is an experienced tent and lean-to camper, is learning to appreciate horror films, and enjoys word games. She and her partner live together in Albany, NY with their freshwater fish, snails, and miniature dachshund.