LEAPING WATER CONSULTING

A waterfall is leaping water, the natural movement of which can change the shape of stone.

Deanna Parvin Yadollahi

Deanna Parvin Yadollahi (they/them) is a fat, Disabled, neurodivergent, mad, non-binary, diasporic mixed-race Iranian and Toltec-Mexican community activist, organizer, and dog parent with 8 years of disability justice scholar-art-activism about collaboratively undoing ableism and intersecting oppressions, especially as it relates to collective accessibility.

They hope to enact institutional change and radical reimagination that will lead to more supportive and just realities through community-building, resource-creating, presenting, writing, and via Deanna’s Creative Access Consulting practice.

Their work is based in deep appreciation for disability justice, which is intersectional and calls for cross-movement solidarity as well as community-advocated accessibility practices. Deanna studied Disability Studies at the graduate level, and most highly values knowledge that is co-created within their communities.

Deanna acknowledges, with respect, that they are a settler on the unceded, traditional lands of the Kizh Nation. They support the LandBack movement, Climate Justice, acknowledging historic oppression and intergenerational trauma, and dismantling its continuations today.

At this time, you can visit Deanna’s working draft website (bit.ly/D-Y-Scholarship)!

Image Description: A photograph of a young adult named Deanna Yadollahi. Deanna is outdoors in front of a trees, plants, an Orange flower, and blue sky, and is smiling. Deanna has light brown skin and short, partially shaved, curly hair with side bangs. Deanna is wearing a light pink tie dye top and a colorful floral kimono.

Testimonials

“Our community was blown away by the way Deanna and Rebel modeled an accessible presentation and space for all participants. Participants expressed feeling more courage to engage in equity work. At the same time, the social justice truths they spoke were received as prophetic and deeply spiritual. We are attempting to integrate practices they modeled for us, like access check-ins, frequent five minute breaks, and slowing down. Even though we’re a “disability organization” and move slowly in many realms, we are often tempted to move quickly where we can. Deanna and Rebel helped us remember the power of slowing down, both to increase accessibility, and to serve as an antidote to white, ableist culture.”

-Jessica Bridges, L’Arche

“I collaborated with Deanna Yadollahi as I was serving as a disability access consultant for AERA, one of the largest annual academic conferences. Deanna offered invaluable edits and proved to be an expert in thinking through cutting edge access strategies while diving into the most complex and challenging elements of accommodations that aimed to go far beyond compliance. Always advocating for access through a disability justice lens, they were easy to work with, patient, and responsive.”

– Emily Smith Beitiks,
Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability

“Deanna Yadollahi is a force to be reckoned with! They did an amazing accessibility review for us and provided invaluable resources from their wealth of knowledge. Their expertise has really helped us in our development journey and their work was thorough, professional, and precise. As a person, Deanna is a joy to work with and communicates well. I’d recommend for everyone to work with Deanna, especially if they want to make a big difference in their organization or personally. Thank you for everything Deanna!”

– Desi Carson, IDEAS Generation

“I’ve had the extreme honor, pleasure, and benefit of knowing, collaborating with, and employing Deanna Yadollahi through an online training “Decolonization 4 Dreamers” in 2021. Deanna was our Access Guide, consulting with us on our curriculum, structures, and overall arch, while also supporting the staff and student body in learning about and meeting their access needs. My entire adult life my work has been centered around transformational healing, social justice, and creative liberation. From the moment we connected, Deanna blew my paradigms, praxis, and embodied experience wide open. The level of permission they create in space, for all of us to truly be who we are, ask for what we need, and even transform our cultures responsively, in and of it itself is an antidote to so much of our struggles in our current world. This and their other teachings became integral to my praxis. Deanna approaches with immense care, skill, humility, honesty, & passion!!! Anyone and everyone would be lucky to learn from and grow with Deanna. If you’re reading this, don’t miss out!!!”

-Amani Will,
Co-Founder of HoodHippie Universe

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Testimonials

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I've witnessed Rebel's work as a community organizer, thinker and disability justice and racial/ survivor justice movement worker, and collaborated with him, for the last 5-10 years. I am always struck by his clarity, honesty, generosity and how hard he works to bring people together, always coming up with disabled Black innovative solutions and strategies to get people what they need. He excels at horizontal and facilitative leadership and is extraordinarily good at talking to and listening to people and working to help folks see themselves as the leaders they already are and gain skills along the way.

Rebel does a great job combining a few key aspects in effective justice work: he often leads with an honest, but disarming kind of humor that makes truth telling and radical honesty more accessible. He also brings great care to his work, making sure each person knows their perspectives matter, that they matter. He is direct and uses his own resilience and courage in powerful ways to help others understand their own power and how to use it to heal and build up the larger community.

Our community was blown away by the way Deanna and Rebel modeled an accessible presentation and space for all participants. Participants expressed feeling more courage to engage in equity work. At the same time, the social justice truths they spoke were received as prophetic and deeply spiritual. We are attempting to integrate practices they modeled for us, like access check-ins, frequent five minute breaks, and slowing down. Even though we're a "disability organization" and move slowly in many realms, we are often tempted to move quickly where we can. Deanna and Rebel helped us remember the power of slowing down, both to increase accessibility, and to serve as an antidote to white, ableist culture.

I collaborated with Deanna Yadollahi as I was serving as a disability access consultant for AERA, one of the largest annual academic conferences. Deanna offered invaluable edits and proved to be an expert in thinking through cutting edge access strategies while diving into the most complex and challenging elements of accommodations that aimed to go far beyond compliance. Always advocating for access through a disability justice lens, they were easy to work with, patient, and responsive.

Deanna Yadollahi is a force to be reckoned with! They did an amazing accessibility review for us and provided invaluable resources from their wealth of knowledge. Their expertise has really helped us in our development journey and their work was thorough, professional, and precise. As a person, Deanna is a joy to work with and communicates well. I'd recommend for everyone to work with Deanna, especially if they want to make a big difference in their organization or personally. Thank you for everything Deanna!

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LEAPING WATER CONSULTING​

Deanna Parvin Yadollahi

Testimonials

Testimonials

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LEAPING WATER CONSULTING