HHS HONOREE RACHEL SIMON TO SPEAK AT WHYY FORUM

The Bryn Mawr College Creative Writing Program's Rachel Simon '81 was recently honored by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson for her work as an advocate for people with disabilities. Simon was among six people who received the Secretary's Highest Recognition Award at a ceremony marking National Disability Employment Awareness Month in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 27. On Monday, Nov. 8, Simon will appear in Philadelphia with family therapist and radio host Dan Gottlieb in a public panel discussion titled "In the Spirit of Family: Siblings of Those with Special Needs."

Simon became a nationally known advocate for people with disabilities and their families after the publication of her memoir Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey. Riding the Bus is an account of a year during which Simon spent one day every few weeks with her sister Beth, who has a developmental disability.

Rachel accompanied Beth on her daily circuits through her Pennsylvania city on public buses. Over the course of the year, Simon not only came to know the community of drivers and passengers her sister had created around herself, but also came to a better understanding of her own motivations and priorities.

Riding the Bus has been adapted as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie starring Rosie O'Donnell as Rachel's sister and Andie MacDowell as Rachel. The director is Anjelica Huston. It will air on CBS next spring, with a target air date of May 1, a most appropriate date for a Bryn Mawr College alumna and lecturer.

Simon's discussion with Gottlieb, host of WHYY's Voices in the Family, is sponsored by the WHYY Children's Service. It will take place at the WHYY Technology Center at 150 N. Sixth Street, Philadelphia, on Monday, Nov. 8. The program will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a panel discussion from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Admission to the program is free, but seating is limited. To register, call 215-351-0511 or register online at http://www.whyy.org/education/family_register.html.

<<Back to Bryn Mawr Now 10/28/2004

>>Next Story