LGBTQ and disability intersections with Andi Mudryk

To mark International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31), we spend today's show with Andi Mudryk, the Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Rehabilitation. For over thirty years, Andi has been advocating for policies, programs, and legislation that benefit the lives of people with disabilities. She is a person with a disability who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, commonly known as Brittle Bone Disorder. Andi has been a member of the LGBTQ community for 35 years and has recently found the courage to come out as a transgender woman. She talks to us about growing up in a multigenerational disabled family and about the process she went through to accept her sexual orientation and gender identity.

From 2006 to 2017, Andi Mudryk held several positions at Disability Rights California, including deputy director, director of litigation and managing attorney. She joined the staff at the California Department of Rehabilitation in 2018 as Chief Counsel and became the acting Chief Deputy Director of DOR last year. On March 25, she was unanimously confirmed by the California State Senate for the Chief Deputy Director position. She is also Co-Chair of SacLEGAL, Sacramento’s LGBT Bar Association.