"I was born four and a half months early with two disabilities. By all accounts, I should not be alive right now a few times over. I have a lifetime of overcoming the odds behind me and in front of me. Through it all, I have not yielded. Thus far I have become a public policy professional and lawyer. As for what is in my future, I have always had a propensity for finding solutions to complex problems and bringing light to hidden issues. I joined Awareness Ties because of their commitment to humanizing our issues, their dedication to diversity and nuance, and their unflinching acceptance of difficult conversations. I will use my own experiences to help others overcome their struggles." - Joel Cartner

Joel Cartner is a lawyer and public policy professional with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia and Retinopathy of Prematurity. Cartner has a background in public health, disability, and education law and policy. He received his J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Cartner currently lives in Washington D.C. where he works as a Document Review Attorney while seeking legislative employment.

"We do not yield."