Kathleen Barajas

Kathleen has been an advocate her entire life, first for herself and, more recently, for the disability community. She was born with cerebral palsy, and due to the severity of her disability, she has had to learn to live in a world where differences are not easily accepted.

In 2010, Kathleen got involved in her first disability organization, and has become increasingly active as the years proceed. As accessible transportation is her passion, Kathleen is on Metro’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, and holds the position of First Vice Chair. She is involved with numerous committees and councils, and this year got appointed to the Board of Directors of Disability Rights California.

In 2016, Kathleen was crowned Ms. Wheelchair California, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ms. Wheelchair America 2017 pageant. Kathleen’s platform topic was “Improve the way society views individuals with more severe disabilities through acceptance, interaction, and respect”.

In 2019, Kathleen founded Project AIR, a nonprofit organization which builds on her platform topic. The organizational mission is to “To educate communities in the appropriate treatment and accommodation of individuals with speech impairments and more severe disabilities.” Kathleen’s dream is to get Public AIR known to business entities who interact with individuals with disabilities daily. Learn more at https://project-air.net/.