Nina Stoller

Nina Stoller (they/them) is a Policy Fellow with the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN). In this role, they conduct research, attend coalition meetings, and track developments, all related to Disability policy, law, and advocacy.

Nina is a neurodiverse, Disabled, white, queer, plus-sized, anti-zionist Jew. They are fueled by the teachings of the Disability Justice Movement. Since isolation and confinement are tools of oppression, Nina believes that changemaking must take the opposite approach by centering community and connection.

Nina was part of the 2022-2023 Legal Fellowship at The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation. They completed a primer seminar on Disability-related court cases and attended monthly collaborative trainings about historical and contemporary Disability policy topics. They also partnered on a project with Monica Porter, Policy & Legal Advocacy Attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. Nina researched and wrote a memorandum about federal and state, non-police responses to mental health crises. In particular, they researched Illinois’s Community Emergency Services & Supports Act or the Stephon Watts Act (CESSA/SWA) as a case study in “by us, for us” lawmaking.

Nina currently works part-time as a remote aide for a Disabled adult. They strategically and effectively advocate for their client’s accessibility needs in meetings with his local service providers.

Previously, Nina conducted legal research at the think tank, Coqual, for the published report, “What #MeToo Means for Corporate America” and the unpublished report, “Affirming Gender.” Their professional interest in law and policy gained momentum while working at JustLeadershipUSA, a criminal justice reform non-profit. They managed administrative logistics and served as liaison to the formerly incarcerated people who were participating in JLUSA’s leadership development programs.

Nina spent their college years as an organizer for undergraduate economic diversity — they canvassed student perspectives, coordinated community demonstrations, and was in direct, successful partnership with top administrators as the school rolled out its new economic diversity policy. They went on to write their senior research thesis about the role of activism, co-option, and neoliberal opportunism in the diversification of higher education. By the time Nina graduated, Wash U shifted its scholarship fundraising priorities and reallocated its endowment to double the low-income student population.

In their free time, Nina enjoys rollerblading in nature, petting dogs, and watching Star Trek. They are also passionate about working with others to advance Covid safety, as a matter of Disability rights and anti-eugenics principles.

“The legacy of white supremacy for white people is [among other things] dissociation; from our bodies; from our feelings; from the earth; from each other.” – Fanny Priest