In honor of Neurodiversity Celebration Week (March 18-24), the University of Nevada, Reno Neurodiversity Alliance will hold a panel discussion on March 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Sierra Hall Bluff room. This engaging panel entitled, “Looking Beyond the Spectrum,” brings together a group of students, faculty and staff to share their lived experiences, perspectives and journeys that led them to where they are as neurodivergent professionals.

Immediately following the panel, there will be a sensory-friendly luncheon social with games, popular safe food options, including a pasta dinner and ice cream/sorbet bar, and door prizes such as noise-canceling headphones, Loop earbuds and more.

The event is open to all members of the University community, and no RSVP is required. Interested individuals can reach out to Jim Cherney with accommodation requests and questions.

“Celebrating neurodiversity counters the stigma and misinformation that results from focusing only on the complications of living as neurodivergent. It helps change the narrative through which we understand and appreciate neurodiversity,” Cherney, chair of the Neurodiversity Alliance, said.

Panelists will include:

• Tori Blue, resident director in the Residential Life, Housing and Food Services department and Neurodiversity Alliance faculty representative.
• Jim Cherney, associate professor of communication studies and chair of the Neurodiversity Alliance.
• Bailey Hill, senior resident assistant in the Residential Life, Housing and Food Services department.
• Nico Rufus, graduate resident director for Nye Hall.
• Dave White, Jr., Ph.D. student in special education and disability studies.

Made up of faculty, staff and student representatives from around campus, the Neurodiversity Alliance raises awareness, promotes access and ensures equity for the neurodiverse population at the University. Its efforts include advocating for learning methods that afford all students equal opportunities to succeed, identifying unintentional institutional barriers and developing alternative practices that do not discriminate, and pooling resources to meet the different needs of every neurodiverse person at the University.

About the panelists

Victoria “Tori” Blue

Victoria “Tori” Blue (she/they) is a resident director in the Residential Life, Housing and Food Services department where they oversee the communities of Sierra Hall and Manzanita Juniper Halls respectively. As a disabled, neurodivergent queer person, the identities they hold have heavily influenced their personal and professional aspirations of providing support to and being an advocate for college-aged students that hold underrepresented identities/backgrounds. Blue is passionate about helping create opportunities for and providing individualized support to the students she supervises and interacts with. They have led the charge/helped implement various on-campus initiatives with accessibility and inclusion in mind, including creating the first permanent sensory space at the University, located in Sierra Hall, and establishing the Neurodiversity Alliance Sensory Space Kit (a lendable resource for campus departments to utilize for programs/events.) Blue is an involved member of the campus community as she holds various campus leadership positions/titles including Neurodiversity Alliance faculty representative, Queer and LGBT+ Advocacy Board co-chair, DSJI-education leader and Student Services 2023-2024 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion champion. In Blue’s free time, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs and partner, Wyatt, gaming and watching Markiplier.

James L. “Jim” Cherney 

James L. “Jim” Cherney (he/him) received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2003 and is an associate professor of communication studies and director of the Communication Core at the University. He researches rhetorics of ableism and disability in film, law, sport and public discourse to expose and promote emancipation from ableist institutions and culture. He co-founded the University’s Neurodiversity Alliance and currently serves as the chair of the Neurodiversity Alliance Council. He has published articles in such outlets as the Western Journal of Communication, Argumentation and Advocacy, and Disability Studies Quarterly, and in 2019 his book “Ableist Rhetoric: How We Know, Value, and See Disability” was published by Penn State University Press. That same year he received the National Communication Association's (NCA) Jim Ferris Award for Outstanding Achievement in Disability and Communication, and in 2023 he received a Presidential Citation for Advocacy of Access in NCA and the Discipline. A long-time advocate for disability rights and access, he is dysthymic and identifies publicly as neurodivergent.

Bailey Hill

Bailey Hill (she/her) is a senior resident assistant in the Residential Life, Housing and Food Services department where she oversees the community of Sierra Hall and assists the resident director in organizing and supporting the resident assistant staff. Hill is passionate about building communities and providing opportunities for underrepresented individuals. She is majoring in cultural and linguistic anthropology and is involved with several on-campus departments and organizations. She volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, acts as a peer mentor in the Honors College, stays involved with the Anthropology Club and interacts with first-generation and low-income students through the TRIO program. In Hill’s free time, she enjoys reading, drawing or finding new spots to get delicious food. She aspires to one day speak several languages and travel to other countries to interact with different cultures.

Nico Rufus

Nico Rufus (they/them) is a graduate resident director for Nye Hall in the Residential Life, Housing and Food Services Department. They have a bachelor's degree in chemistry and are pursuing a master's degree in diversity and equity in education. One of their biggest aspirations in life is helping students navigate social and personal experiences, such as advocacy and mental health, while in higher education. Rufus acknowledges that there are obstacles put into place for marginalized communities by society and wishes to continue to supply support to as many students they can reach. They have received multiple trainings surrounding the topic of mental health and crisis response as that is a passion for them. Rufus wishes to also continue to be a resource of advocacy for students who may be in distress. When Rufus is not in work or school, they can be found enjoying anime or spending time with loved ones.

Dave White, Jr.

Dave White, Jr., (he/him) is a current Ph.D. student in special education and disability studies. In his past capacities as a former Paralympic classified snowboarder and consulting facilitator with the Nevada Department of Inclusive Education, White drew from his experiences as a disabled, neurodivergent individual to work toward developing a more inclusive disability culture. White’s passion for helping empower disabled, neurodivergent individuals is seen through his consulting services working to improve disability justice awareness for greater disability access. Whether it is through his athletics of snowboarding on the mountains and kayaking the lakes or his advocacy in the classroom, he strives to improve disability and neurodivergent awareness. As he states in his upcoming autoethnographic journal publication, “Understanding that each of us has our own story and journey toward empowerment, we have the power to create real change and expand the neurodivergent community. By sharing our stories of neurodivergent empowerment, we create opportunities for growth into something beyond ourselves.”