For National Disability Employment Awareness Month, McKenzie Coan Has a Message to Her Peers: Advocate for Yourself

As a highly decorated swimmer now training for her fifth Paralympic Games, McKenzie Coan has always chosen to focus on what she can do instead of what she can’t.  

That mindset has carried her through every phase of her life, from competition to her first “big girl job,” as she puts it, working in the student development office at Loyola University in Baltimore after graduating in 2018. 

Still, she knows that for many people with disabilities entering the workforce, not everyone looks through that same lens of possibility. 

“I think we’ve come a really long way as far as people’s perceptions about people with disabilities, but obviously there is sometimes still an unconscious bias amongst people,” said Coan, who has brittle bone disease and uses a wheelchair. “When you see someone with a disability, sometimes people aren’t going to think about what they’re capable of and only see them for their disability. And I can’t lie, I’ve experienced that before with people. And it just makes me want to prove even more what I’m capable of doing. But certainly, as a society we still have a long way to go.” 

October marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, an annual celebration of the talents and contributions people with disabilities bring to the American workforce. This year’s theme is celebrating value and talent, and that resonates deeply with Coan’s message that what people can do is what truly matters. The initiative, led by the U.S. Department of Labor, also aims to shine a light on the broad and meaningful ways people with disabilities strengthen our workplaces and communities. 

For Coan, that visibility is critical to showing what’s possible. 

She recalled her own formative years in the Paralympic Movement, when she was still coming into her own with her disability, and looking up to teammates such as Erin Popovich, Anna Eames and Jessica Long. And there is no shortage of examples of Paralympians enjoying successful careers and making a difference in the world today. 

Sam Grewe is a three-time Paralympian and gold and silver medalist in the high jump who lost part of his leg to bone cancer. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and now works as a physician at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.  

Sarah Adam is the first woman ever to compete for Team USA in wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics, and she’s also a highly respected professor of occupational therapy at Saint Louis University. 

Muffy Davis won seven Paralympic medals across alpine skiing and cycling and served as a state representative in the Idaho legislature from 2018 to 2021 before being appointed a board member of the Blaine County Commissioners.  

Cheri Blauwet, a seven-time Paralympic medalist in wheelchair racing who also won several major marathons, serves as Spaulding Rehabilitation’s chief medical officer as well as the interim chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School.  

In the world of Para swimming, examples include Brad Snyder, who serves as the deputy director of the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the U.S. Naval Academy, among other roles. David Gelfand, who recently ended his national team career, is a research and development engineer creating sports medicine surgical instrumentation and implants. David Abrahams competed in the 2020 and 2024 Paralympics before stepping away from the sport to start his career as a quantitative researcher with an investment management company. 

And those are just a few. 

If there’s one thing Coan hopes comes from National Disability Employment Awareness Month and shining a spotlight on employees with disabilities, it’s open dialogue and a broader conversation about seeing people for what they are worth. 

One of the hardest things she’s had to face at times in the workspace is knowing that there would probably always be someone who assumed what she was or wasn’t capable of doing, or assumed that because a role required something physical, she wouldn’t be able to do it. 

“So, I wish that employers understood that dialogue is OK,” she said. “It’s completely OK, and, honestly, a good idea to ask someone how they feel about filling a certain role, or how we can accommodate you to fulfill your duties just as anybody else, disability or not, who’s working here. Some people are so afraid to talk about it and maybe they’re afraid of offending someone. I’ve got to be honest, I’d much rather have a conversion about something than have an assumption made about me.” 

Coan said she’s lucky that her parents taught her from a young age to advocate for herself and her needs. She’s not afraid to speak up and ruffle feathers. Her greatest advice for others with disabilities, in any situation but certainly in the workplace, is to advocate for yourself even if it’s scary. Don’t be afraid to start the conversation with a coworker, employer or even a prospective employer. And employers, she said, shouldn’t let the fear of offending someone or saying the wrong thing stop them from starting a conversation, either. 

“That’s a huge reason a lot of the barriers still exist,” she said. “It’s going to take willingness from everyone to have that conversation. But real change happens with interaction and conversations. I’m not saying it’s easy, but I would much rather have maybe an awkward or difficult start to a conversation and see change than remain silent and miss out on things I know I’m capable of.” 

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to USParaSwimming.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.