Able to Succeed: People with Disabilities and the Imago Dei

People with disabilities are created in image of God, imbued with the same intrinsic value and bestowed the unalienable rights declared in our nation’s founding document. However, the history of disability policy and social norms have not always mirrored this foundational truth. In this seminar, we will discuss first what the Bible says about people with disabilities and how we should view disabilities. In light of this, we will discuss how then we should approach public policy that affects people with disabilities. Is government morally obligated to provide a safety net? What does affording people with disabilities equal opportunity to the pursuit of happiness look like?

Rachel Barkley is an experienced coalition and community builder at the state and national level. She is the President of RK Barkley Consulting where she helps organizations move forward policies that advance freedom and promote human dignity through coalition building and policy strategy. She is the director of a disability policy reform project, Able Americans, and the executive director of the Alliance for Opportunity, a multi-state project to move 1 million people out of poverty into lives of flourishing. 

Previously, Rachel worked as External Relations Senior Advisor for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Director of Outreach for the U.S. House of Representatives Conference Chair, and as Director of Coalitions and State Outreach for the largest caucus in Congress.  Rachel got her start at a national non-profit for state policy think tanks, the State Policy Network (SPN). She served on the board for a DC charter school start-up and on the advisory council for Pepperdine University School of Public Policy’s American Project.