Alicia Riddle

Alicia was born and raised in NE Portland, Oregon and graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School. She was an active athlete growing up playing basketball and soccer in high school and continued playing basketball in college, graduating from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. When she moved back to Portland after college, she began coaching high school basketball and working with youth and families in early childhood and in schools with special education students. This experience prepared her for the most important job of her life, being the mother of her two sons Dominic age 11 and Dyami age 10. Both boys are autistic, and the experiences of raising children with disabilities has changed the trajectory of her life. She stopped coaching basketball and has spent the past 10 years supporting families and helping them advocate for themselves and their children. As a woman of color, raising Black sons with disabilities, she feels it's important to discuss how the intersectionality of race and disability affect one's ability to live a full life without barriers. In their spare time, Alicia and her children like to watch movies together, play video games and have nerf gun fights.