Shelly Christensen
Speaker, Author, Consultant at Inclusion Innovations, Acceptance and Inclusion Month-Co-Founder at Jewish Disability Awareness
Shelly Christensen, MA is known as a leader in faith community disability and mental health inclusion. She is a professional speaker, published author and consultant. Ms. Christensen is the founder Inclusion Innovations and works with faith-based organizations through workshops, keynote speeches, and webinars. She also consults and advises organizations to develop and implement strategies to support people with disabilities and mental health conditions to feel a sense of belonging and contribution.
Ms. Christensen co-founded Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) with four communities in 2009. JDAIM is now recognized in Jewish communities and organizations throughout the world. She continues to lead this initiative. Ms. Christensen is the author of "From Longing to Belonging--A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community," along with numerous chapters and articles. She is past president of the Religion and Spirituality Network of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), and sits on the national advisory boards of Faith Inclusion Network and the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition in Washington, DC.
Ms. Christensen holds a master of arts degree in Developmental Disabilities from St. Mary's University, and a bachelor of arts degree in Journalism from the University of Minnesota. She is a graduate of the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Delaware, and co-founded a program of the Institute, Jewish Leadership Institute on Disabilities and Inclusion. On a personal note, Ms. Christensen resides in Minneapolis, MN, United States. She and her husband are parents of a son who lives with autism. She learned how the marginalization of people with disabilities impacts the hopes and dreams parents have for their children and, with a passion for justice for all children with disabilities, Ms. Christensen became a champion and advocate.
When hired to direct a Jewish community initiative on inclusion 18 years ago, she taught and mentored community organizations about inclusion and supported individuals with disabilities and mental health conditions and those who love them to advocate in their congregations, schools and communal organizations. Her approach appealed to a national audience and she became an important voice of the faith community disability inclusion movement. Ms. Christensen believes that people with disabilities and mental health conditions and those who love them want what anyone wants--to belong, to contribute and to be valued as a member of their chosen faith community.
With insight, passion, and humor, Ms. Christensen provides pathways that encourage all faith-based organizations to move from longing to belonging.
Takes part in
Religious Inclusion: What Corporations Can Do to Create an Inclusive Workplace for Multi-Faith Teams?
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Building a religiously inclusive work culture: challenges and solutions
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How to create a psychologically safe workplace for employees of different faiths and beliefs
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How to improve understanding and the importance of delivering religiously inclusive communications within the team
Anthony Peterson
Taz Latif
Shelly Christensen
Harinder Singh