About

What is the DCC?

The San Francisco Disability Cultural Center is a virtual and in-person gathering space for disability communities and our people. We host events at our location at 165 Grove Street in San Francisco and online. You can also come during open hours just to hang out in a cozy, accessible space in the heart of the City. There are pop-ups every week that range from creative projects and book swaps to legal support and benefits counseling. We can’t wait to see you soon.

Mission

By providing educational, artistic, and social-networking opportunities, the San Francisco Disability Cultural Center brings diverse people with disabilities together to access resources; advance social justice; and foster disability culture, community, and pride.

Vision

We envision a city with a strong sense of disability culture and identity, where the people with disabilities who live, work, and visit actively engage in the services and support available to them, fully participate in civic life, and feel valued and proud of who they are.

Values

The San Francisco Disability Cultural Center will be guided by our commitments to the following values:

Community

We believe in building connections within disability communities and with the general public because no community should exist in isolation from others.

Leadership

In the spirit of “nothing about us, without us” we hold the leadership, expertise and wisdom of people with disabilities at the core of everything the Center does.

Collective Access

We respect and honor diverse experiences and share responsibility for creating access for each other.

Social Justice

We recognize that justice for people with disabilities is tied to the liberation of all people.

Intersectionality

We recognize that there is no singular idea of disability. We acknowledge and value people with disabilities who live at the intersections of multiple axes of oppression. We bring our full selves, with all of our identities and perspectives, everywhere we go.

Joy

Pleasure, laughter, creativity, and innovation are central aspects of disability culture and our lived experiences.

Meet the Team

Darcelle with greenery in the background
With greenery in the background, Dr. Darcelle Lahr smiles warmly and joyfully toward the camera. She is a Black woman with brown smooth curls, wearing a vibrant red and black floral jacket, a black shirt, and gold/black hoop earrings.

Darcelle Lahr, Ed.D., MBA, MA, PE - she/her

Darcelle Lahr (Ed.D., MBA, MA, PE) is the Founder and Executive Director of L.C. and Lillie Cox Haven of Hope, the home base of the San Francisco Disability Cultural Center. Haven of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization serving under-resourced communities through fiscal sponsorship, social entrepreneurship acceleration, community-based participatory action research, and community-engaged initiatives, including the San Francisco Disability Cultural Center and the East Oakland Women’s Social Entrepreneurship Center.

Dr. Lahr also serves as Professor of Practice in the Business & Social Sciences Unit of Mills College at Northeastern University, and as Lecturer in the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Lahr is also the Founder and President of Integral Consulting Group, a Black woman-owned management consulting practice supporting socially-minded entrepreneurs in vulnerable communities.

Dr. Lahr’s passion is in providing compassionate, seasoned guidance to social change agents in transitioning from early-stage visionaries to purposeful social change makers. Her current programs address systemic inequities facing marginalized individuals through Transformative Social Innovation.

Close up of a fluffy flamingo
A pink fluffly flamingo with yellow eyes and a white and black beak.

Dagny Brown - she/they

Dagny Brown comes to the DCC with a varied background. They bounced between catering, nonprofit, legal, and restaurant jobs before discovering their passion for working with disability communities when they landed as a co-producer at Superfest Disability Film Festival. Since their first Superfest in 2015, they’ve been on a journey through parenthood, claiming a disabled identity, earning a Master’s degree in business from Mills College, and finding true joy and balance with their many roles. Dagny loves slow and steady work with an emphasis on feedback, growth, and leading with care. Email them at Dagny [at] DisabilityCulturalCenter [dot] org.

Emily, DCC co-director
Emily is a white woman in a floral jumpsuit with big dangly earrings. She has a big grin and wears her hair in high pony in front of a Superfest banner.

Emily Beitiks - she/her

Emily Beitiks received a Ph.D. in American Studies with a focus in Disability Studies at the University of Minnesota. She has served as adjunct faculty at five universities, centering disability studies in her curriculum. From 2012 -2025, she worked at the Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University, serving as Interim Director for three years. While there, she developed her praxis as a scholar-activist of disability to promote creative forms of access for the arts and generate spaces that promote disability culture, serving as project director for a touring exhibition “Patient No More,” and serving as co-director of Superfest Disability Film Festival. She exists in this world because her mother’s sudden disability diagnosis prompted her to have a child, and her firsthand experiences of disability have grown throughout her 20 years of experience working in the disability community. Email her at Emily [at] DisabilityCulturalCenter [dot] org.

Mika, DCC co-director
Mika is wearing a dark blue shirt with a green and black snakeskin print jacket. They have gold rim glasses, gold hoops, and a gold chain and their curly fine dark brown hair sticks out in all directions. In the background, a cloudy sky with a little blue poking through and some trees and shrubs.

Mika Kie Weissbuch - they/them

Mika Kie Weissbuch is a neuroumami, nonbinary, activist, tree climber, and true extrovert. In 2011, they founded Huellas de Paz, a community cultural center in Managua, Nicaragua, focusing on youth leadership, education, the arts, and health and wellness. They work with the on-the-ground team to design programs that provide free mental health services to the LGBTQIA+ community, host cultural events, and facilitate support groups. Mika has a BA in Critical Social Thought & Politics from Mount Holyoke College and a joint Master’s degree in business and policy from Mills College. Email them at Mika [at] DisabilityCulturalCenter [dot] org.

Portrait of Frida Kahlo wearing a flower crown
Painted portrait of Frida Kahlo with a flower crown.

Sandra Bernal - she/ella

Operations and Data Manager. Sandra Bernal hails from the tiny, yet wondrous country of El Salvador. She experienced many humorous situations while learning English in the U.S. that have strengthened her trust and belief in her ability to accomplish the goals she sets for herself in life. Her life experiences and future dreams have encouraged her to earn her Master Degree of Public Policy, Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, Paralegal Certificate, and holds Certificate in Applied Data Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sandra has a passion for using technology to enact change in our communities. Her Master’s thesis, entitled “Is Virtual Reality Technology the Answer to Eliminating Recidivism?”, focuses on using virtual and augmented reality for healing, developing life skills, and cultivating hope within the carceral system. Email her at Sandra [at] DisabilityCulturalCenter [dot] org.

Shaina, Superfest Disability Film Festival Director
Shaina is an olive-skinned woman with long black hair and a gray flowing blouse with spots of yellow, orange, blue, green, and black. She is grinning and sitting in her wheelchair against a blurred background.

Shaina Ghuraya - she/her

Superfest Director. Shaina jokes that she’s a triple threat – she’s female, South Asian, and a wheelchair-user. She’s written on two Netflix animated series and is an Inevitable Foundation Fellow. She loves creating bold stories about scheming women disrupting the status quo (like herself), and is an activist who supports the teachings of Disability Justice. Her films surrounding topics of disability have screened at Slamdance, Superfest, and Hollyshorts. Shaina attended USC and majored in Film and TV Production where, after graduating, she was featured in Forbes. Shaina is part of the DCC team as a consultant – learn more about working with her at ShainaGhuraya.com. Email her at Shaina [at] DisabilityCulturalCenter [dot] org.

Advisory Council

The San Francisco Disability Cultural Center’s Advisory Council is a compensated group of disabled folks, with strong ties to San Francisco, who provide feedback and guidance. They meet quarterly as a group and individually with DCC leadership throughout the year. The Advisory Council’s role is to keep us grounded in our community and help the DCC team think through the toughest questions.

Alex, a black/white biracial single-leg amputee
Alex, a black/white biracial single-leg amputee, with thick curls and facial hair sits on a pink bench and hugs their crutches. They have a warm, contented smile and are wearing a floral blazer, lilac pants, clean white sneakers, and pearls.

Alex Locust is a Black-white biracial, queer, “Glamputee” whose work is a love letter to their expansive queerness, Black excellence, and crip magic. They point to disability justice artists and activists as their North Star, celebrating the truth that embodiment looks good on every body and collective access is essential to queer liberation. Alex comes to the Council with extensive experience at the Longmore Institute on Disability as well as their own personal efforts facilitating workshops in the Bay Area and beyond.

Bianca is a fat, light-skinned, disabled, queer AfraLatina
Bianca is a fat, light-skinned, disabled, queer AfraLatina who is smiling and looking to the right. Her hands are clasped and we see her orange fingernails and gold rings. She is wearing light blue heart shaped glasses, red lipstick, and has large round gold earrings. Her hair is up and her blondish brown curls cascade around her head. A black t-shirt that scoops across her shoulders reveals her many tattoos on her arms.

Bianca I. Laureano is an award-winning educator, curriculum writer, and sexologist. She is a co-foundress of the Women of Color Sexual Health Network and ANTE UP! a virtual freedom school. She has written curricula and led the curriculum development for the award-winning Netflix film Crip Camp and PBS documentary I Didn’t See You There, both guided by disability justice principles. She is an AASECT certified sexuality educator and supervisor and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the California Institute for Integral Studies for her work in expanding the US sexuality field. She is the editor of The People’s Book of Human Sexuality: Expanding the Sexology Archive (2023). Find out more about Bianca at her website BiancaLaureano.com and about ANTE UP!

African-American femme with natural looking hair auburn locks
African-American femme with natural looking hair auburn locks. They wear a mask that reads “Black Lives Matter” and a bright, colorful polka dot dress. Her cane is visible in the picture.

Claudia Alick is a cultural producer, performer, and inclusion expert. At Oregon Shakespeare Festival for ten years she produced events such as “The Every 28 Hours Plays”, “The Green Show”, The Daedalus Project, OSF Open Mics as well as producing/directing audio-plays with OSF such as the Grammy nominated “Hamlet”. Her personal projects include her podcast “Hold On…Wait for it”, vlog “This Week in Cultural Appropriation”, StreetPoetry, and one-person Show “Fill in the Blank” exploring disability and the medical industry. Claudia served on Oregon Arts Leaders in Inclusion, the steering committee of The Ghostlight Project, the steering committee for Black Theater Commons. She is currently managing content with The Crew Revolution black female leadership, serves as Co-president of the board of Network of Ensemble Theater, collaborated on Unsettling Dramaturgy (crip and indigenous international digital colloquium) and is on the advisory councils for the National Disability Theater, Howlround, and NW Arts Streaming Hub. Claudia Alick serves as founding executive producer of the transmedia social justice company CALLING UP whose projects include Producing in Pandemic, The Every 28 Hours Plays, We Charge Genocide TV, Co-artistic direction of The FURY Factory Festival, and consulting and advising funders and companies around the country. LinkTree: Calling Up Justice.

Dennis Billups, a blind elder
Dennis Billups, a blind elder with chocolate brown skin, sunglasses, and a radiant smile.

A native San Franciscan, Dennis Billups is a blind disability rights and anti-gentrification activist. He was Chief Morale Officer in the 504 disability rights sit-in of 1977 and contributed to the Netflix documentary Crip Camp. He currently leads meditation workshops for the San Francisco Public Library and also serves as a public speaker to share his disability expertise.

A purple haired white person with fabulous rainbow glasses
A purple haired white person with fabulous rainbow glasses, smiling, wearing an anti-covid mask, and a metallic purple leather jacket, posing in front of a colorful graffiti-style mural of a BART train in the Mission.

Liz has a lot of hats: maker and hackerspace enthusiast; poet and literary translator; technical program manager for Mozilla; consultant for the Disability Inclusion Fund x Tech; member of the Awesome Foundation Disability; founder of a nonprofit, Grassroots Open Assistive Tech. You can find more of their writing, translation, and random blogging at BookManiac.org and for microblogging @lizzard@mastodon.social.

Theo has short black hair, brown eyes and skin
Theo has short black hair, brown eyes and skin, a triangle nose, and blue glasses. He is half smiling at the camera and wearing a black vest. Behind him are trees and grass.

Theo Dean is a transition-age student at AccessSFUSD: The Arc and takes classes at San Francisco State University. He has lived in San Francisco for five years with his family. He enjoys playing board games and mini golf.

Zahna is a white Deaf female
Zahna is a white Deaf female with long blonde hair pulled back and smiling at the camera.

Deaf from birth, Zahna Simon is honored 2018 Changemaker for SF Live Oak School, a professional dancer, choreographer, chemist, avid health nutritionist, Deaf advocate and consultant. Simon received a BS/BFA in Chemistry and Dance at UCI where she trained with Lisa Naugle and Donald McKayle. She is former chemist by day at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and dancer by night in San Diego including a feature in KPBS TV/Radio special “Deaf Dancer Performs in Trolley Dances.” Simon is the Assistant Director for Urban Jazz Dance Company, the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival and full time office manager at a small Fiduciary Office. She has performed with Kim Epifano, SF Trolley Dances, Alameda ICW, Man Dance Company and more.

With Gratitude

The San Francisco Disability Cultural Center is led by L.C. and Lillie Cox Haven of Hope with significant financial support and resources from the City of San Francisco’s Human Services Agency’s Department of Disability and Aging Services.