UW-Eau Claire senior appointed to Gov. Evers’ disability council

Zimmerman, a wheelchair user for most of her college career, was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers last June as a primary consumer representative to the Council on Physical Disabilities. Her term will expire July 1, 2027.

The Council on Physical Disabilities was established in 1978. The 14-member advisory council is a mix of people with disabilities, parents or guardians of people with disabilities and service providers for people with disabilities. The council’s charge is as follows:

• Advise the governor and state agencies on problems faced by people with disabilities.
• Review legislation affecting people with disabilities.
• Promote effective operation of publicly administered or supported programs serving people with disabilities.
• Promote information about people with disabilities for purposes of public planning at all levels of government.
• Promote public awareness of the needs and abilities of people with disabilities.
• Encourage the effective involvement of people with disabilities in government.

Evers’ appointment letter to Zimmerman read, in part, that her “experience, knowledge and dedication will be a great benefit to the people of Wisconsin.”

“I’m so honored to have this opportunity,” says Zimmerman, whose first official activity as a new council member was to attend the August Unified Voices: Engage for Change Summit of human services leadership.

“As the only student, I was the youngest person there, which was a bit intimidating,” she says. “But it was inspiring to be surrounded by people with so much experience advocating for disability rights. It was also a great feeling to be among many other people with disabilities. It made me feel less alone.”

Zimmerman’s ongoing campus advocacy for accessibility and disability awareness was duly recognized by the governor, and she says she is thrilled to lend her voice to upholding the notion that “people don’t not just live with a disability, but they thrive with it.”

Nominated for her advocacy, driven by her desire to serve

Zimmerman did not start college with a physical disability. During her freshman year, she developed a chronic illness that has led to her use of a wheelchair most of the time.

“I think I was a good candidate to join this council because I spent 18 years with no disability, and the past four years living with a physical disability,” she says. “I have a unique point of view compared to those born with a disability. I’ve lived as an adult in both worlds, and I quickly learned what it’s like to navigate a world not always built equally for people like me.”

The last three years of school for Zimmerman have been spent living in Aspenson Mogensen Hall, a fully wheelchair-accessible residence hall.

“That location has worked out well, because as a communication sciences and disorders major, most of my classes are right across the street in the Human Sciences and Services building,” Zimmerman says. (For clarity, the CSD program at UW-Eau Claire has changed its name since Zimmerman began her degree in 2022, and is now known as the speech, language, and hearing sciences program.)

Zimmerman began engaging with Services for Students with Disabilities in 2022, and it was SSD director Katie Bublitz who first approached Zimmerman about an open seat on the state council.

“Sydney had so much passion and desire to advocate for herself and others with physical disabilities, our office created a new student consultant job for her,” Bublitz says.

In her letter of recommendation to the governor’s office, Bublitz highlighted Zimmerman’s initiative to offer accessible campus tours to visiting students and families, her many campus presentations to offices and departments about physical accessibility issues and concerns and her education efforts with departments on best practices for working with students with disabilities of all kinds.

“Sydney was also asked by a faculty emeritus to serve on the campus panel for the Americans with Disabilities Act’s 35th anniversary,” Bublitz says. “I’m proud of the work Sydney has already done for our campus community, and I look forward to the positive changes she will continue to make in her work on this state council.”

Another person who is especially excited to see Zimmerman join the CPD is Angela Brenna, a program and policy analyst with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources.

“Sydney’s appointment by the governor is significant,” Brenna says. “She not only gives voice to those using wheelchairs in general, but she brings the perspective of someone living and studying in the Eau Claire area,” Brenna says of the council largely composed of Madison and Milwaukee residents.

“As a proud Blugold myself, I was especially happy to see Sydney appointed. I believe her experience and perspective will be valuable to the council and its work on behalf of people with physical disabilities throughout Wisconsin,” Brenna says.

While her current focus is settling into her studies for the fall semester and potential plans for graduate school for rehabilitation counseling, Zimmerman looks forward to finding the best ways to contribute to the important work of Evers’ council.

“It’s something so much bigger than myself, and I feel lucky to have the chance to make a difference.” she says.

“Acquiring a disability all of a sudden was very hard to go through,” Zimmerman says. “I hope to contribute to this council in ways that can make that process easier for people in the future than it was for me.”