Meet The Team: Board of Directors

Loren Lachner (she/her) is a disabled + neurodivergent person in San Francisco, California, USA. She is proud to be on Basically Wonderful's first Board of Directors and volunteers where needed. She originally came upon the organization by first attending the Disability (Is Not A Bad Word) space during her chronic illness and pain journey. This space helped her immensely with her healing journey by introducing her to a beautiful community where she could share her lived experiences and connect with others. Loren also volunteers for a non-profit called SAVE as an Advocate for domestic violence survivors. She helps survivors understand their options, provides emotional counsel, helps them navigate the legal system, provides resources and referrals, prepares them for their hearings, accompanies them to their hearings, and provides post-follow-up support. She has received 110 hours of DV Advocacy training with two certifications. Before her disabilities, she worked in the tech industry with over 8+ years of experience, including Program/Project Management, Release/Incident management, IT, Compliance & Information Security, SCRUM & Agile development, and QA Assurance. She has detailed experience helping companies scale from start-up to midsize level. Loren has spent many years navigating Federal, State (CA), and local (Bay Area) benefits programs, with solid knowledge of Cal-Fresh, Medi-Cal, Medicare, CA-State Disability, and Social Security benefits. She strongly believes in creating and providing disability-centric resources and helping others through their unique journeys so they don't have to go through it alone. She is dedicated to sharing her story and learnings with others and advocating for her peers, whether disabled or just needing support. Loren is vegan, has two cats (Bromeo & Bruno), loves reading, and writes haikus! When she is feeling well, she loves to dance (specifically a dance style called shuffling)! She is also known for wearing cat ears. Meow!

Julien Salerno Drake (they/them) is a queer, trans/nonbinary, neurodivergent person living in Oviedo, FL. Julien is committed to centering the voices of disabled and neurodivergent people while building community spaces grounded in care, accessibility, and disability justice. Julien enjoys reading, nature walks, video games, playing ukulele, gardening, yoga, and spending time with their animal companions and spouse. They’re also a part-time student majoring in sociology and a small business owner. 

Maddie Crowley (she/they) is a storyteller, writer, listener, marketer, blogger, learner, podcaster, and lover. Maddie currently works as Disability Rights Florida’s Social Media and Content Specialist. As a multiply disabled person, Maddie brings authenticity and intentionality to their work in the disability rights space. Maddie also has personal advocacy accounts under the name 'ur fav disabled gal' where they share their lived experiences and resources with others. They graduated from the University of Florida in December of 2021 with two degrees in Linguistics and Education Sciences and a minor in Disability Studies. Maddie has worked in social media marketing for over 6 years and in advocacy for much longer. Having taught themselves most of what they know, they are invigorated and excited to help others achieve their goals through community learning. Maddie is a firm believer and advocate for disability justice, access, and liberation of disabled folks and holds a Black disabled feminist frame in the work they do. They have done community organizing for nearly a decade and hold disability and accessibility consultant roles to ensure that cross-movement organizing remains intentional and accessible for the disability community.

Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Itiba became a climate migrant at the young age of 11 when they were relocated to Central Florida post hurricane George. Itiba has been a  diasporic community organizer since the age of 16, becoming a bridge between Puerto Rico and the Central Florida diaspora. Further on Itiba has been active in holistic methods of mental health advocacy since the age of 20. She has dedicated time to understanding decolonization in the mental health services world focusing their work on antifatphobia and peer supporting. Additionally they have dedicated time to holistic healing advocacy. During the recent years, Itiba has supported the youth in Osceola county and Central Florida since becoming  Osceola Youth Alliance’s engagement coordinator. In this sphere he has curated safe space events for Osceola’s youth. Itiba is also a Masters in Non Profit management and a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist.