In this episode of the SCBWI Podcast, we are joined by Golden Kite Winner Ariel Henley!

Ariel Henley is an author, DEI consultant, and thought leader with expertise in disability rights, disfigurement, and belonging.

Ariel aims to educate, empower and partner with individuals and companies in creating accessible environments and products so that everyone can thrive.  As a DEI consultant, she partners with individual and corporate clients to create more inclusive workplaces, incorporate accessible processes and materials, navigate difficult conversations, and thoughtfully meet clients on their journey by providing them with customized tools, guidance, and educational resources to better foster inclusive and diverse environments and create sustainable change. 

With a passion for writing as a form of activism, much of Ariel’s work explores her experiences growing up with a facial disfigurement, as a result of Crouzon syndrome — a rare craniofacial disorder where the bones in the head fuse prematurely. She writes to explore issues related to beauty, equality, human connection, and trauma. She shares her story in an effort to help eliminate stigma, educate others about the importance of facial equality, and promote mainstream inclusion for individuals with physical differences. Her writing has appeared in outlets like Bright Magazine, Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, The Rumpus, and Narratively. 

In her work on disfigurement, Ariel combines the history around lookism, ableism, and disfigurement; current data; and personal narratives to help clients gain a nuanced understanding of what it means to exist in an appearance-based society with a face that is different. Research shows that looking at statistics and reading about trends isn’t enough to drive change. By using a narrative approach, Ariel provides a comprehensive overview of how pervasive discrimination against individuals with disfigurements is. With a passion for bridging the gap between ableism and lookism, Ariel also believes in the importance of taking an intersectional approach to help clients unpack their own biases and understand the links between topics like ableism and lookism, and racism.

As a thought leader, Ariel has appeared in The New York Times, The Lily, CBC Radio’s Ideas, BBC World Service, The New York Times’ Dear Sugars, SXSW, and The Atlantic. She is represented by Rachel Letofsky at CookeMcDermid Literary Management.

Ariel earned her B.A. in English and political science from the University of Vermont and her Master’s in Education, with a specialization in Organizational Leadership and Student Affairs. She combines her educational background, professional experience in disability support services, and her lived experience, to offer unique, tailored services to fit client’s needs. 

— Her  memoir, A Face for Picasso, is out now from Farrar, Straus, Giroux (BYR), an imprint of Macmillan — 

https://www.arielhenley.com/

Follow Ariel Henley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arielhenley/

Buy A Face for Picasso here : https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-face-for-picasso-coming-of-age-with-crouzon-syndrome-ariel-henley/18581599?ean=9780374314071

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