About Reverend Jennifer
Thank you for your interest in learning more about me. My story is one of resilience and discernment to find my own way of being in the world. My hope is that by sharing my story as a brain injury survivor, I will help you build your own bridge to belonging.
In June 1977, I survived a life-threatening brain hemorrhage as a six-year-old child – 13 years prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. At that time, no language existed for neurodiversity or disability justice. Instead, all that existed was the medical model of curing and fixing what was broken. But what if I didn’t feel broken? Instead, what if I explored ways to break down societal barriers in order to break through, break open and break free into a more expansive, liberated, vibrant way of life?
And so began my life-long journey of working toward equity and justice leading to greater healing and wholeness. In November 2023, I had the good fortune of meeting and thanking my Stanford neurosurgeon, Dr. Jerry Silverberg, for saving my life. I love this photo of the two of us 46 years later. It was wonderful to share this moment with my husband, my daughter and my parents. I can’t imagine a greater expression of gratitude than the gift of life and health!
And so began my life-long journey of working toward equity and justice leading to greater healing and wholeness. In November 2023, I had the good fortune of meeting and thanking my Stanford neurosurgeon, Dr. Jerry Silverberg, for saving my life. I love this photo of the two of us 46 years later. It was wonderful to share this moment with my husband, my daughter and my parents. I can’t imagine a greater expression of gratitude than the gift of life and health!
Art Advocacy & Artistry Statement
In spite of my illness, I retained the spirit of play, imagination, wonder and awe thanks to the magic of childhood. My brain injury, an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), happened to be located in the left hemisphere of my brain near the language center. In the four months leading up to my surgery, I had no access to verbal expression due to the bursting of blood vessels that hemorrhaged and swelled.
How would I communicate and advocate for myself without verbal expression? Art became my ally for artistic self-expression. I learned to write, sketch, paint, dance and listen to music. I moved my body to my own life-giving rhythm and beat in this silent yet wonder-filled space of creativity.
Four decades later, I participated in a community art exhibit for brain injury survivors hosted by Brain Injury Alliance of Washington. Here was my artist statement:
How would I communicate and advocate for myself without verbal expression? Art became my ally for artistic self-expression. I learned to write, sketch, paint, dance and listen to music. I moved my body to my own life-giving rhythm and beat in this silent yet wonder-filled space of creativity.
Four decades later, I participated in a community art exhibit for brain injury survivors hosted by Brain Injury Alliance of Washington. Here was my artist statement:
Brain injury survivors are a largely invisible community. This art exhibit enables artists to bring beauty together with justice to counteract this sense of anonymity. I believe that the human spirit is irreducible. We are more than our medical charts and clinical diagnoses. This is why I write and preach. I want to remind myself and others that people – whether brain injured or not – are human beings worthy of dignity, respect and belonging. Art puts a human face on social issues where creativity replaces anonymity, hope replaces despair.