On March 16, I was invited to be a guest lecturer for a Health Promotion & Disease Prevention class in Georgetown's School of Nursing and Health Studies. It was great to talk with a group of future healthcare professionals about how I try to live a healthy life and my experiences with the healthcare system as someone who has a disability (while also recounting some fun memories from my time as a Georgetown student). Professor Joan Riley has invited me to speak in her class every semester for 10+ years and it is an invitation I always look forward to.
Taping of The Happy Self® Podcast
Recently, I was a guest on The Happy Self® Podcast with Tracy Fox to talk about my life-changing accident, overcoming adversity and how I try to live a happy life. It was fun to talk with Tracy, who is a certified professional coach, author & speaker.
Check it out on Apple Podcast or Spotify and let me know what you think!
Updating this Website
Dear Visitors– As you can see, the website’s news section is outdated. Maintaining a website is not easy and I admittedly have not been able to dedicate the appropriate amount of time to this over the last few years. My goal is to do a better job in the future.
Thank you for visiting!
Commencement Speaker at Delbarton
On June 1, I served as the Commencement speaker at Delbarton's senior graduation. While addressing the 110 graduating seniors and their families, I tied my personal story to our school motto, Succisa Virescit, which is a Latin phrase that means “Once cut down, one will grow back stronger”. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and I am so appreciative that Delbarton's Headmaster, Fr. Michael, gave me this opportunity. Ironically, this address coincided with the 15th anniversary of my own Delbarton graduation in 2004.
Elected to the Board of A Place To Be®
I am very excited to share that I have been nominated and elected to join the Board of Directors of an incredible organization called A Place To Be®. This organization, based in Middleburg, VA (about 1-hour outside of Washington DC), helps people face, navigate and overcome life's challenges using clinically-based music and expressive arts therapy. I have already witnessed some of the inspiring work that our music therapists are doing with our clients and I look forward to contributing to the oversight and strategic growth that is planned in the coming years.
To learn more about A Place To Be, please visit: www.aplacetobeva.org
The Kennedy Center's Spring Gala
Last night, I had the best time at the Kennedy Center's 2016 Spring Gala, which was a tribute concert to Marvin Gaye. Whoopi Goldberg hosted and amazing performances were given by artists including Babyface, Leslie Odom Jr. (from Broadway’s Hamilton), Andra Day, Jussie Smollett (star of NBC’s Empire) and R&B Grammy winner Ledisi. All of Marvin Gaye’s greatest hits were performed and I couldn’t believe I sang along to each one!
This was my first time attending the Kennedy Center Spring Gala (and only my second time at the Kennedy Center), but I know it won’t be my last. Nights filled with great music and people at a beautiful venue just can’t be beat! Thank you to my friend Kaitlyn for sharing this night with me!
NextStep's 2016 "Heroes" Benefit
On April 21, I attended the 7th NextStep Washington, DC Benefit to support fundraising efforts for quality of life grants and to open a NextStep facility in Washington, DC. The event was hosted at Top of the Town in Alexandria, VA on a beautiful night with over 125 people in attendance. I was so appreciative of my friends and family who came to the event to be a part of a special evening for an organization that is important to me. Thank you to everyone that has and continues to help all of our efforts!
As many people already know, NextStep Fitness, Inc. was founded by fellow Georgetown alumnus, Janne Kouri, and opened its first facility in Los Angeles in 2007 with the mission of providing "lifelong health and recovery for people living with paralysis and mobility impairments" through progressive, forward leaning equipment and therapies at a low cost to patients. I am proud to call Janne a good friend and clearly remember the day in 2006 when he was paralyzed during a diving accident almost identical to mine. We were connected by two mutual friends immediately after his accident and have been good friends ever since! #SISU
Panelist for Georgetown Disability Studies Class
It was great to participate in a panel discussion at Georgetown University about “Disability in the Workplace and Life after Georgetown” with two fellow alumni, Tiffany Yu and Lydia Brown. The event was hosted by the professors of the newly established Georgetown Disability Studies cluster and was attended by approximately 75 undergraduate students. It was nice to see how the Disability Studies initiative is growing and I predict that this is a focus area that will continue to expand on campus given the many different aspects of “disability” that can be studied. A special thank you to Bill Reynolds, Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations and the Annual Fund, for providing opening remarks and helping to underwrite the cost of the event.
Congratulations to the leaders of the Georgetown Disability Studies cluster for all of their hard work!
Much needed vacation!
I was very lucky to escape the summer heat of Washington, DC and spend the last 2 weeks in Westhampton Beach, NY. This is an annual trip that I look forward to because I love spending time with my family and so many friends that I only get to see while visiting Westhampton. This is also a chance to decompress while out of the office and I made a concerted effort to disconnect from the office as much as I could. It is very hard for me to fully disconnect and stay off email, but I would say that I did a pretty good job this trip.
This was a perfect time to sleep in, relax at the beach, go to the golf course and watch live tournaments, and go out for dinner with friends. I also got to visit Junior Sports Camp where I was a camper and counselor for many years and was able to present the Taylor Price Spirit Award on the last day of camp.
It's always hard to leave Westhampton at the end of the summer, but after a great two weeks I was ready to head back to DC! I was lucky to know that I'll be back in a few weeks for another wedding…..
Turning 30!
The countdown is finally over....I am officially 30 years old. I think the next decade is going to be a great one and I feel that things are only looking up from here. After talking to a few people about what it was like to turn 30, I found that most people had mixed emotions going into their 30s. I am embracing it and I'm excited to see what the future holds.
I could not have thought of a better way to celebrate my big day then the way I did. I woke up in my favorite place, Westhampton Beach, went to the beach for a few hours and drove into New York City for dinner at the Standard Grill with my family and then had a few celebratory cocktails with friends at a bar called the Brass Monkey. My sister Ellie did a great job of organizing this party and I was so appreciative of all my friends who helped me celebrate. I love being with large groups of friends and I love when friends from Georgetown, Westhampton, and New Jersey come together and meet each other.
At the end of the night, my dad and I drove back to Westhampton so I could sleep in my own bed and be ready for a full day at the beach the next morning. Thanks again to my family for a great dinner and my sister for organizing the party and everyone who helped me celebrate!!
Tour of 9/11 Memorial & Museum
While I was on vacation, I needed to "go back to work" for three days and travel into New York City for a conference that I played a major role in planning. After two days of business meetings, the highlight of this trip was a tour of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum on August 19.
So many emotions presented itself that day and I was extremely impressed by every little, special detail that made this Museum so beautiful. When I entered the Museum, I was immediately taken back by its size and layout. As we walked around, I quickly realized that we were far underground and in the actual footprint where the twin towers one stood. The arrangement of the Museum was so thoughtfully done and we could have easily spent a full day inside reading and examining everything (We spent just under 4 hours inside). It was amazing to see actual steel beams and partially destroyed fire trucks from the wreckage of 9/11 sitting in the middle of huge open spaces. My eyes filled with tears when I saw pictures of those that died and heard recordings of their voices that family members had given to the Museum, but then my heart quickly filled with pride when I read firsthand stories of first responders from that day and saw the uniforms of the Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden. It's impossible to share a description of the Museum that does it justice and so I would highly recommend making a visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum if you have not already.
I will never forget where I was on September 11, 2001 and still have very clear memories from that day and the weeks immediately following it. Living in a town only 30 minutes outside of New York City where so many people commuted into the City for work, I knew many people that lost their lives and remember all of the funerals that I attended, sometimes going to multiple funerals in a single day. The things that I remember most about that time was the perfectly clear blue sky that surrounded a picturesque skyline early that morning, video of the towers collapsing and clouds of smoke filling the streets as people ran away, and most importantly the incredible American spirit that this nation felt and displayed following this devastating terrorist attacks.
Joining the Board of the Delbarton School Alumni Association
I am honored to announce that I have been elected to the Board of the Delbarton School Alumni Association. I am very excited to join a group of 15 dedicated Delbarton alumni to help lead alumni efforts pertaining to events, fundraising, community service and overall engagement with the school. Anyone who knows me, knows how much love Delbarton and how incredibly important it is to me. Go Greenwave!
Vineyard Vines Store Opening Party
Last night, I attended the grand opening of the new Vineyard Vines store in the Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, MD. It was great to celebrate this occasion with company co-founders Shep and Ian Murray, friends, current and past Vineyard Vines employees, members from the team at VV HQ that I got to know when I interned with the company and all those excited shoppers spending lots of money at the new store!!
As many people know, I am a huge Vineyard Vines supporter and I'm always wearing their clothes- I think I have been buying ties from the company for almost 15 years. My connection to the company grew much deeper and stronger when Shep and Ian contacted me after my accident to send their well wishes. Since then we have developed a very strong friendship and I appreciate everything they have done for me. In 2008, I helped open the Vineyard Vines store in Georgetown and worked there for almost 2 years. It's amazing to see how the company continues to grow, not only in terms of the product line and number of stores, but how the Vineyard Vines team has truly become a family. The company has a cult-like following with its customer base and Shep and Ian continue to lead the company with a great example.
The brothers are now true celebrities, but I love the fact that they are the same great guys who are true friends, loving husbands and fathers. I'm lucky to be friends with them and I'm proud to continue to be part of the Vineyard Vines family. Remember that “Every Day Should Feel This Good" #EDSFTG
5 Year Reunion
I just finished my official 5-year reunion weekend at Georgetown University and it was an absolute blast. I think my friends and I are going to need a couple of days to catch up on sleep and fully recover. While I was originally accepted to Georgetown as a part of the class of 2008, I deferred a year after my accident so I became a part of the class of 2009. That didn’t last too long because I decided to take an extra semester for my undergraduate studies so I finally graduated as a member of the class of 2010. I have definitely joined reunion festivities for the classes of 2008 and 2009 (and will continue to do so), but I will never forget that 2010 was my official graduation year. I may also need to join the reunion festivities in 2017 since that will be the 5-year anniversary of by graduation with my masters degree from Georgetown school of continuing studies, where I studied sports industry management in.
Our class had a great turnout and I was excited that so many friends decided to travel from all across the country to celebrate this milestone for our class (with a special shoutout to the group that took the redeye from California on Thursday night). The weekend was also an opportunity to see some family friends from classes that we're celebrating their 10, 25 and 40 year reunions.
Our class festivities started on Friday night with a party at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue. We celebrated this night with the class of 1965, who was commemorating their 50th reunion and whose generosity underwrote our reunion costs so our weekend was free. There was a nice toast at the party by Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and the class of 2010 and 1965 reunion chairs. After this party ended, a group of our friends decided to have our own after party at a bar in Georgetown call Chinese Disco. On Saturday, I attended a discussion with President DeGioia and a couple hundred alumni in historic Gaston Hall where there were presentations made about various facets of Georgetown and how bright the future is. I then met friends to enjoy the beautiful weather outside down at the Georgetown waterfront. On Saturday night, our class had it's party on the patio outside of the McDonough School of Business building right on campus. Once the party ended, I had no gas left in the tank and needed to end the weekend on a high note.
Thank you to Georgetown for providing us a great celebratory weekend and I'm looking forward to my official 10 year reunion….although I think I'll be sneaking into a few other reunions in the interim. HOYA SAXA!!
#TheMcBrideAndGroom
After a successful plane ride down to Florida, it was finally time to relax for a few days before Matt and Magee's wedding festivities were to begin on Friday night. My caregiver Carlo and I stayed at the Marriott Singer Island Hotel and appreciated the generosity of my friend Tommy for letting us stay in his condo. The goal was to spend two days in the sunshine by the pool, while disconnecting from work (aka not check my blackberry every 5 minutes) and I think I did a pretty good job of accomplishing that. The weather was pretty good and I got to spend a couple of hours in the sun either in the morning or the afternoon. When I wasn't by the pool, I got the chance to visit with a lot of family friends who live in Florida and catch up with them after not seeing them for a while. I was excited to get a chance to have lunch with my grandmother who lives in Florida and my mother who happened to be visiting her at that time, as well as have a very nice lunch over at Lost Tree Beach Club and a large group dinner at The River House.
The wedding celebrations kicked off Friday night with a nice cocktail/welcome party at the Lost Tree country club. This was such a fun opportunity to see so many people from various parts of my life. My friend Matt, who was the groom, grew up down the road from me in New Jersey, we went to Delbarton and Georgetown University together and grow up spending summers in Westhampton Beach, NY. Once the cocktail party ended, about 25 guests from the wedding drove down to West Palm Beach to continue celebration at Cucina, a real staple in the Palm Beach nightlife. Let's just say that our group left its mark on the dancefloor that night.
After recovering by the pool for a few hours Saturday morning, it was finally time to put my tuxedo and race to Saint Ann's Church to watch Matt and Magee officially tie the knot. The church was a packed house, but it really was a beautiful service and everyone was so happy. Once the official church business was done, it was time for the real party to begin at the Everglades Club. Wow!!! Talk about a party. Cocktails, food, friends and an unbelievable band was the perfect combination for a spectacular party. Table 11 was full of Georgetown Hoyas and it was obviously the most fun table (that's an unbiased opinion). This was definitely a party that everyone will remember (at least depending on how many cocktails you had). I got my good workout on the dance floor until about 2:15 AM before having to head back to the hotel so I could catch an early morning flight back to DC.
Overall awesome week in Florida and congrats to Matt and Magee!
Up Up and Away....to Florida!
While yesterday started out as a day full of stress and worrying about what could go wrong, it turned out to be an exciting day that provided increased independence, expanded horizons and a new feeling of liberation. It was the first day that I flew on an airplane in my power wheelchair, as I traveled from Washington, DC to West Palm Beach, FL for a friend’s wedding. This was an extremely exciting accomplishment, but it was also nerve wracking and required a lot of advanced logistical planning.
The last time I flew was almost 8 years ago, but I took that trip in my small manual chair. While there are some similarities in the process of flying in a manual chair versus a power chair, there are also aspects of it that are like talking apples to oranges. To be honest, the last time I flew, my manual chair was severely damaged and required the airline to purchase me a new chair. Since then I have not been comfortable flying, but finally decided that it was time to try again and do so with my power chair. The uncertainty of not knowing how someone would be handling my power chair and worrying that damage could occur in flight always led me to look for alternative travel arrangements. I'm glad to say that everything went smoothly on both ends of the trip and no damage occurred to the chair.
For everyone who is wondering "how does Taylor fly", let me share some insight with you. The process starts weeks/months in advance of the actual flight by sharing as many details as possible with the airline about my physical condition and limited mobility, dimensions and weight specifics of my power chair, as well as any other needs I will have at the airport. Once I get through security and to the flight gate, the airline allows me to pre-board about 30 minutes before the flight is scheduled to take off. As I drive my power chair to the airplane’s door, I am transferred out of my own personal wheelchair into an isle chair that the airline provides, which is a very narrow wheelchair that allows me to get through the door of the aircraft and down the aisle to my seat. I am then transferred into a regular airplane seat, but ensuring that I am sitting on my specialized gel cushion to prevent any skin irritation during the flight. Due to the height of my wheelchair, I needed to remove my backrest and all of the side handles to minimize the height and ensure that the chair could fit in the door to the underbelly of the plane where everyone's luggage is stored. This is where I place all of my trust into the handler that will be putting my chair into the plane and I was lucky enough to speak personally with this individual at DCA airport. This definitely increased my comfort level, but I never have that same luxury at the arrival airport. I took as many extra precautions as I possibly could, to include turning off my power switches and placing bubblewrap around my joystick and anything that is especially fragile.
As everyone who frequently travels knows, getting through the airport and the security lines is not always easy. I am still required to go through security screening, although I just receive a pat-down and chemical swab testing on my wheelchair given that I am unable to go through the metal detector. I would be remiss if I did not express my sincere gratitude to my fellow U.S. Department of Homeland Security colleagues within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) who ensured that I was efficiently brought through the screening process with the highest comfort level. A few years ago, TSA created the TSA Cares program to work with passengers with disabilities or special circumstances that might need a little extra assistance at the airport. I want to thank them for the attention they gave me, but also for their steadfast service they provide to all individuals flying across this country each and every day. I would also ask everyone reading this post to take five seconds to thank at least one TSA officer they interact with the next time they pass through an airport. These men and women are critical to the safety and security of our country and often get overlooked with gratitude.
Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to take this leap of faith and keep those positive thoughts coming for future trips. While there will always be a little anxiety about how safely my chair travels on future trips, I do have more confidence in the airlines than I did a few days ago and friends are already asking me what my next trip is going to be..... Who has a bachelor party in Las Vegas that I can go to?
Happy Easter!!
Happy Easter everyone. I was so lucky to get invited to spend Easter at Congressional Country Club with our great family friends the Motley's.
Since I started at Georgetown in August 2005, I have spent many holidays with the Motley's as they live in Northern Virginia and are always so welcoming and generous to me. For some holidays, my family has been able to come down to DC for holidays, but on the occasions where I was unable to travel home, I have always been invited to spend the holidays with them, whether it be Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas or July 4.
While I keep saying that the Motley's are great friends, they really have become more like family and I so appreciate their willingness to open their home and “family time” to me!
Health Promotion Class Discussion
On March 19, I was asked to talk with almost 40 undergraduate students in a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention class taught by Professor Joan Riley within Georgetown University's School of Nursing and Health Studies. This was the fourth time I have spoken in this class over the last three years and every time I have more fun than the last.
These students are going to be the future of this country's health care industry, serving as doctors, nurses, and health care administrators and their curiosity about caring for people with disabilities always amazes me. When people have a genuine desire to learn, I am always happy and excited to share my perspective with them. This group was very interested in how medical professionals show approach people with disabilities in determining treatment and if that would be explicitly different than a patient without disabilities, my thoughts on proactive care, the type of physical activity that I do, my time as a student at Georgetown and how i managed campus from a wheelchair, and my opinion on research being conducted to cure spinal cord injuries.
Similar to other talks that I have given, I started by sharing the story of my accident and describing how my life has changed (but not ended) before inviting the group to ask me questions. I want to ensure that I am talking about topics that the audience is particularly interested in so I like to spend a majority of my time in a question and answer format. I am very comfortable answering questions and tell my audience that there are no questions that are off limits. If someone has the courage to ask a tough question, then I commit to having the courage to answer it.
I was so impressed with the way this group engaged during our 90 minutes together and I really had fun. In the days following the class discussion, I received a number of emails thanking me for coming to class, but also two students asked if they could interview me for essays they were writing.
Overall, a great experience and I was so happy that I could help a group a Georgetown students broaden their perspectives and approach to their future medical careers.
4th Georgetown University Conference on Employment of People with Disabilities
This morning I was excited to co-host the 4th Georgetown University Conference on Employment of People with Disabilities at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC with two other Georgetown alumni, friends and mentors, John D. Kemp (’71) and Mike Marshall (’95, ’05). This year’s conference was themed "Wounded Warriors - Employing Vets with Disabilities” and focused on the importance of hiring individuals with disabilities and more specifically, what can be done to improve the hiring and retention of the Veterans with disabilities returning to civilian life.
John, Mike and I were honored to present the Georgetown University Human Spirit Award to two female members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA). Rep. McMorris Rogers, the fourth highest ranking Republican in the House, was present to accept the award and share some personal insight about her commitment to helping people with disabilities.
We were honored that Tom Donohue, President & CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wanted to speak about the need for the United States to take the lead on the passage of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and discuss the unique skill-sets that businesses would acquire if they hired and retained more individuals with disabilities.
The conference was highlighted by two fascinating panels. Frances West, Chief Accessibility Officer at IBM, moderated the first panel, which examined the need for accessible assistive technology, and had panelists from Barclays Capital, Rutgers University and Accessibility Partners LLC. The second panel, moderated by Justin Ford with the Truman National Security Project and General Manager of Dog Tag Bakery, focused on the role of the recent federal contracting regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Panelists included the Deputy Assistant Secretary from the U.S. Department of Labor, a representative from Northrop Grumman the Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce & Executive Director, Hiring Our Heroes.
Thank you to Georgetown University, our award recipients, sponsors, expert panelists and everyone that attended for making this conference as successful as it was!
Walking down the Green Carpet
Delbarton's 75th Anniversary “Green-tie" Gala finally arrived. While there were a number of reasons why I traveled to NYC this weekend, attending this Gala was without a doubt the main attraction. My commitment to and love for Delbarton is no secret and so it was very important to me to attend this great celebration. Almost 450 guests dressed up at Gustavino’s under Manhattan's Queensboro Bridge to dance the night away and the group included fellow alumni, former teachers and coaches, monks from St. Mary's Abbey and other “Friends of Delbarton". I love getting dressed up and making the night a Green-tie party instead of a Black-tie party was quite appropriate as the Green Wave is our mascot.
Everyone in attendance walked the Green Carpet, tasted two signature drinks, the Old Main and the Green Wave, created by alumni mixologist Harold 'H' Ehrmann '87 and tested their luck in a twenty-two item silent auction, which included a painting of Old Main by American Impressionist John Traynor '79, a Delbarton-branded Tag Heuer watch, a Sun Valley home and Palm desert condo, jewelry and more. Guests had the opportunity to reflect on Delbarton's first 75 years, but also look towards the future with the announcement of a significant capital campaign that will be launching to help enhance our campus's main building, Trinity Hall, and grow our endowment to increase our ability to provide financial aid.
I had the most amazing night with my friend, Ali Armstrong, who was truly the best date and dance partner I could have asked. Ali and I appreciated my classmate Alex Hewit and his family letting us sit with them for dinner. The Skyline Drive Orchestra lived up to expectations and the young alumni at the party impressed everyone with their dance moves on the dance floor.
Congratulations Delbarton on your first 75 years and I am so excited to see where you will be 75 years from now!