Codi Mendenhall
Disability Advocate
Public Speaker
About Us
Codi Mendenhall
Jen Mendenhall
Codi is in 11th grade at Grand River Academy, an online school. Codi enjoys hanging out with her friends, shopping, swimming, adaptive snowboarding, doing crafts, social media, and riding their tandem e-trike. Codi was interviewed on Colorado public radio using her AAC to speak about going back to school after Covid. She used her AAC in a commercial for Code Ninjas, a National Coding Program, as well as two Mesa County Valley school district #51 school board meetings to advocate for adapted PE teachers and give an informative presentation about the yearbook group at her school. She was featured in the Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering Newsletter, Ride Designs Newsletter, and Move United and Directions magazines. Most recently she was in an ATAP National AT Awareness Day video. Codi completed the Young Emerging Leadership for Disability Power course sponsored by the Colorado Cross Disability Program in 2023.
Jen is a 55-year-old mom of a very determined and sassy 17-year-old daughter, Codi. Codi has cerebral palsy and uses many forms of assistive technology (AT) and critical rehabilitation technology (CRT). Codi and Jen were presenters for TEDx Grand Junction in March 2020. Their talk “Codi’s Life: From Coding to Communication Technology” was selected to be on TED.com. Both are current members of the Colorado Assistive Technology Coalition. Jen is a parent member of the Colorado Governor’s State Rehabilitation Council and a member of the Colorado Department of Education Sequencing of Services Pilot Program for their local school district. Jen was the family focus group lead for a cooperative grant project to create training videos for the Colorado Office of Employment First and Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council. Jen is a new tri-chair for the Colorado Employment First Advisory Partnership. Jen works with Unite4CRT and NRRTS to promote critical rehabilitation technology equity for all. Jen advocates for families and students with disabilities to assist in navigating the world of assistive technology, transition services, and real work for real pay employment for all. She has a BS in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism from Colorado State University and an MS in Public Administration from the University of AK. Jen completed the Center for Inclusive Engineering and Design Project SOAAR (Supporting Older Adults through Resources and Relationships) training to be a technology mentor for Senior Citizens.
Our Mission
Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness
Our Mission is to inspire others to push their perceived boundaries and to educate more people and businesses about the endless possibilities that persons with disabilities achieve
