Al Etmanski is an author, community organizer, social entrepreneur, and parent activist in the disability world. He is an Ashoka fellow which is a global network of social entrepreneurs and a member of John McKnight’s Asset Based Community Development Institute (ABCD). He conceived and lobbied into existence the world’s first savings plan for people with disabilities, the Registered Disability Savings Plan. Collective RDSP deposits total more than $4 billion benefitting close to 200,000 disabled Canadians.
He is the best selling author of three books. His fourth book The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving and Changing the World has just been published.
Al believes that extraordinary acts are not reserved for the special few. And that the vast majority of people are making the world a better place, even though their contributions are ignored, dismissed or forgotten. He wrote his new book to awaken the world to the collective and powerful achievements of people with disabilities. He is optimistic about what we can do when everyone’s gifts and talents are welcomed and enabled. Al blogs at aletmanski.com
Al Etmanski