Kristen McCosh, the reigning Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2007, was crowned the new Ms. Wheelchair America 2008. Ms. McCosh lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband John. She uses a wheelchair because of a spinal cord injury (SCI) sustained at the age of 15, and has over twenty years of experience in disability issues as an advocate, community organizer, speaker, writer, researcher and peer mentor.

Kristen McCosh,
Ms Wheelchair America
2008

Ms. McCosh will spend the next year travelling across the country doing outreach and advocacy work on behalf of people with disabilities.

“I will be working hard to spread the word about the accomplishments and achievements of people who use wheelchairs. I will also be advocating for vital programs and services that facilitate empowerment and success for people with disabilities, such as employment, access, education, transportation, housing, health care, and more,” McCosh said.

Her platform for her reign as Ms. Wheelchair America is physical fitness for people with disabilities, because it’s something she believes in very strongly.

“I try to encourage people in wheelchairs to remain as active and healthy as possible,” Ms. McCosh said, adding that she exercises regularly at a local YMCA. She works part time at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston as an Early Intervention Peer Mentor, helping newly-injured people adjust to life in a wheelchair, and she also leads a weekly wheelchair aerobics class there.

Ms. McCosh is employed full time as the Editor of Solutions e-Magazine, a publication of Hire Disability Solutions, LLC. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in English and Political Science from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and has studied toward her Master of Public Health Degree (MPH) at Boston University School of Public Health. In her spare time, Ms. McCosh is writing a Women’s Fiction novel series featuring women with disabilities as heroines.

“My message is much more about empowerment than inspiration,” McCosh added, noting, “I feel honored to have been selected as a leader among this field of amazing women.”