Zandy Wong
Zandy Wong
Scientist + Disability Advocate
Creating a world where accessibility is universal and having a disability is celebrated
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About Zandy
About Zandy
Zandy Wong (she/her/hers) is a 20-year-old disabled Asian-American scientist and disability advocate studying public health at Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on exploring the intersection of public health and neuroscience to ensure better hearing healthcare through joint projects within the Hopkins School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health as a Johns Hopkins Neuroscience Scholar.
She is an internationally recognized speaker, sharing her story of growing up with hearing loss on the TEDx stage, with podcasts, international youth nonprofits, and on industry panels to encourage acceptance of those with disabilities. She is also involved with various disability advocacy projects. She is the founder of the NextGen Accessibility Initiative where she partners with Gen Z organizations to make their digital content fully accessible for disabled youth. Her work to improve digital accessibility within the NextGen Accessibility Initiative has reached over 200,000 youth in 119 countries. Zandy also advises the Department of Labor and state policymakers on creating policies to help disabled youth transition into higher education and workplace environments as a member of the National CAPE-Youth Working Group (Center for State Governments).
Her work in both science and policy has been recognized by the NIH/NINDS, Cochlear Americas, and the American Association for People With Disabilities. Her story and advocacy efforts have also been featured in international news coverage from Teen Vogue, NBC News, and the Washington Post.
In her free time, she loves composing piano music, running, and scouting out the best local cream puffs in Baltimore.
Notable Awards
Notable Awards
2022 Heumann-Armstrong Award National Winner
Recognized as 1 of the top 6 disability youth advocates combating ableism in education nationwide. Received a $1000 scholarship and had media coverage from Equal Opportunities in Education and the Johns Hopkins HUB.
2022 Diversity Leadership Award
1 of 12 awardees in the Hopkins community recognized by the Diversity Leadership Council for efforts to make the Hopkins community more inclusive and accessible.
Recognized as one of the top 25 rising junior undergraduate disabled students nationwide by representatives from leading global corporations including Google, Microsoft, and BlackRock. Invited to and attended a five-day leadership and development symposium hosted by Lime Connect as a 2022 Lime Connect Fellow.
2022 Clinton Global Initiative University Scholar
Recognized by the Clinton Foundation for my leadership in advancing global digital accessibility. Invited to speak with the Clinton family about the NextGen Accessibility Initiative at the annual Clinton Global Initiative University Summit in April.
Disruptor Award (The Conversationalist LIST 2021 Honoree)
Recognized as one of the top 30 Generation Z leaders of 2021 worldwide.
2021 Heumann-Armstrong Education Awards National Semifinalist
Recognized as 1 of the top 12 disability youth advocates combating ableism in education nationwide. Received a $100 scholarship.
1 out of 25 disabled undergraduates nationwide who were awarded a $1,000 grant for disability policy research by the Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation.
Recognized by Cochlear Americas as one of the top three Cochlear Baha system recipients at the undergraduate/graduate level from North America who uphold the Cochlear ideals of leadership and humanity and demonstrate high academic achievement. Awarded an $8,000 scholarship from Cochlear Americas.
Johns Hopkins Neuroscience Scholar Award
Recognized as one of the top three emerging deaf/hard-of-hearing undergraduate neuroscience researchers nationwide of 2020, first rising first-year undergraduate student award recipient in the Johns Hopkins Neuroscience Scholars Program’s history. Awarded a $20,000 multi-year grant from the NIH and NINDS to fund summer auditory neuroscience research and training.
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