Charis welcomes Mary Fashik in conversation with Anna Cechony for a celebration of Adventurous Adeline and the Back to School Party. In this first installment of the Adventurous Adeline series, readers will have fun following STEM-enthusiast Adeline and her best friend, Maya, as they seek out solutions for accessibility issues, while also teaching young readers about the importance of making spaces enjoyable for all community members. This event is co-sponsored by New Disabled South, whose mission is to improve the lives of disabled people and build strong disability justice and rights movements in the South.


When Adeline and her best friend, Maya, are invited to a back-to-school party, the two girls put their heads together in an inspiring fusion of Adeline's robotics skills and Maya's creativity.

Together, they set out to design a chair that could solve any accessibility issues, a chair that would not only make Adeline's life easier but also help her feel included at the party.

The question looms: Will Adeline’s invention solve the issue of accessibility, or is it up to others to find a solution so she isn’t left on the sidelines?

In this heartwarming early reader chapter book, children will discover the power of friendship, innovation, and the joy of tackling obstacles together.

Mary Fashik (she/her) is a transnational, transracial adoptee, born in Lebanon and a retired teacher who emphasized the importance of inclusion to her students. She is the founder of the Disability Justice movement, Upgrade Accessibility, and her activism centers around the principle of intersectionality. Mary is also a Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame Inductee and a three-time award-winning podcaster.

Anna Cechony is a disability doula, transition coach and access consultant based in Edmonds, WA. She works to make becoming and being disabled to feel like coming home to a loving, creative community rather than something that is scary, isolating or shameful. She has her Master’s in Learning and Organizational Change and Certificate in Organizational and Leadership Coaching from Northwestern University and is a Board Certified Coach. She's also an avid sewist, quilter, knitter and general maker working towards a lifelong goal of being able to build a home and make everything in it with the help of her community.


In her personal life, Mary enjoys experimenting in the kitchen and has loved baking since childhood. She’s also a big fan of karaoke, bringing joy to her life through singing.

The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate on crowdcast or via our website: www.chariscircle.org/donate or in person the night of the event.

If you would like to watch the event with live AI captions, you may do so by watching it in Google Chrome and enabling captions: Instructions here. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we begin this new way of connecting across distances.

By attending our virtual event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Please enter an amount between 0 and $500 to reserve your virtual seat.

Adventurous Adeline and the Back to School Party--Mary Fashik in conversation with Anna Cechony