Announcing KBFs Inaugural Ambassador Cohort

Shenandoah Valley, VA

Greetings, KBF community! My name is Ana Jermstad, and I live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. in Health Sciences in May 2021. I am currently applying to graduate school to pursue a master’s in social work. On August 3rd, 2023, my life changed suddenly after I broke my neck diving into a sandbar at my favorite lake, resulting in a burst fracture at my fifth cervical vertebra. I was now an incomplete tetraplegic. Despite this, I found a new passion in wheelchair basketball just three months into my recovery. I now play on two teams: the VAIL Harrisonburg Cardinals, a D3 co-ed team, and the Virginia Vortex, an inaugural women’s team. With support from the KBF Active Fund, I received a Top End Paul Schulte 7000 Series Basketball Chair, which has transformed my game, enabling me to fully engage in adaptive sports like basketball and pickleball. Basketball has given me joy, freedom, and profound empowerment. On the court, my limitations fade, and I feel liberated, surrounded by a community of individuals who share similar challenges and triumphs. The camaraderie, acceptance, and bonds I’ve formed extend far beyond the sport. Wheelchair basketball has become my guiding light, inspiring me through the darkest moments of recovery and symbolizing the possibilities of a fulfilling life after injury. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities, purpose, and resilience this sport has brought into my life.

Louisville, KY

My name is Olivia and I currently live in Louisville KY. I suffered a spinal cord injury at L2-T9 volunteering in the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2015. Before my accident I was very active and participated in a lot of sports, particularly equestrian show jumping, but in rehab I was never given a chance to explore my options surrounding adaptive sports, so I moved on thinking that my sports career was over. I didn’t know there are so many adaptive sports out there! 

I didn’t find parafencing until 2023 after moving to the UK from Taiwan to complete my Master’s degree at the University of Bath. I read about how the wheelchair fencing Paralympic team for Great Britain trains there, and I asked if I could try it out. A local club was kind enough to teach me how to fence and let me compete at their national competitions, and after I graduated I decided to move back to the US to train. I currently compete nationally and internationally, with a gold and bronze medal at the recent December North American Cup in Atlanta. Parafencing kit is very expensive, and I’m so thankful that KBF helped me to get a wonderful fencing chair from a Polish company that’s widely regarded as the top manufacturer for custom fencing chairs. Parafencing has opened many new doors, and has given me an entire community that’s so supportive and close-knit. Before getting involved in adaptive sports, I didn’t really have a group of other people with disabilities to lean on. Wheelchair fencing really has changed my life, and I want to use this platform to educate people with disabilities about ways to stay active that they may not have previously been aware exist.

Ann Arbor, MI

My name is Caiden Baxter, and I am thrilled to be part of the Kelly Brush Foundation Ambassador Program. I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Sport Management at the University of Michigan. Originally from Southwest Michigan, I have had the incredible opportunity to compete at the highest levels in wheelchair tennis, holding the number one USTA national ranking and the number two collegiate ranking. Beyond tennis, I enjoy spending time outdoors and love traveling to explore new places and experiences. I am passionate about advocating for adaptive sports and creating opportunities for others, and I’m excited to contribute to the impactful work of this program.

Central Valley, CA

My name is Gretchen D’Souza. I am a C5/C6 incomplete quadriplegic, and I just celebrated my 10-year ‘Life Day’ in December. I am so excited to be a part of KBF’s Ambassador Program and learn from this amazing community. I am fairly new to the adaptive sports world, but I strongly believe that any movement is key to our health and longevity. I have tried rock climbing, surfing, kayaking, paddle boarding, handcycling, and most recently attended KBF’s adaptive mountain biking (aMTB) camp in Vermont this past October, where I completely surprised myself by only falling 50 times—haha! I live in Central Valley, California, where resources for adaptive fitness and sports are very limited. I often travel out of town to meet the community and find adventures with various SCI organizations. One of my goals is to encourage my peers to challenge themselves by seeking adventure, trying something new, and stepping out of their comfort zones, especially those who, like me, never thought it could be possible. Other hobbies include travel, advocacy, reading romance, and watching documentaries! Looking forward to connecting with all of you, sharing experiences, and working together to inspire others to embrace the possibilities within adaptive sports and fitness!

Seattle, WA & Bend, OR

My name is Ryan Barbee and I currently live in Seattle, but I am moving to Bend, OR in February and will be partnering up with Colleen as an ambassador pair. I was injured skiing in February of 2022 and sustained a C6 incomplete SCI at Crystal Mountain. Since being injured, I have been committed to re-learning how to ski independently on a bi-ski and eventually a monoski, but adaptive mountain biking has stolen my heart! I got my own Bowhead back in March of 2024 with the help of a KBF Active Fund grant, and I have been riding as much as possible in Washington, Canada and Bend, Oregon. I’m new to the mountain biking community and I absolutely love it and want to be a part of it forever. As a quad, it has been hard to find sports that I can excel in and do independently, so being able to ride my Bowhead without assistance has been the most freeing experience since being injured. I have been lucky enough to participate in many camps and events year round with Oregon Adaptive Sports, Outdoors for All, Evergreen Trails Association, AIROW project, Hartford Ski Spectacular (KBF sponsored me), Squamish Adaptive Mountain Biking Association and Rocky Mountain Adaptive, and they all have had major impacts on my life and identity as a disabled person. I love meeting other wheelchair users through camps and events and building connections with amazing organizations that support adaptive sports!

Bend, OR

My name is Colleen Dougherty and I live in Bend OR.  I sustained a spinal cord injury in 1989 at the T9/10 level and also have a right hand brachial plexus injury from the same accident.  I was introduced to adaptive skiing at the Tahoe Adaptive Ski School (now Move United) back in 1992 and worked for their program for 2 years before moving to Bend in 1995 to start an adaptive ski school in Bend, now known as Oregon Adaptive Sports.  I have been involved with OAS since then and we officially became a chapter of DSUSA in 2003 and I have served on our board of directors since then.  I am also an active participant of our programs and love mountain biking, skiing and paddling.  I was so thrilled when KBF awarded me a grant last year to use towards my purchase of a new monoski (a DynAccess Hydra) to replace the Revolution mono I’ve been using since 1994!  Big improvement!  My daytime job for the last 20+ years is designing and building custom accessible single family homes.  Besides adaptive sports, I love swimming (competed in the 1996 Paralympic games in Atlanta in swimming), traveling, designing, and spending time with family and friends.  I am a firm believer in how adaptive sports truly can change people’s lives and I see it happen all the time through my time at OAS.  What myself as well as others have been able to gain in terms of community, confidence, health, independence and a new found or refound love of the outdoors is truly immeasurable.  I am thrilled to have been invited to work with KBF and continue to grow adaptive sports within the Central Oregon community and the KBF community at large.