EduGator alumna and disability advocate Carissa Madden was honored with a 2024 UF Inclusive Leadership Award in the higher education community category for her work in non-profits, higher education, disability resources and more.

Madden completed her College of Education master’s degree in education along with a graduate certificate in Disabilities in Society in August 2019. She plans to go back to UF to get her doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration.

Madden is a career specialist and the interim assessment specialist at Santa Fe College Career Exploration Center where she helps students and incoming students with their career goals. Carissa has partnered with the UF Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Accessibility and Gender Equity to make the Gator Nation accessible for all. She also volunteers with the Career Connections Center as a gator career consultant at UF, and with the Resource Key, an agency that promotes inclusion and accessibility.

She presents at several conferences and panel discussions on inclusion and career readiness for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD). Madden hopes to one day present at a TED Talk conference.

To see the rest of the 2024 honorees, click here.