Silvia Yee is the Public Policy Director at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) where her work includes projects to increase physical and programmatic accessibility and disability awareness in the delivery of health care services, as well as some limited impact litigation to increase access for people with disabilities in myriad aspects of public and private life. Ms. Yee maintains interests in health care reform, international disability rights, and the implementation of cross-disability and cross-civil rights communities. She received her B.M., M.A., and L.L.B. degrees from the University of Alberta. Yee views health care as a civil right for people with disabilities since community integration cannot be practically achieved without appropriate home and community-based care, including long-term services and supports as well as health and wellness care. Over the past decade, Ms. Yee has presented and written on how health and healthcare disparities, civil rights, public health, social drivers of health, pre-natal genetic testing and engineering, and data collection/storage/use practices affect people with disabilities who also experience intersecting characteristics of race/ethnicity, LQBTQ+ status, age, and low income.
