Shirley Carrillo

Shirley Carrillo joined DREDF as the Development Associate in 2026. Shirley supports donor relations, fundraising, and special events for the Development team. She brings four years of experience in marketing communication and program coordination from national disability rights non-profit organizations.

Throughout her career, Shirley focused on amplifying the voices of people with disabilities through advocacy, accessible and inclusive communication. She identifies as a person with a visual disability and brings lived experience to her work.

Prior to joining DREDF, Shirley worked as a Program Assistant at the American Association of People with Disabilities. She supported the launch of AAPD’s Fall Internship Program, helping strengthen pathways to leadership and career development for students with disabilities.

Shirley also served for three years as a Communications Consultant at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). In this role, she coordinated the dissemination of COVID-19 messaging and materials in support of the National COVID-19 Resilience Network initiative. Shirley and her team advocated for accessible, plain-language COVID-19 vaccine information to ensure individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities had equitable access to critical public health information.

Shirley holds a Master’s degree in Communication Management from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She has two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication Studies and French from California State University, Los Angeles, where she graduated with Cum Laude.