Nashville Program Coordinator
From Franklin, TN Amy is the Executive Director of ABLE Youth, a wheelchair sports and independence non-profit for kids and youth in Nashville. She started climbing in 2014 when Catalyst came to Nashville for their first climb and became our chapter’s coordinator last year. As a wheelchair user herself, having spina bifida and no leg function, Amy saw climbing as a new challenge and a new way to build my strength. “I have always loved both new adventures and fitness, and climbing has fulfilled both of those passions.” Amy regularly races in her wheelchair and is training for her 9th half marathon. She has seen that climbing has really made a difference in her strength, especially in muscle groups that she doesn’t use otherwise and wanted others to experience the benefits of climbing, too. Amy loves seeing new climbers try something for the first time and realize that they can do something that they may never have thought that they could do before. We even have people in our chapter who are able to reduce their physical therapy appointments because climbing provides them with a way to use and strengthen their muscles in a fun way. I also really enjoy seeing the other climbers at our climbing gym watch our Catalyst climbers. They may not even realize that they have a disability at first when they see them on the wall, but they soon realize that a Catalyst climber’s disability isn’t a barrier to climbing, just as it doesn’t have to be a barrier to a full and active life in general. Amy truly believes that climbing at Catalyst is much more than climbing; it’s changing perceptions of disability in society and breaking down barriers.