In short, I was terminated from my long-time job in the arts during the heat of the CV-19 V mandates. I had just become a mother and had an exemption from my doctor, but was told that because the CDC was recommending it for pregnant and breastfeeding women, I had no reason not to get it, and could only be offered unpaid leave with no health benefits. I was treated like a stranger, and I'm asking for help in pursuing my case, which I know that so many people can relate to in so many ways. I maintain that it was, and always should be each individual's right to choose what they put in their body. It was mine- it is yours, and no one should have to fight these battles alone. Read on for more about me and my story.

During college, I found what I believed was my dream job. As a dance education major, the National Dance Institute's (NDI) mission and decades of beautiful work with all children-all abilities, races, genders- touched me and I knew it was work that I wanted to be involved in. I was hired immediately after college and spent 13 years- my entire adult life thus far, growing with the organization, teaching in NYC publics schools, growing, learning, and sharing my own skills to enrich their programming, presenting at national conferences, and helping them to pivot to virtual learning at the start of the pandemic.

Culturally, throughout the last several years, there was things that felt misaligned- workplace meetings that were too personal, digging and delving into politics and how they were affecting colleagues, sharing more than I felt was appropriate in the workplace. Notably, in the last few years, we were asked to divide for staff trainings and meetings into two racial cohorts. I voiced my discomfort around this and didn't participate when divided, but continued to love the work overall, and was fully committed to continuing to learn and grow, doing my best as a teaching artist to support every single child that we danced with.

Fast forward to 2021; I was finally pregnant, after years of a medical challenge that forced us to have to wait while I was under watch at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The vaccine rollout was rapidly underway across the country and the world, but no clinical trials had been done on pregnant or breastfeeding women. With my doctor's support, I decided that I wouldn't take a CV-19 vaccine while pregnant or breastfeeding, or maybe ever, as we waited for the tides to turn. I submitted an exemption from my doctor to my long-time beloved employer after 13 years of work with the organization. I was on maternity leave, and no one reached out upon submission of the exemption. Months later, the head of HR called and told me that my full time job was in jeopardy. Without 2 Moderna or Pfizer or 1 J+J, the only accomodation they could offer me was unpaid leave, without health benefits, for 3 months. I pushed back, noting that this wasn't an accommodation and voicing my surprise that a long-time (supposedly) valued member of the community would be treated with such a lack of humanity, especially while in early motherhood, navigating so many changes. From that point forward, the organization looped the board chair, and later a lawyer into our email correspondences. When they eventually terminated me, 3 months later, they stated that I was fired for "harassing HR", but had never scheduled a meeting about their accusation.

It was clear to me that I no longer fit their culture. I had pushed back about segregation in the workplace, and was presenting a challenge to the city-wide v mandate, by presenting an exemption that would've, during most normal times in society, required a reasonable accommodation. After terminating me, they went on to spread the untruth about the reason for termination to long-time colleagues, and "friends"(a few who proved to truly be). I have since had to remove them from my professional resume, despite years of stellar work and positive employee reviews. The impact on my mental health, my family's financial stability, and my career has been heartbreaking.

We are in the midst of a lawsuit, but it is clear that our little family vs a large, well-funded organization is an uphill battle and will continue to be, without outside support. The amount that they've presumably spent on legal fees has far surpassed what they could've paid me to stay on until the mandates expired, or until something else shifted.

Here's where I ask for the help of our community. These battles are not meant to be fought alone. One win in favor of justice and humanity paves the way for others. We are currently at a standstill, as they've motioned to dismiss. If an appeal is needed, we need the community's support to move ahead. We need to be able to pay the legal fees that have already accrued, and have the promise that the investment will have been worthwhile.

Many of you have experienced something similar yourself, or know someone who has. We've been treated in a way that is truly disgusting, hurtful, and damaging and it's time for people to be held accountable for that. I fight for myself, for my son, for our child who will be born this summer, for any person who was excluded, terminated, cornered, ostracized for not going along with the narrative of the last few years- for all of our children.

Thank you, in advance. Stay strong.

This campaign is unpublished.

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