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Designer Marc Ecko to Film Models from Disability Community for American Association of People With Disabilities Gala

Film Will Showcase Ecko Designs and Personal Stories of Community Members

February 6, 2012 | AAPD Press Team

What:               Media availability with fashion designer Marc Ecko and six models from the disability community.

New York fashion designer Marc Ecko is proud to collaborate with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) for their 2012 AAPD Leadership Gala, being held March 21 in Washington, DC. He is lending his designs and creative vision to the event and décor. As part of his vision, Ecko is working to create a fashion show, featuring models with disabilities, demonstrating the accessibility of Ecko fashion and the fashion industry to those with all types of disabilities.

On Tuesday, February 7, in New York City, Ecko will be filming the fashion show component with six models who have disabilities. The six models include New Yorkers and people from around the country and Canada who show the diversity of our nation and the disability community.


Who:                Marc Ecko

Timmothy Elder, Baltimore, MD, a lawyer and musician who experienced vision loss during teens and twenties;

Elizabeth Lalonde, Victoria, BC Canada, President, Canadian Federation of the blind; single mother of two who loves to dance, enjoys fashion, and shopping.

Alana Nichols, Wheat Ridge, CO, Paralyzed from the waist down in a skiing accident, she has excelled as a Paralympic wheelchair basketball player and alpine skier, and a medalist in the Paralymic Games (gold and one silver).

Oz Sanchez, San Diego, CA, a Marine and Navy Seal injured in a motorcycle accident which left him partially paralyzed. He has become a triple world champion in handcycling and has been named Challenged Athlete of the Year

Alexandria Wailes, NY, NY, has been hearing impaired since early childhood. She has a real love for fashion, accessories and the NYC lifestyle.

Jalen Wood, Dix Hills, NY, Henry Viscardi School ninth grader with Cerebral Palsy, who loves the his NYC sports teams and Lil Wayne, and says he is a typical teenager.


When:              Tuesday, February 7, 2012
                        3:30 – 6:30 pm

Where:            Office of Marc Ecko
                        40 W. 23rd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenue), 2nd Floor
                        New York, NY

Why:                For ten years, the AAPD Awards Gala has brought together leaders from government, business, and the disability and civil rights communities in recognition of the AAPD Leadership Awards and as a celebration of achievement, leadership and progress in promote equal opportunity, economic power, independent living, and political participation for people with disabilities. ##

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The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership association, organizes the disability community to be a powerful force for change – politically, economically, and socially. AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more, visit the AAPD Web site: www.aapd.com.