Ruthie-Marie Beckwith, PhD is a national consultant who helps people with disabilities develop and implement strategies for greater autonomy in their daily lives. She is the founder and principal partner of Blue Fire Consulting and provides consulting services across the United States in areas of self-determination, community organizing, leadership development, and self-employment. Committed to grassroots approaches to empowerment and resource mobilization, she is the former Executive Director of TASH, a international non-profit that advocates for human rights and inclusion for people with significant disabilities. She teaches advocacy and disability history at CUNY as Adjunct Faculty.