09/21/2026
It’s already been a week since the Disability Economic Summit and the announcement of the first-of-its-kind Artichoke Credit Union, designed with and for the disability community.
Our heartstrings are still singing.
In a room full of people at the intersection of disability, banking, business, caregiving, education, policy, social justice, technology, and more, the name Artichoke felt especially fitting.
Inspired by Independent Living pioneer Ed Roberts, who was told he would be a “vegetable” after contracting polio, he decided instead to be an artichoke: a little prickly on the outside, with a big heart inside.
We left with new friends, co-conspirators, ideas, energy, and most of all, hope.
And a huge thank you to Rebecca Cokley. Your legacy could be measured by the people in that room, the lives you’ve touched, the connections you’ve created, and the chain of people who are now carrying this work forward and bringing others with them.
At a time of Medicaid cuts, shrinking caregiver services, insurance denials, closing and strained hospitals, frozen grants, cuts to international aid, and attacks on policies and civil rights that support independence, disability sits at the intersection of everything. What is being dismantled or weakened doesn’t exist in a silo, and its impact doesn’t stop with people who currently identify as disabled.
And still, we left with hope.
That hope comes from the energy in a room. An energy created by people who each have the power to build, create change, fight for our rights, open doors, move resources, shape policy, and bring more people into this movement.
So please share the exciting news about
Artichoke Credit Union. Tell everyone you know that new opportunities are coming and bring others into the conversation.
🌱 Big hearts. A little prickly. Ready to take back our power. 👑
