Keegan Julius

Fulbright/University of Kent UKA Award

Keegan Julius graduated with a BA in Political Science from the University of South Florida. From there, they ran fundraising campaigns for organisations like the ACLU and The Nature Conservancy, led voter registration initiatives, and managed smaller non-profits like a Gulf Coast bird hospital. While they’ve always sought to drive change, it was their own autism diagnosis in 2022 that caused them to dive deeper into the world of disability justice. Keegan went on to serve as a self-advocate with USF’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, Vice President of Fulbrighters with Disabilities, a judge for the Ms. Wheelchair FL Pageant, and now resides in Chicago where they are an organiser for Chicago Disability Pride Parade, the oldest such celebration in the United States. This Fulbright will give them a chance to delve more deeply into how policy can be utilised to improve life outcomes for the disability community at large, and most specifically for autistic constituents. Keegan chose the University of Kent for their studies because it houses the Tizard Centre where groundbreaking, neuro-affirming research is being completed by researchers, some of whom are autistic themselves.