YC Alumna Alexandra Martinez Named Ms. Wheelchair Ohio

YC alumna Alexandra Martinez was named Ms. Wheelchair Ohio this past spring. The mission of Ms. Wheelchair America is to provide an opportunity for achievement for women who use wheelchairs to successfully educate and advocate for the more than 64 million Americans living with disabilities. Alexandra was encouraged to try out Ms. Wheelchair Ohio by Krista Allison, a YC board member who was the former Ms. Wheelchair Ohio, and Chris Garr.

“I’ve really grown into myself with the Youth Challenge family and our events,” Alexandra said. “They’ve really taught me so much about advocacy and the importance of speaking up as a disabled individual.”

During the competition, Alexandra and the other women competing were asked questions ranging from “What does Miss Wheelchair Ohio mean to you?”  to “What would you do if you had a million dollars?”  During the competition weekend, Alexandra had the opportunity to get to know the other women.

“We played games,” Alexandra said. “It was a lot of bonding, and it was so much fun.”

Alexandra’s platform is called Dancing through Disability, and it highlights the therapeutic benefits of dance in the disabled community, as well as the importance of disability representation in creative spaces, and the importance of movement for mental health for people with disabilities. Alexandra had been dancing through Dancing Wheels since she was five years old, but she really saw the true value when dance helped her through a traumatic experience in 2020.

Through Alexandra’s platform, she has been able to attend various community fairs and parades and participate in two Cleveland Dance Project performances.

“The fact that disabled people can dance in general needs more representation,” Alex said. “I want to highlight that with my platform and just share the therapeutic benefits of dance, not only physically, but also mentally, because dancing and having joyful movement is very important for people with disabilities.”

We are so proud of Alexandra and wish her the best of luck at Ms. Wheelchair America Nationals August 18-24 in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

Follow Alexandra Martinez’s adventures as Ms. Wheelchair Ohio:

Facebook: Ms. Wheelchair Ohio-Alexandra Martinez

Instagram:mswheelchairoh2025