UCLA Alum: Building Community: UCLA Disability Alumni Network Focuses on Belonging and Visibility

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For Leah Falcon ’17, finding her community took longer than she expected.

Diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade, Falcon had spent most of her life identifying as a person with a disability but rarely encountered others who shared that identity. It wasn’t until she connected with the UCLA Disability Alumni Network (UDAN) that she found the sense of belonging she had been searching for.

“I’d never really met people in the disability community before,” said Falcon, who now serves as co-president of the network. “Most of my friends don’t really identify as having a disability, so I don’t really have those shared experiences in my everyday life. With UDAN, I finally got the community I’d been searching for.”

UDAN was founded by a group of seven alumni who responded to an outreach effort by UCLA’s Center for Accessible Education and the UCLA Alumni Association. Among the founders was Avril Frasché ’17, who recalls the founding as both demanding and energizing.

“In the founding stages, we spent a lot of time making decisions about how we wanted to build the network,” Frasché said. “Some of it was tedious and tiring, but a lot of it was exciting.”

Both women describe UDAN’s core mission in the same terms: community. For Frasché, that meant connecting with people who had navigated UCLA and life in similar ways. For Falcon, who attended every on-campus sport at least once as a student through the athletics booster organization The DEN, it meant finally having a space where her full identity was understood.

Disability, Falcon said, is often an overlooked dimension of diversity.

“We’re kind of the afterthought in a lot of ways, in making things accessible, making things comfortable, easy,” she said. “Knowing that you’re not alone is a really nice first step.”

Since its founding, UDAN has developed a mentorship program through UCLA One, maintained a consistent presence at the Disabled Student Union’s annual graduation celebration, and hosted various virtual events. Frasché, who served two terms before stepping back from the board, says this range reflects the network’s values.

‘There’s something incredibly cathartic about being in a space with people who know what it’s like to exist in this world, and at UCLA, as a disabled person,’ Frasché said. ‘I love the range of events we’ve held, from a panel on navigating disabilities to cozy craft nights. Events really bring us together and build our community.’

Falcon acknowledges the network is still growing and that visibility remains its biggest obstacle.

“A lot of people just don’t know we exist,” she said. “But once they find out about us, they get excited and want to be a part of it.”

Get Involved & Join Us

Whether you are new to UDAN or have been looking for a way to get involved, coming to the network’s next event is a natural place to start. In partnership with UCLA Alumni Career Engagement and UCLA Alumni Diversity Programs and Initiatives, UDAN will host “Disability Inclusion in the Workplace” on May 2, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UCLA Labor Center.

Presented as part of the Alumni Diversity Programs & Initiatives’ EmPower Hour series, which brings UCLA alumni, faculty and staff together to explore social issues affecting local and global communities, the event will feature a panel of Bruin employers and employees sharing their expertise on navigating disabilities in professional settings, followed by facilitated tabletop discussions and light refreshments. The event is open to students, alumni, employers and allies.

“Navigating disability in the workplace is hard. I do it every day,” Falcon said. “We really hope people walk away knowing they’re not alone.”