Meet Gina Martin
Owner & Disability Awareness, Inclusion, & Accessibility Educator
As a passionate advocate, dedicated educator, and compassionate speaker for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Language (IDEAL), Gina believes that fostering a deeper understanding of these concepts, along with practical, easy-to-implement strategies, is pivotal for creating workspaces and communities that work for all. Her decades of personal lived experience, along with years of connections and work with our disability community, have solidified Gina’s commitment to inspiring everyone to learn IDEAL principles.
As a Disability Awareness Educator, Gina’s approach combines humour, practical teaching methods, and easy-to-implement strategies with a genuine passion for making a lasting impact and creating a more inclusive world for all. Since 2019, Gina has developed and delivered dynamic presentations and workshops on a variety of IDEAL topics to school-age children, educators, seniors, community and recreation centres, as well as staff training with up to 700 participants.
Gina's Journey
Sharing her experience & starting her advocacy journey.
As a wife, mother, and adventurer, Gina’s journey through life and vision loss has shaped her into the compassionate and resilient advocate and educator she is today. She is most passionate about delivering impactful, interactive presentations to a variety of audiences, emphasizing the importance of understanding and accepting of people living with diverse abilities. Her personal and professional experiences with disability and diverse ability advocacy make her a unique asset for speaking engagements, workshops, and consultations aimed at creating more inclusive environments for everyone, from classrooms to community centres to workplaces.
Gina’s vision loss began in 1992 with a Progressive Cone Dystrophy diagnosis. It wasn't until 2015 when she met two inspiring women who are blind that she began to embrace her own blindness and started her journey to helping others facing similar challenges. In 2016, following an intensive 9-month rehabilitation program at The Louisiana Centre for the Blind, Gina transformed her life and career to focus on disability awareness, inclusion, and empowerment. In her Disability Awareness Educator role, working with local disability organizations, Gina leveraged the communication skills she honed for 28 years, interacting with a diverse customer base in the food service industry. Since 2019, Gina has developed and delivered numerous presentations and workshops for a wide variety of audiences to foster deeper understanding and better practices for inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and language. Her presentations and programs have touched people of diverse backgrounds and abilities in non-profits, community and recreation centres, schools, and seniors’ residences.
Gina is available to provide consulting services, training, and presentations to your organization either in-person or online.
Meet Vanessa Pettinger
Lead Facilitator for aDAPT Programs at Diverse Abilities
Vanessa Pettinger’s journey into advocacy began after a life-changing car accident in 2017, and this has given her the ability to teach through lived experience around disability in Victoria, BC. As a passenger, she sustained a traumatic brain injury that left her completely blind and without her sense of smell. She also faced other physical injuries, including a broken back and foot.
In a single moment, at just 29 years old and a mother of two young children, Vanessa’s world changed entirely. She had to relearn how to live, parent, and navigate her surroundings from the ground up. Through this experience, she quickly realized that some of the greatest barriers she faced weren’t her disabilities, but the lack of understanding and awareness within the community.
In 2024, Vanessa met Gina Martin, founder of Diverse Abilities Programs. She instantly connected with the mission of spreading kindness, empathy, education, and inclusion, and she soon joined the team. As a volunteer, she is the lead facilitator for the Youth aDAPT program.
Today, Vanessa delivers Youth aDAPT sessions in person to classrooms across School District 63, helping students explore disability, accessibility, and kindness in meaningful ways.
Nothing brings her more joy than watching students become more confident, compassionate, and curious about differences. Through Youth aDAPT, Vanessa has transformed her challenges into purpose, making her a valued and inspiring member of the Diverse Abilities team.
Hear it from Gina herself...
Disability can be an uncomfortable topic.
It doesn't have to be.
I can help!
Awards & Nominations
Gina Martin is highly regarded for her dedication to inclusion, diversity, & accessibility through awareness, teaching, & advocacy.
2026
NOMINEE
Next Top Speaker:
Season 4
Competing To Be The
Next Top Speaker
OUR Google Reviews
"Thank you for sharing how my programs & speaking have impacted you!"
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