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About NDY Research Analyst Stephen Drake Stephen Drake is a person with "invisible" disabilities that are related to a brain injury he experienced at birth. He also feels lucky to have survived the opinion of the attending physician at the time of his birth -- the physician told Drake's parents he'd be better off dead. In 1980, Drake started work as a teacher's aide in Littleton, CO., which turned out to be the start of ten years as a support worker for children and adults with developmental disabilities in schools, group homes and day treatment centers. He obtained his Master's Degree in Special Education from Syracuse University in 1991. In 1992, he enrolled in the doctoral program at the same university. During his time at Syracuse, Drake worked with the Facilitated Communication Institute and the Center on Human Policy. During that time, he focused his advocacy activities on the internet, designing and maintaining web pages for the Center on Human Policy, the Facilitated Communication Institute, and Not Dead Yet. During his years at Syracuse, one key event turned his interests and passions toward assisted suicide and euthanasia. In the early 1990s, Robert Latimer, a Canadian farmer who murdered his disabled daughter, Tracy, became a "poster child" for the Canadian pro-assisted suicide groups. Tracy Latimer was not dying and she did not ask to die. In 1996, while growing increasingly alarmed over the "better dead than disabled" rhetoric of the pro-euthanasia movement, he learned of the formation of Not Dead Yet and dropped everything to join its first protest action. In October 1996, he organized his first action -- an "invasion" of a major pro-euthanasia email list, accompanied by 12 other disability activists. This "invasion" has been written up in at least three books, including a scholarly text on rhetoric. In 1997, Drake's life in academia ended and his life in activism began. He has been a frequent contributor to national newsletters on developmental disabilities. Due to his prolonged efforts in disability advocacy, he is a nationally acknowledged expert on media coverage of disability issues. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Positive Images Award from TASH, a national disability rights organization, for "Exemplary Achievement in Disability Media Coverage and Advancement." Describing himself as a "recovering academic," Drake has published widely inside and outside of the disability community. He is the co-author of a 1998 article in the journal Disability & Society, titled "Disability, Eugenics and the Current Ideology of Segregation: a modern moral tale:" In October 2003, an op-ed he authored on the Terri Schiavo case was published in over 20 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Tampa Tribune, and Newsday. He has been actively involved in Not Dead Yet since 1996. In addition to his various publications, Drake appeared on 60 Minutes II as a representative of Not Dead Yet in their profile of bioethicist Peter Singer. He's also appeared on MSNBC, Democracy Now, and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on related issues. Contact information: Stephen Drake Research Analyst Not Dead Yet 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130 (708) 209-1500 FAX (708) 209-1735 Email: sndrake@aol.com NOT DEAD YET * 7521 Madison St * Forest Park, IL 60130 Voice/TTY: 708-209-1500 * Fax: 708-209-1735 * TTY: 708-209-1826