The first woman to join the Reality Poets, Shannon Nelson was a dental assistant before the swimming pool accident that left her paralyzed. She’s been a quadriplegic for 27 years, and identifies as a wheelchair warrior, disability rights advocate, social justice activist and animal lover. Shannon once escaped from a nursing home in Maine and arrived in New York seeking freedom. She lived in South America for a year before returning to N.Y. She leads the OPEN DOORS Instagram series, The Movement, which spotlights past and present events in different rights movements that deserve more attention.
