NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee State Parks announced the hiring of the agency’s first-ever accessibility coordinator.
The announcement came on Tuesday, March 11, which was Disability Advocacy Day in Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Disability Coalition. Tennessee State Parks announced Ryan Jolley would take on the role and advise, train and advance projects meant to increase access to outdoor experiences in all state parks.
Jolley was reportedly diagnosed with a rare genetic disease at 10 years old and has lived his life legally blind since then.
“I’ve always been in love with the outdoors and nature and through my work experience in the disability community, I found myself really wanting to assist the state parks in becoming the most accessible state park system in the nation,” Jolley said.
Nearly 50 state parks across Tennessee have all-terrain wheelchairs, which allow visitors with limited mobility the chance to enjoy otherwise-inaccessible parks. To reserve an all-terrain wheelchair at a park, follow this link. You can follow this link to find a list of wheelchair-friendly paved trails across Tennessee State Parks.
“We are very glad Ryan is joining the team. Tennessee State Parks teammates are making our parks more welcoming and inviting, and that progress will continue as we learn from Ryan and others who personally face access challenges,” said Greer Tidwell, deputy commissioner of TDEC for the Bureau of Conservation. “We recognize that in order for Tennessee to lead the nation in making the outdoors accessible, we all need to humbly learn from those who experience the outdoors with various abilities.”
