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Josie Byzek on Muck Rack

Josie Byzek

Pittsburgh
As seen in: KSIX-TV (Honolulu, HI), WXIX-TV (Cincinnati, OH), WBRC-TV (Birmingham, AL), WCJB-TV (Gainesville, FL), WDBJ-TV (Roanoke, VA), WMTV-TV (Madison, WI), KOLD-TV (Tucson, AZ), KXII-TV (Sherman, TX), KYTV-TV / KSPR-TV (Springfield, MO), WITN-TV (Greenville, NC) and

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Josie Byzek’s Biography

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Josie Byzek is a Pittsburgh-based writer, editor, and communications strategist with more than two decades of work at the intersection of disability rights, advocacy, and media. She spent nearly 20 years at New Mobility magazine, rising to executive editor, before moving into organizational communications at United Spinal Association, where her work earned an Anthem Award in the Humanitarian Action & Services category.

Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, Politico, and the ADA …

Josie Byzek’s Journalist Portfolio

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For Interim President Patti Rice, PFLAG Means Family

For Interim President Patti Rice, PFLAG Means Family

Meet Patti Rice, interim president of PFLAG Pittsburgh, the local chapter of the largest national nonprofit d…

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Helping Wheelchair Users Recover from Disaster, One Grant at a Time

Helping Wheelchair Users Recover from Disaster, One Grant at a Time

A reported feature on five wheelchair users who lost everything to hurricanes, wildfires, and windstorms — an…

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A Spirit Runs Through Us All

A Spirit Runs Through Us All

Whether via traditional or non-traditional religions, creative pursuits, mysticism or something else, we all …

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Great (but Realistic) Expectations: The ADA at 30

Great (but Realistic) Expectations: The ADA at 30

Josie Byzek interviews advocates about how our civil rights law has performed since it passed, and where it n…

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Casa Cabo Pulmo: Showcasing the Beauty of Accessibility

Casa Cabo Pulmo: Showcasing the Beauty of Accessibility

The United Cerebral Palsy Foundation's miniseries, "Accessibility is Beautiful," explores architect-designed …

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ADA: A People's History

ADA: A People's History

Written for the ADA Legacy Project’s 25th anniversary program and reprinted in New Mobility magazine, this pi…

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Articles

For Interim President Patti Rice, PFLAG Means Family

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By Josie Byzek
| The QBurgh Podcast
Meet Patti Rice, interim president of PFLAG Pittsburgh, the local chapter of the largest national nonprofit dedicated to supporting, educating and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. This is the third PFLAG chapter she’s been a part of, and she first found PFLAG in Birmingham, Alabama. Joining a pro-LGBTQ group in Alabama sounds rough. But Patti, originally from the Johnstown, Pa., area, points out that Birmingham is progressive, “and getting even more so,” she says.
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Helping Wheelchair Users Recover from Disaster, One Grant at a Time

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By Josie Byzek
| unitedspinal.org
United Spinal Association’s Ready to Roll program is unique in that it provides direct support to people with spinal cord injuries and other wheelchair users affected by disasters. Generously supported by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, it has replaced roofs, wheelchair lift-equipped vans, and power chairs. It has also cleaned up mold and provided medical supplies and housing assistance.
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Paralyzed Veterans of America, Hand In Hand, Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and United Spinal Association issue joint statement in response to Department of Transportation/United Airlines settlement agreement concerning Engracia Figueroa

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By Josie Byzek
| WLUC-TV (Negaunee, MI) Verified
, /PRNewswire/ -- As part of a coalition of nonprofit organizations advocating for safe and accessible air travel, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Hand In Hand, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and the United Spinal Association issued a joint statement in response to a settlement agreement reached by the U.S. Department of Transportation and United Airlines following a complaint from the late disability rights advocate Engracia Figueroa.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

Writing for Mouth Magazine. Although it didn't pay, the editor sent me books and introduced me to everyone I needed to know.

Who's your favorite fictional journalist?

Harriet the Spy, doh.

What's your favorite social network?

Right now, none of them! But I'm on Facebook and Instagram more than what's good for me.

Awards

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Anthem Award — Humanitarian Action & Services

2025 - Nonprofit Communications

Bronze, Community Voice — Campaign: Non-Profit, 5th Annual Anthem Awards. Ready to Roll Disaster Relief for Wheelchair Users, United Spinal Association.

Eddie & Ozzie Award

2022 - Editorial Excellence

Honorable mention for editorial excellence, New Mobility Magazine. Edited "Life, Love, Death & Disability in Russia" by Oksana Smith, translated from Russian by John Freedman.

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Utne Reader Reprint

2011 - Arts & Culture

"This Is How They Roll" — originally published in New Mobility, selected for reprint in Utne Reader's January-February 2011 issue. Utne reprints the best of the alternative press.

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