Cody Bowman graduated from State College of Florida with her Associate of Arts degree in 2014. Currently, she is a junior at the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee. She is studying for her Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Social Science in Social Work and Sociology.
Cody’s passion lies in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. She is a member of the Sarasota County Developmental Disabilities Committee, which serves to advocate with one voice for the needs of Sarasota County citizens with developmental disabilities. As a student at USF, she was chosen to be a student representative for the Physical Access Workshop (PAW) Committee which is comprised of campus-wide representatives. PAW assists in identifying barriers to equal access and recommends action steps and priorities for removal of the barriers that have been identified in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act (ADAAA). This includes physical barriers on campus as well as website and instructional access.
Cody is a 2015 graduate of Florida Partners in Policy-Making which is a leadership and advocacy training program that teaches individuals with developmental disabilities and parents to become community leaders and catalysts for systems change.
Cody has also participated in “Ms. Wheelchair Florida”, which serves as a platform for women in all 67 counties in Florida while advocating for the 54 million Americans who are living with disabilities. MWFL Inc. strives to bring awareness to all people with disabilities and the importance of them being included in the communities in which they live and can have a choice when it comes to employment, education, and housing. In addition, Cody is a 2015 alumni participant of the Rising Leaders Mentor Program (formerly the USBLN Career Link Mentoring Program.)
When not attending school, Cody works 2 part-time jobs. She is a sales associate at Goodwill Manasota and an ambassador/receptionist at Easter Seals of Southwest Florida.
During her free time, which is scarce…Cody enjoys traveling, volunteering at Instride Therapy which is an equine therapy center for people with disabilities, as well as being a proud member of the Sarasota Adaptive Rowing Program.