Alex has spent almost a decade working as an accessibility professional, advocate and mentor in the disability community. 

In 2003, when Alex was a college sophomore, he was in a in a deer related car accident and sustained a C6 level spinal cord injury. He faced an uphill battle to reclaim his independence, managing his medical needs and working tirelessly to complete college. Alex continued on to Hofstra University Law School and became a patent attorney.

After working several years as attorney, he saw the incredible challenges facing the disability community and wanted to find a way to help. Thus, he turned to being a full-time accessibility and disability inclusion professional by putting his skills to improving the quality of life for those with disabilities.

Alex co-founded Wheeling Forward in 2012 to help others like himself get the support and resources they need to lead active lives. Alex uses his personal and professional experience to tackle challenging areas of need in the disability community and offer hope to those who face barriers toward fully participating in our society. 

Recently, Alex worked as the Accessibility Program Manager at the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, where he was responsible a variety of initiatives to increase the accessibility of New York’s taxi industry. Then, Alex served as the Senior Advisor for Systemwide Accessibility at MTA New York City Transit, where he oversaw accessibility initiatives for subways, buses, and paratransit with the goal of greater accessibility for New Yorkers of all abilities.

Alex was born in Belarus and emigrated to the US at the age 4. Today, he lives in Brooklyn, NY. Alex has 2 sets of younger twin sisters.

©2021 Alex Elegudin