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Nothing is as raw and poignant as the experiences told by the people who lived them. Come listen. Immerse yourself in snapshots from our lives delivered in poetry, flow, and traditional storytelling. Journey with us through the expanse of human emotion. We're holding nothing back.

Thurs, May 15
8 pm ET/5 pm PT

[Closed captioning and transcription will be available during the event.]

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Your Host: David Roche
(he/him)

David Roche, C.M., is a pioneer of disability culture, an inspirational humorist who has transformed the challenges and gifts of living with facial difference into a compelling message that has won standing ovations from New Zealand to Moscow, across Canada and the USA, including at the White House, the Kennedy Center and the Sydney and Vancouver Olympics Arts Festivals. David recently was awarded the Order of Canada “for making both Canada and the US a better place” through his disability and facial difference-related activism.

He is featured in Shameless: the Art of Disability, the iconic film from the National Film Board of Canada directed by Bonnie Sherr Klein. He also has a principal role in the feature film Happy Face directed by Alexandre Franchi.

David has published two books: The Church of 80% Sincerity and Standing at the Back Door of Happiness.

He is active in the Facial Difference Hub begun by Sora Kasuga.

David and Marlena Blavin’s 24 minute video, Love at Second Sight, based on over 15 years of live presentations to students, is available at no cost at loveatsecondsight.org. They live on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.

David Roche, a white inspirational humorist and pioneer of disability culture, shown gesturing expressively with his hands. David has a facial differece on the left side of his face.

Carolyn Thompson
(she/her)

Carolyn Thompson, a white woman with a facial difference, is pictured smiling in front of a plain light background. She has short gray hair, wears glasses, and a purple collared shirt. Her facial structure is slightly asymmetrical, and she conveys warmth and confidence.

Carolyn says that finding out about the Facial Difference cohort that meets weekly on Zoom has been a life-changing experience. “While I have identified and worked with the wider cross disability community for many years, I had never discovered a group of people like myself dealing with all the social and psychological challenges of living with a facial difference. This is life giving!” Carolyn was born with a vascular malformation that has resulted in one side of her face being partially paralyzed and asymmetrical.

 

Carolyn has been actively involved in the disability rights movement since the early 1980's when she served on the board of the independent living center in Austin, TX. In 1997 she completed a M.Div. degree with a concentration in disability theology. She drafted a statement for the Massachusetts Council of Churches on “The Accessible Church: Toward Becoming the Whole Family of God" and then went on to work with the Ecumenical Disability Advocates to draft a statement for the World Council of Churches, “A Church of All and for All.” (2003) She has a chapter, “Ableism: The Face of Oppression in the Lives of People with Disabilities” in a book on pastoral care (2012). She retired in 2009 from the Commission for Persons with Disabilities in Cambridge, MA.

 

Carolyn has two wonderful daughters and one amazing granddaughter!

Tommy Hoang
(he/him)

[Jester]: 

"Alright, grand theorists, this 'narratology' fixation of yours – does it solve why the Captain's latest chin-zit feels so 'cognitively' charged to me, or what's the actual bottom line on your reality-scripting ideas?"

 

[Pirate]: 

"Narratology, Jester? It's the compass by which this old salt transforms any blemish – be it that zit or my heroic portrait – into a tale of high adventure, making life grander than it appears, understand?"

 

[Tommy]: 

"And 'cognitive,' Jester, is just your mind's default app for that. You instantly calling it a 'chin-zit' with that sarcastic spin? That’s your brain in its natural narrative-crafting zone, instinctively finding the angle."

 

[Pirate]: 

"Exactly! You've glimpsed the treasure map of the concept, lad..." 

 

[Tommy]: "...So, the spotlight awaits, Jester. Your cognitive narrative. Unfurl it."

 

[Jester]: 

"My grand narrative? Gentlemen, my cognitive masterpiece was expertly luring you both into this fervent, rather detailed symposium on a single, unassuming spot! My work as 'The Jester-King of Scars’ is thus concluded. Your earnest lectures? Magnificent! A five-star performance. Now, how will your narratives adapt to the delightful revelation that you were merely featured players in mine?"

ommy Hoang, an Asian man with a facial difference, is pictured smiling brightly outdoors under a blue sky. He wears a black tricorne hat, a black eye patch over his right eye, and is wrapped in the pastel-colored Disability Pride Flag. Trees are softly blurred in the background.

Adele Capitella-Liu
(she/her)

Adele Capitella-Liu, is a retired NYC teacher and has also worked with troubled teens in the foster care system. Proud mom of 2 adult daughters. Adele stopped working after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 2018. Adele has  Rombergs Syndrome, a progressive hemi-facial atrophy.  Adele is the admin for the Facebook group:  Adult Facial Difference Community. Currently, the group has 500 members from the United States and beyond.  Adele's vision is to hold yearly adult retreats to connect persons with facial differences.  She adores traveling, painting, arts and crafts, biking and walking.  When she has a minute, she enjoys writing poetry, as it gives her a proper outlet to voice her interior soul.

Adele Capitella-Liu, a white woman with a facial difference, is pictured smiling in front of blooming pink magnolia flowers. She has straight gray hair, wears glasses, and a dark top with a brown shoulder strap visible. Her expression is warm and friendly.

Sora J. Kasuga
(any/all)

Sora J. Kasuga (any/all) is an activist, writer, speaker, professional circus artist and the founder of The FaceOut Project. They have spoken at the United Nations with Face Equality International, presented at Loyola Marymount University at their first Disability Studies Confernece, and been featured on Today.com. Their latest endeavor is The FaceOut Project, promoting community, empowerment, and activism around facial difference.

Pictured is Sora J. Kasuga, a Japanese American individual with a facial difference. They are standing in front of a dark background, smiling widely with their mouth open in a joyful expression. Sora has a side-shaved hairstyle with dark, curly hair styled high on top, and is wearing a short-sleeved, olive green button-up jumpsuit with a belted waist. One hand is in their pocket while the other touches their face, conveying a sense of confidence and delight.

Interested in getting more involved with The FaceOut Project?
Want to create change in community with others?
JOIN US IN THIS FREE WEEKLY VIRTUAL EVENT!   

The image is a stylized logo for “Activism Hub.” The word ACTIVISM is in bold, white, all-caps text tilted slightly upward and centered within a bright red rectangular banner. Behind the red banner are overlapping gray rectangles that add depth and movement. The word HUB is placed to the right in large, clean, white capital letters with a modern sans-serif font, standing upright. The background is solid black, and the design is accented with various white, gray, and red geometric shapes—dots, circles, lines, and plus signs—scattered around the text to create a dynamic, energetic vibe.
(From left to right): Sora J. Kasuga, Rena Rosen, Kim Teem-Fox, and Rasheer Dopson beam at a camera off to the side. They are at the FACES 50th Anniversary Party.

(From left to right): Sora J. Kasuga, Rena Rosen, Kim Teem-Fox, and Rasheer Dopson beam at a camera off to the side. They are at the FACES 50th Anniversary Party.

At the 50th Anniversary Celebration of FACES, four women stand arm-in-arm, smiling brightly in a warmly lit room. From left to right: Sora J. Kasuga, a Japanese American person with a facial difference (vascular malformations), wears a sleeveless navy blue dress and smiles widely. Rena Rosen, a white woman with a facial difference (cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis), wears glasses and a pink ruffled blouse. Kim Teems Fox, a white woman without a facial difference, stands behind the group, embracing the others with both arms and smiling. Rasheera Dopson, a Black woman with a facial difference (Goldenhar Syndrome), wears a bright blue paisley dress and smiles warmly. The group radiates joy, connection, and celebration.
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