Brooke Ellison (20 October 1978) is the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard University. In 2000, she was selected by her fellow students to speak at the University's commencement ceremonies. Ellison was struck by a car in 1990 at age 11, while crossing a street on her first day of junior high school, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down and ventilator-dependent. Brooke and her mother, Jean Ellison, live with their family in Stony Brook, New York. Ellison graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1996 with high honors, and was accepted by Harvard. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a bachelor of science in cognitive neuroscience in 2000, and a masters degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 2004. Ellison is currently a doctoral candidate in political psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Ellison's struggles are depicted in The Brooke Ellison Story directed by fellow quadriplegic Christopher Reeve. Brooke Ellison ran for State Senate in 2006 but was defeated by 60% vote against the Republican incumbent John Flanagan who has become a favorite among his constituents. It has been speculated that Ms. Ellison's limited experience in public policy was a big factor with swing voters, and many in the sentorial district felt she had poorly grounded reasons for replacing John Flanagan, who has dutifully served the majority Republican district for 6 years. Ms. Ellison has not commented on whether or not she intends to run for office again. One of Ellison's principal issues is her support for embryonic stem cell research. She serves on the advisory board of the Genetics Policy Institute.
References
- Ellison, Brooke and Jean Ellison Miracles Happen: One Mother, One Daughter, One Journey (Hyperion Press, New York 2002). ISBN 0-7868-6770-1.
