Victor Pineda
Encyclopedia
Victor Santiago Pineda, MCP, PhD, born November 17, 1978 is a social development scholar and disability rights advocate. Pineda is also a sought after international speaker/consultant. Additionally, Pineda has made several documentaries around the world shining light on human rights issues. He was the youngest government delegate to participate in the drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He used this experience to launch the World Enabled Global Initiative and establish the Pineda Foundation a voluntary non-profit that promotes the rights and dignities of the young people with disabilities.
, Venezuela
, to, Julio Cesar Pineda, law professor and former Venezuelan Ambassador to Kuwait
, South Korea
, and Libya
, and Dubravka Purkarevic, a visiting professor at the US Naval Post School (NPS) and former Ms. Venezuela. At the age of two months, Victor Pineda was taken to a hospital because he has sustained a high fever. For the next five years he demonstrated gradual weakening of his skeletal muscles. By age four, he tripped and fell and by age seven stopped walking completely. His weakness would continue and affect his breathing, by the time he was in high school needed the use ventilator at night, and by the time he started his doctoral program he required the ventilator twenty-four hours per day.
As a child, Pineda was diagnosed with Spinal muscular atrophy
(SMA-Type II), a form of muscular dystrophy; as an adult, Pineda was examined by Neurophysiologist, Dr. Perry Shieh, who with the use of Electromyography
, determined that there was no evidence to suggest Spinal muscular atrophy. The specific cause of Victor's muscle weakness is as yet not defined.
Victor attended Corona Del Mar High School, participated in debate, public affairs and government. He was selected by his graduating class as a commencement speaker. Upon graduating in 1997, Victor attended the California Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities (YLF), where he first realized his passion for education and advocacy. As a freshman at the University of California Berkeley he received specialized support services provided by the Disabled Student's Office (DSP), including participating in the Disabled Students Residence Program (DSRP). Pineda developed into campus leader. He was an elected Senator for the ASUC student government, defended affordable housing, and helped resurrect the long dormant Disabled Students Union (DSU). While at UC Berkeley he established the Disability Media Center (DMI) and the Pineda Foundation to provide 21st century workforce skills to youth with disabilities. At UC Berkeley Pineda earned degrees in Political Economy and Business Administration as well as a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning with a concentration in Regional Economic Development. He used these skills in Washington DC where he served as a summer associate at the US Treasury's Department of International Affairs. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006. He received a graduate equity and diversity fellowship to pursue a doctoral degree in Urban Planning at the Luskin School for Public Affairs, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Victor Pineda wrote his doctoral dissertation in the field of social policy formation. In 2009 he was awarded the US Department of Education's prestigious Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship and Sheikh Saud Qassimi Public Policy Fellowship at the Dubai School of Government. Pineda was awarded his PhD with distinction in 2010 for his dissertation entitled, The Capability Model of Disability: Assessing the Success of UAE Federal Law No. 29 of 2006 in the Emirate of Dubai.
The Pineda Foundation continues to support Victor's activism throughout the world. In recent years, through the Foundation, Victor has been able to raise over a million dollars in support of programs that support young people with disabilities. Among Dr. Pineda's most significant accomplishments are the creation of "It's Our Story", the US National Flagship project that contains over 1,100 video testimonials and thousands of still photos on the current experience of living in America with a disability, the launch of World Enabled (WE) an online platform for information and inspiration sharing innovative user generated videos and success stories for disabled youth, and the Open Hands Initiative Comic Book which launched in Damascus
, Syria
on August 1, 2010, brought together disabled rights advocates from the US and Syria, to work with disabled Syrian children to develop a new comic book character. Co-sponsored by Liquid Comics
, with the endorsement of former President, Bill Clinton
, the project led to the creation of the comic book, Silver Scorpion
Biography
Victor Pineda was born on November 17, 1978, in CaracasCaracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, to, Julio Cesar Pineda, law professor and former Venezuelan Ambassador to Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and Dubravka Purkarevic, a visiting professor at the US Naval Post School (NPS) and former Ms. Venezuela. At the age of two months, Victor Pineda was taken to a hospital because he has sustained a high fever. For the next five years he demonstrated gradual weakening of his skeletal muscles. By age four, he tripped and fell and by age seven stopped walking completely. His weakness would continue and affect his breathing, by the time he was in high school needed the use ventilator at night, and by the time he started his doctoral program he required the ventilator twenty-four hours per day.
As a child, Pineda was diagnosed with Spinal muscular atrophy
Spinal muscular atrophy
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a neuromuscular disease characterized by degeneration of motor neurons, resulting in progressive muscular atrophy and weakness. The clinical spectrum of SMA ranges from early infant death to normal adult life with only mild weakness...
(SMA-Type II), a form of muscular dystrophy; as an adult, Pineda was examined by Neurophysiologist, Dr. Perry Shieh, who with the use of Electromyography
Electromyography
Electromyography is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph, to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyograph detects the electrical potential generated by muscle...
, determined that there was no evidence to suggest Spinal muscular atrophy. The specific cause of Victor's muscle weakness is as yet not defined.
Victor attended Corona Del Mar High School, participated in debate, public affairs and government. He was selected by his graduating class as a commencement speaker. Upon graduating in 1997, Victor attended the California Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities (YLF), where he first realized his passion for education and advocacy. As a freshman at the University of California Berkeley he received specialized support services provided by the Disabled Student's Office (DSP), including participating in the Disabled Students Residence Program (DSRP). Pineda developed into campus leader. He was an elected Senator for the ASUC student government, defended affordable housing, and helped resurrect the long dormant Disabled Students Union (DSU). While at UC Berkeley he established the Disability Media Center (DMI) and the Pineda Foundation to provide 21st century workforce skills to youth with disabilities. At UC Berkeley Pineda earned degrees in Political Economy and Business Administration as well as a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning with a concentration in Regional Economic Development. He used these skills in Washington DC where he served as a summer associate at the US Treasury's Department of International Affairs. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006. He received a graduate equity and diversity fellowship to pursue a doctoral degree in Urban Planning at the Luskin School for Public Affairs, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Victor Pineda wrote his doctoral dissertation in the field of social policy formation. In 2009 he was awarded the US Department of Education's prestigious Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship and Sheikh Saud Qassimi Public Policy Fellowship at the Dubai School of Government. Pineda was awarded his PhD with distinction in 2010 for his dissertation entitled, The Capability Model of Disability: Assessing the Success of UAE Federal Law No. 29 of 2006 in the Emirate of Dubai.
Activism
Pineda's commitment to social justice came to him at Berkeley. As a student, Pineda received an award for a short form documentary he directed about life in Cuba, Victor formed an arts group called, Babylon Arts Group, that featured noted artists like, Jasko Begovic. The mission of the organization was to aid in the development of artists across a variety of disciplines.The Pineda Foundation continues to support Victor's activism throughout the world. In recent years, through the Foundation, Victor has been able to raise over a million dollars in support of programs that support young people with disabilities. Among Dr. Pineda's most significant accomplishments are the creation of "It's Our Story", the US National Flagship project that contains over 1,100 video testimonials and thousands of still photos on the current experience of living in America with a disability, the launch of World Enabled (WE) an online platform for information and inspiration sharing innovative user generated videos and success stories for disabled youth, and the Open Hands Initiative Comic Book which launched in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
on August 1, 2010, brought together disabled rights advocates from the US and Syria, to work with disabled Syrian children to develop a new comic book character. Co-sponsored by Liquid Comics
Liquid Comics
Liquid Comics is a comic book company, founded in 2006 as Virgin Comics LLC, which produced stories for an international audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group, author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Suresh...
, with the endorsement of former President, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, the project led to the creation of the comic book, Silver Scorpion