The panel will be moderated by accessibility advocate Anthony Lue and include Luke Anderson, Shruti Kothari, Heela Omarkhail, and Matthew Shaw.
Anthony Lue was just 21 when his life changed during a regular day at work. While apprenticing as a mechanic, he was accidentally crushed inside a car at a scrap metal yard.
An onslaught of challenges followed: he underwent emergency care at Sunnybrook Hospital and worked through months of rehabilitation at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute’s Lyndhurst Centre. But what was most difficult came next: finding an accessible place to live, securing a reliable source of income, and redefining his sense of purpose. “I knew nothing about disability,” he says. “It was an education.”
Fifteen years later, Lue is sharing the lessons he learned at ICAIR 2025 as the moderator of the Breaking Barriers: Stories of Resilience and Impact in Accessibility Advocacy panel. He now has a degree in rehabilitation management and works as an accessibility consultant and speaker on disability awareness, diversity, and inclusion.
He will share the stage with Luke Anderson, Executive Director of the StopGap Foundation; Shruti Kothari, an actor and advocate who had a stroke at age 30; Heela Omarkhail, Vice President of Social Impact at The Daniels Corporation; and Matthew Shaw, Head of Accessibility Practice at the Rick Hansen Foundation. Together, they will discuss important challenges in the disability space. “All disabilities are different, but there’s a common thread,” says Lue. “The most important thing, for me, is for people to realize that we are disabled by our environment, not by our disabilities.”
This panel is one of three featured at ICAIR 2025, along with three insightful keynote speakers, the Power Play Pitch Competition, the Three-Minute Talks, and the ICAIR Scientific Spotlight Series.
After his accident, Lue tapped into his sports background to find a new passion. In high school, he had been a competitive track and field athlete; in his 20s, he began para-cycling, earning a spot in Team Canada’s development program and training for the 2024 Paralympic Games. But his injury made the sport increasingly difficult, forcing him down a new path.
His experience as a cyclist earned him a scholarship at the University of Arizona, where he earned his degree in rehabilitation management. Today, he channels his passion into accessibility consulting and speaking.
Even though it’s not where he thought he would end up, Lue says he’s so glad his path has led him here. “I love sharing my story, talking with people, and trying to make this world a better place by connecting with others onstage,” he says.