About Mobility International USA
Learn about our projects, programs, opportunities and history.
Employment and Internship Opportunities
"I believe that all people with disabilities are members of a global family. Working together across borders is our most powerful way of effecting changes." -Susan Sygall, CEO, Mobility International USA, Recipient, MacArthur Fellowship
Who We Are
Mobility International USA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was co-founded in 1981 by Susan Sygall and Barbara Williams. MIUSA is a cross-disability organization serving those with cognitive, hearing, learning, mental health, physical, systemic, vision and other disabilities.
MIUSA's mission is to empower people with disabilities to achieve their human rights through international exchange and international development.
Our vision is to ensure a just, accessible and inclusive community in which the human rights, citizenship, contribution and potential of people with disabilities are respected and celebrated.
Our core values are to:
- continue to be an innovator in the international development, international exchange and leadership fields to change policies and empower individuals and organizations
- define issues in the context of human rights
- focus on outcomes
- focus on grassroots work that supports new leaders in the global disability community
- collaborate with global partners who share similar goals to bridge communities
- effect inclusive practices based on the rights of people with disabilities
- support gender-focused programming
- serve a cross-disability audience which includes people with cognitive, hearing, learning, mental health, physical, systemic, vision and other disabilities.
What We Do
Emerging leaders. Disability rights. Life-changing experiences.
Pioneering short-term international disability leadership programs in the U.S. and abroad with 2,000 youth, young adults and professionals from over 100 countries. Challenge Yourself and Change the World!®
Bridging people, programs and places. Increasing disability inclusion in international exchange.
Advising and providing free tools for people with disabilities, professionals and organizations on increasing disability inclusion in international study, volunteer, teach and other exchange programs. Through the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, we are bridging people, places and programs.
Human rights. Grassroots disability leadership. Training and technical assistance.
Turning standards on disability inclusion into policy and practice. From Ethiopia, Albania, and Jordan to Colombia, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia, MIUSA's trainings are framing the inclusion of people with disabilities as a human rights issue all over the world. Through training and technical assistance, International Development and Disability projects create partnerships to ensure that people with disabilities are leaders and participants in the development process.
Bringing together grassroots women leaders with disabilities from around the world to build skills and strengthen international networks of support to improve the lives of women and girls with disabilities. Through MIUSA's signature program, Women's Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD), women with disabilities are changing the world!
Employment and Internship Opportunities
Mobility International USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The organization is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request. Learn more on our Employment and Internship Opportunities page.
About our CEO, Susan Sygall
Susan Sygall, co-founder and CEO of Mobility International USA, is an internationally recognized expert in the area of international educational exchange and leadership programs for persons with disabilities. Sygall, who uses a wheelchair, has had a personal and professional commitment to disability rights and women's issues for more than 30 years. She has co-authored numerous publications in the area of international exchange and international development opportunities for persons with disabilities and co-produced several award winning videos. Sygall has lectured throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia on a variety of topics related to international exchange and disability rights, and has traveled to more than 30 countries.
Sygall has received numerous awards for her passionate advocacy for disability rights. In 2011, Sygall received recognition of her work by being awarded the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance Matusak Courageous Leadership Award and receiving an honorary doctorate from Chapman University. In 2000, she received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. In 1995, Sygall received the President's Award from President Bill Clinton for her dynamic leadership in international exchange programs for people with disabilities, for her mentorship of young people with disabilities, and for her active role throughout our country and the world in empowering people with disabilities.
Sygall has also been awarded a Graduate Rotary Scholarship, the Rotary Scholar Alumni Achievement Award, the Humanitarian Award from the Jewish Federation, a Tom and Ruth Rivers Scholarship and a Women to Watch Award from the Jewish Woman Magazine. She was named Disabled Oregonian of the Year in 1994 and received the Kellogg National Fellowship, which is awarded to approximately 40 outstanding leaders each year in the United States.
