A 4-time Canadian National Wheelchair Tennis Champion and Paralympian discusses his journey living with a disability. Joel Dembe tells us how we can empower our communities through accessibility.

Joel Dembe is a 4-time Canadian National Wheelchair Tennis Champion and Paralympian. He has reached as high as #29 internationally in singles and #28 in doubles.

In 2011 and 2012 he was named Tennis Canada’s Wheelchair Tennis Athlete of the Year. He was also named Canada’s Top Male Wheelchair Athlete by the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association in 2011. He spent four consecutive years as Canada’s top male wheelchair tennis player.

Joel has traveled to 4 different continents and more than 25 countries competing for Canada. He won Canada’s first-ever international medal in wheelchair tennis with his doubles partner, Philippe Bedard - winning over Team USA for the bronze medal at the Toronto 2015 ParaPan Am Games.

Joel is also part of the RBC Olympians Program, a Tennis Canada Certified Coach, and is also a Rick Hansen Institute Ambassador. He resides in Mississauga.
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Joel's talk will explore how we can make our communities more accessible for everyone.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx