Ellie Kaplan (she/her) is a PhD student at UC Davis where she studies the intersection of disability and US bureaucratic histories. Her dissertation explores how the National Park Service implemented the civil rights provision, Section 504, of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act from the 1970s to the present. Of particular interest are the ways disabled visitors and employees influenced the process and made the law meaningful to their lives.

As an intern with the National Park Service, Ellie conducted oral histories and wrote several articles for their website. The articles range from highlighting disabled visitors’ feedback forms at Yosemite National Park to comparing three guidebooks written by and for disabled visitors, and more. Additionally, Ellie is interested in the integration of disability stories and themes into K-12 curriculums. She has worked for the Library of Congress and the California History-Social Science Project on this endeavor.

Ellie earned her M.A. in history from Syracuse University and her B.S. from Cornell University.