Belo Cipriani

{{Infobox person

| name = Belo Miguel Cipriani

| alt =

| caption = Belo Cipriani appearing as the Community Grand Marshal for the 45th annual gay pride parade in San Francisco

| birth_name = Belo Miguel Cipriani

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|06|21}}

| birth_place = Guatemala

| nationality = Latin-American

| citizenship = American

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Author
entrepreneur
columnist

}}

| alma_mater = Notre Dame de Namur University

}}

Belo Miguel Cipriani (born June 21, 1980, in Guatemala) is an American writer, publisher, and entrepreneur in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.{{cite news |title=Beaten blind man becomes disability advocate |url=https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/news-at-4/beaten-blind-man-becomes-disability-advocate/89-342269748 |access-date=6 November 2020 |agency=NBC |date=26 October 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_sailor/community/stlouispark/st-louis-park-resident-launches-publishing-company-for-writers-with-disabilities/article_2f3f56ec-c03a-11e8-9496-bf8c9e5ae6b3.html |title=St. Louis Park resident launches publishing company for writers with disabilities |last=Rowe |first=Seth|date=September 24, 2018 |website=Sun Sailor |access-date=6 November 2020}} He is the founder of Oleb Media, a digital inclusion firm, and the disability publishing house Oleb Books. He is also an activist for LGBT, disabled and cultural minority communities.{{cite web| url=http://hoodline.com/2015/02/author-advocate-belo-cipriani-could-be-pride-s-first-blind-grand-marshal| title=Author/Advocate Could be Pride's First Blind Grand Marshall| date=February 2015| publisher=Hoodline |access-date=6 March 2015}}{{cite web |title=Blind Ambition| author=Shane Gallagher| date=December 2014| publisher=The Standard Magazine| url=http://issuu.com/thestandardmagazine/docs/thestandardps_vol2_issue12}} Cipriani has been a columnist for publications including the Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post among others. He is the author of Blind: A Memoir (2011), which details the first two years of his recovery after he was attacked and beaten in the Castro District of San Francisco, California in 2007. Additionally, Cipriani is the official spokesperson for Guide Dogs For the Blind and was named "Best Disability Advocate" by SF Weekly in 2015.{{cite news| date=2015| title=Best Disability Advocate: Belo Miguel Cipriani| newspaper=SF Weekly| access-date=May 11, 2015| url=http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/best-disability-advocate/BestOf?oid=3593553}}

Early life and education

Belo Cipriani was born in June 1980 in Guatemala. His father was a native of Brazil and his mother was Italian. Cipriani traveled with his parents to Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and Canada before the family settled in San Jose, California when Cipriani was seven.{{cite news|last=Gottschalk|first=Mary|title=Former San Jose resident Belo Miguel Cipriani returns to read from his book about becoming blind.|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/almaden/ci_18436399|accessdate=July 10, 2013|newspaper=The San Jose Mercury News}}

Cipriani attended Overfelt High School in East San Jose. In 1998, he enrolled at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California. He graduated with a degree a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems in 2001. He returned to Notre Dame de Namur University in 2008 where he studied under poet, Jacqueline Berger and fiction writer, Kerry Dolan. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2010.{{cite web|last=Holy Names|first=University|title=Writer-in-Residence|url=http://www.hnu.edu/academics/writer-in-residence.html|work=Holy Names University|accessdate=July 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221105112/http://www.hnu.edu/academics/writer-in-residence.html|archive-date=2014-02-21|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Proulx|first=Elise|title=Writing Blind: Oakland Writer Chronicles His Recovery|url=http://www.oaklandmagazine.com/Oakland-Magazine/December-2012/Writing-Blind/|work=Oakland Magazine|accessdate=July 10, 2013}} He also received a Master of Arts in Culture and Spirituality from Holy Names University in 2012, and a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Organizational Leadership from University of the Pacific in 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.pacific.edu/pacific-newsroom/benerd-college-alumnus-passionate-about-helping-those-disabilities |publisher=University of the Pacific |accessdate=30 October 2020|title=Benerd College alumnus passionate about helping those with disabilities}}

Career

Cipriani began his career as a technical recruiter and staffing consultant based in San Francisco, working with companies such as Google, Levi Strauss & Co., and Lucasfilm.{{cite journal |last1= Wagner |first1= David |issue= June 10, 2011|title= Belo Cipriani, author of 'Blind: A Memoir'|journal= SFGate |date= 10 June 2011 |url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/10/DDIF1JPF9A.DTL |accessdate= November 15, 2011}}

At the age of 26, Cipriani was working as a senior technical staffing consultant for Wells Fargo when he was attacked on April 13, 2007, in San Francisco's Castro District, a known LGBT neighborhood. He sustained injuries that resulted in nerve damage, rendering him completely blind.{{cite web | title=Belo Cipriani Doesn't Let Blindness Stop His Pursuit| author=Heather Robinson| date=August 2011| publisher=Compete Network Magazine |url=https://belocipriani.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/belo_mag_review.pdf |access-date=April 13, 2021}} Cipriani's attackers were later identified and arrested; however due to a lack of physical evidence no charges were ever filed. He later pursued a civil lawsuit.

In 2018 he founded the publishing house Oleb Books, which focuses on publishing writers with disabilities. He is also the CEO of Oleb Media,{{cite news |title=Blind St. Louis Park resident helps people see the invisible |url=https://www.kare11.com/article/news/blind-st-louis-park-resident-helps-people-see-the-invisible/89-606913846 |last=Broaddus |first=Adrienne |access-date=April 13, 2021 |website=Kare 11}} a digital inclusion firm. He now works as a digital inclusion strategist and disability advocate, and was appointed to the Minnesota Council on Disability{{cite news |title=Walz, Flanagan Announce Appointments |url=https://mn.gov/governor/news/?id=1055-438208 |accessdate=30 October 2020 |agency=Office of Governor Tim Waltz |date=June 23, 2020}} by Governor Tim Walz in 2020.

=Literary career=

Cipriani's literary career began when his debut book was released in 2011. Blind: A Memoir is a non-fiction memoir that chronicles the events surrounding the attack and his recovery. Cipriani sustained irreparable retinal nerve damage caused by receiving multiple blows to the face. Cipriani's memoir received the LGBT Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention in 2012 for "Best Debut Novel" and "Best Non-Fiction."{{cite news| url=http://www.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2014/07/25/belo-cipriani-bay-area-blind-writer-sees-the-light-at-the-end-tunnel| title=Belo Cipriani: Bay Area Blind Writer Sees Light at the End of the Tunnel| author= David-Elijah Nahmod| date=July 25, 2015| newspaper=SF Weekly| accessdate=March 10, 2015}}{{cite web| url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/73505/talking-with-an-author-and-sfgate-blogger-who-sees-without-sight/| title=Talking with … An author and SFGate blogger who sees without sight| date= December 18, 2014| publisher=JWeekly| accessdate=March 10, 2015}} Cipriani's memoir received the LGBT Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention in 2012 for "Best Debut Novel" and "Best Non-Fiction." It also received an honorable mention from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards{{cite web |url=http://www.hofferaward.com/Eric-Hoffer-Award-winners.html |title=Eric Hoffer Book Award Winners |website=Hoffer Award |accessdate=30 October 2020}} (2012).

Cipriani, a former systems engineer and technical recruiter, was introduced to an assistive technology for the vision impaired called JAWS (Jobs Access With Speech) that utilizes synthesized speech and braille to allow the vision impaired to read information as it is displayed on a computer screen.{{cite journal |last1= Sokol |first1= Robert |issue= July 25, 2011|title= Disabled writers celebrate ADA anniversary |journal= San Francisco Examiner |url= http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/events/2011/07/disabled-writers-celebrate-ada-anniversary#ixzz1dpX0GGNn |accessdate= November 15, 2011}} Cipriani also uses a digital recorder to document his thoughts and uses an application that reads back to him what he is typing on his laptop. With the use of assistive technology, Cipriani has been able to reinvent himself as a writer and continue his column. Cipriani is a columnist for the Bay Area Reporter and writes "Seeing in the Dark," a monthly column that discusses his life as a gay blind man in San Francisco, California. In 2017 it received an honorable mention from the Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability. As a part of the nomination judge Tony Coelho called Cipriani an "important voice" in disability writing.{{cite web |url=https://ncdj.org/2017/10/chicago-tribune-wins-2017-disability-reporting-award/ |title=Chicago Tribune Wins 2017 Disability Reporting Award |website=National Center on Disability and Journalism |access-date=April 13, 2021}} He also hosts a weekly talkshow segment where he shares tips and advice on career moves. The talkshow, "Get to work," is a continuance of his former career advice column.

Cipriani is a 2011 Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow for non-fiction. (Standard) He was also a 2012 writer-in-residence for the Yadda Foundation Writing Residency, and Holy Names University Writing Residency writer from 2012 to 2014 where he began teaching writing courses for the Holy Names University Oakland, California campus. In 2014, Cipriani's book, Midday Dreams a short story, was published.{{cite web|url= http://sailor.mnsun.com/2016/06/15/incoming-st-louis-park-resident-launches-blind-a-memoir-locally/|title=Incoming St. Louis Park Resident Launches 'Blind: A Memoir' Locally|publisher=Sun Sailor|first= Rachel M. |last=Anderson|date=June 15, 2016|access-date=July 13, 2016}} In 2018 he founded the publishing house Oleb Books, which focuses on publishing writers with disabilities.{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/disability-advocate-belo-cipriani-creates-210858540.html |title=Disability Advocate Belo Cipriani Creates Oleb Books, a New Publishing House for Writers With Disabilities |last=Strum |first=Karina |date=October 1, 2018 |website=Yahoo |access-date=April 13, 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/belo-cipriani-oleb-books-disabilities/ |title=This blind gay man is developing a coming-of-age book by people with disabilities |last=Gunz |first=Rafaella |date=26 August 2018 |website=Gay Star News |access-date=April 13, 2021}} He is also the CEO of Oleb Media, an ADA compliance firm.

In 2018 Cipriani's second book, Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities was published, which is an anthology that looks at rites of passage through the disability lens. Kirkus Reviews wrote of the book that it contains, "Powerful and intimate self-portraits from writers who have much to teach readers."{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/belo-miguel-cipriani/firstsL/|title=FIRSTS by Belo Miguel Cipriani - Kirkus Reviews|publisher=|via=www.kirkusreviews.com}}

In 2018, Cipriani joined Metropolitan State University as a Community Faculty member in the Creative Writing department.{{cite web |url=https://www.metrostate.edu/news/writing-tutors-firsts-takes-gold-in |website=Metropolitan State University |accessdate=30 October 2020 |title=Writing tutor's "Firsts" takes gold in Readers' Favorite awards |last1=Boos |first1=Robert |date=2019-09-12}}

Activism

Cipriani is an equal rights advocate for the LGBT, disabled, and ethnic minority communities. He has been referred to as "the voice" of the LGBT community. Cipriani was the first blind nominee for Community Grand Marshal of the Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco.

He has been a keynote speaker for the San Francisco Americans with Disabilities Act and is also a spokesperson for Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Cipriani has also been the keynote speaker at several community awareness and advocacy events. He was the keynote speaker at the University of San Francisco for National Disabilities Awareness month and Hispanic Heritage Month at Yale University.

Cipriani was chosen as the Community Grand Marshal for the 45th Annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade in 2015,{{cite web| date=17 April 2015| publisher=LGBT Weekly| title=2015 San Francisco Pride grand marshals and honorees announced| url=http://lgbtweekly.com/2015/04/17/2015-san-francisco-pride-grand-marshals-and-honorees-announced/| access-date=24 April 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630225031/http://lgbtweekly.com/2015/04/17/2015-san-francisco-pride-grand-marshals-and-honorees-announced/| archive-date=30 June 2015| url-status=dead}} serving as the first blind person in that role.[http://abc7news.com/society/abc7-star-man-gives-voice-to-people-with-disabilities/1164808/ ABC7 Star: Man Gives Voice to people with Disabilities] January 18, 2016. Thomas, Eric. ABC News. February 3, 2016. In June 2015, Huffington Post named Cipriani as one of five agents of change for his advocacy and community service.{{cite news| date=4 June 2015| work=Huffington Post| title=Agents of Change: 5 Captivating Souls Generating Positive Change| author=Greg Archer| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-archer/agents-of-change-5-captivating-souls-generating-positive-change_b_7515490.html| access-date=8 June 2015}}

Personal life

Cipriani is a martial artist and trains Capoeira under Bira Almeida as one of the only blind Capoeira artists in the world.

Cipriani's guide dog Madge, a yellow lab, has been featured in many of his writings and photographed in local and national newspapers. Madge retired in August 2013 with a farewell thrown by Holy Names University.{{cite web|last=Snapp|first=Martin|title=A form of bias not often considered|url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/my-town/ci_24176043/snapp-shots-form-bias-oft-overlooked|publisher=Contra Costa Times|accessdate=October 26, 2013}} Oslo, a black lab, is Cipriani's second guide dog.

Recognition

In 2017, Cipriani was named an ABC7 Star.{{cite web|url=https://abc7news.com/1164808/|title=ABC7 Star: Man gives voice to people with disabilities|first=Eric|last=Thomas|date=19 January 2016|website=ABC7 San Francisco}}