Nazareth announces disability rights activist Chris Hilderbrant as its 2025 Commencement speaker

Chris Hilderbrant ’99, an advocate for people with disabilities for more than two decades, is Nazareth University’s 2025 Commencement speaker. He will speak at the graduate ceremony on Friday, May 16, at 6 p.m., and both undergraduate ceremonies on Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Nazareth will grant Hilderbrant an honorary degree during the graduate Commencement ceremony.

Hilderbrant has had an impact as a disability rights activist, policy strategist, non-profit executive, and wheelchair rugby player.

After being paralyzed in a diving accident at age 14, Hilderbrant found his life’s work as an advocate and helped expand rights at the local, state, and national levels. During his 14-year tenure at the Center for Disability Rights, Hilderbrant rose from a part-time position working with clients to chief operating officer, managing a budget of more than $20 million across three agencies with more than 800 employees. He was arrested more than 20 times during efforts to bring attention to reforms that could help individuals with disabilities live fuller and more independent lives.

In 2019, Hilderbrant became executive director of the Rochester Spinal Association (RSA). Through outreach and connection with dozens of young people who were paralyzed due to acts of gun violence,  Hilderbrant and RSA have focused on meeting the needs of this underserved demographic. RSA has inspired a national conversation about health equity and Hilderbrant and his colleagues have presented about their work in statewide and national conferences.

He founded, plays on the team, and serves as board president of the WNY Wreckers — Western New York’s only wheelchair rugby team. The sport combines elements of ice hockey, rugby, basketball, and handball into the only full-contact wheelchair sport in the world. To stay competitive, he regularly works out with long wheelchair pushes around his suburban Rochester neighborhood where he lives with his wife and children. He also has served on multiple boards related to advocacy, health care, and housing.

Hilderbrant holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Nazareth. In September 2024, Nazareth University marked its Centennial and awarded Hilderbrant and seven others the first-ever presidential medallions of excellence for making the university and the world better.

Nazareth’s Commencement ceremonies take place at the Golisano Training Center on campus.

Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.

Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.

• published: 2025 March
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