When she stepped onto the stage of the McInnes Room in the Dalhousie Student Union Building to deliver the 2025 J D McLean lecture, Michelle Mahoney began by saying that Dr. J D McLean, a former dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, believed that healthcare providers should take an interest in the world outside their professions.
“Today, I hope to add to that vision,” she said, “not as a dentist, but as a person who has spent a lifetime navigating the healthcare system, the education system, and the wider world as a person with a disability.”
Growing up a “regular kid”
Mahoney was born with arthrogryposis, a rare condition characterized by a lack of muscle in joints of the body. Doctors at birth told Mahoney’s parents that she would likely never walk, but three months later, her first orthopaedic doctor told them that people with the condition could lead very normal lives. Treat her like a “regular kid,” he advised. “And that is exactly how I was raised,” said Mahoney.
Learning that she could do anything
In her J D McLean lecture, Mahoney talked about her growing-up years and the difficulties and triumphs of attending school. She spoke enthusiastically of her years attending Camp Tidnish, a fully accessible summer camp run by Easter Seals Nova Scotia, and a convenient drive from her family home in Springhill.
“It changed everything for me,” said Mahoney, whose attendance at the camp was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Springhill for nine years. There, she participated in many activities, including baseball, canoeing, campfires, talent shows, picnics and swimming. “At Camp Tidnish you learn you can do anything with the right supports,” said Mahoney.
After high school she attended Saint Francis Xavier University–not an accessible campus at the time–where she obtained what she likes to call “a bachelor of arts with a major in independence.”
After graduating, it was a struggle to find meaningful employment, she said, so she moved to Halifax, took short-term positions, volunteered at the IWK information desk, and lived on Social Assistance during periods of unemployment.
A six-month, wage-subsidized position at Dalhousie gave her vital job experience and the university hired her after the six-month contract ended. Since then, she has worked in six different buildings and six different departments at Dalhousie, including Occupational Therapy, which helped her take the necessary steps to gain her driving licence.
A champion for accessibility
Over the years, Mahoney got married, jumped off a 23-storey building in support of Easter Seals, joined the board of Easter Seals Nova Scotia, and completed the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification program, which means she is certified to rate buildings for accessibility. She is also an avid downhill skier, a water skier and a surfer. She also became a voice for accessibility.
In 2017, Mahoney was asked to speak when Nova Scotia announced its Accessibility Act. “That was a turning point–not just for policy, but for people,” she said. “For the first time, we were saying publicly: accessibility is not optional. It’s a right.”
Mahoney now works as the University of King’s College’s first accessibility officer and continues to raise awareness of barriers–physical, social and attitudinal–that are still part of everyday life for people with disabilities.
Her message to the oral health students and others in the full audience was that she hoped they would leave the auditorium with a deeper understanding of accessibility, not as a checklist, but as a mindset. “And with a renewed commitment to listen, to advocate, and to lead with compassion.”
Mahoney received a standing ovation for her lecture.
This article originally appeared December 10, 2025 on Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Dentistry news. It is reproduced here with permission.
