Today, the soft-spoken 25-year-old Inspirations Studio artist plans to be a loud voice “for other people who are similar to me, or struggle with things like I do.” By doing so, she said, she hopes to make the community a little better.
Each of Ohio’s 88 county boards of Developmental Disabilities has seven members appointed by either the county commission or the senior probate judge. The Ohio General Assembly in June 2023 passed legislation requiring that by July 1, 2025, at least one person on each board is developmentally disabled.
On Jan. 9, Butler County commissioner Cindy Carpenter swore Ransbottom in as the newest member of the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities for a term that ends on Dec. 31, 2028.
The region had as much as two feet of snow in late December 2004, said Shari Kahny, Ransbottom’s mother. Two days before that Christmas, the then-5-year-old was sledding in her front yard. She didn’t see a Chevrolet Bronco driven by a Monroe police officer responding to an accident up the street. He was using his personal vehicle because it of the weather. He didn’t see Ransbottom as she slid into the street.
The accident crushed Ransbottom’s lungs, bruised her heart, and broke her collar bones, ribs and a hip. She lacerated her liver and during treatment suffered a cardiac arrest and flatlined.
A lack of oxygen and blood loss caused a brain injury. She lost her sight, but much of it has returned.
Kahny said she was “a trailblazer” as she went through school at Monroe “because there weren’t many kids like her, and they hadn’t kids like her. Brain injuries can be so different for every person and she had a lot of struggles. We had to fight for a lot of the accommodations she received.”
Ransbottom said that while growing up, she always had to advocate for herself, and that’s why she wants to stand up for others.
“I’m a fighter for myself, but also I’m a really big fighter for others,” she said. “I guess that’s my drive, to make sure everybody is getting the most of out of what they can.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities Superintendent Lee Ann Emmons said they’re “thrilled” to have Ransbottom on the board.
“Her lived experience and commitment to advocating for others with developmental disabilities will make us all better,” she said. “Her presence enhances the Board’s leadership in so many wonderful ways.”
The newest BCDD board member has a lot on her agenda, from improved community education and more awareness about people with disabilities — people may not know how to communicate with people with different disabilities, she said — to assisting in fundraising as she fights for those who need another champion in their corner.
“I can bring a different perspective to the board, because I’m actually someone who lives with it every day,” she said. “I think I can bring up some good points to the board and also impact the community and make changes in our community to have a better quality of life.”
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