Children’s Spotlight of the Week: Jordan Reeves
Meet Jordan Reeves, a remarkable young inventor, advocate, and the co-founder of the nonprofit organization Born Just Right. Born with a left arm that stopped just before the elbow, Jordan has become a symbol of resilience, creativity, and inclusion for children with disabilities worldwide.
From an early age, Jordan defied expectations and showed that living with a disability didn’t limit her potential, it opened doors to incredible opportunities. As a young child, she was passionate about sports, dancing, and swimming. She worked with a prosthetist to ensure her prosthetics were comfortable and functional, and her love for sports led her to be recognized with the Women’s Intersport Network’s Inspiration Award at just seven years old.
Jordan’s entrepreneurial spirit shines brightly through her glitter-shooting prosthetic arm. This fun, imaginative creation, dubbed Project Unicorn, was born out of a workshop where she developed her superhero persona, Glitter Girl. With the help of a design partner, Jordan refined the idea, and soon, her invention caught the attention of major media outlets like Fast Company and Popular Science. Her glitter-shooting prosthetic even led her to present at Maker Faire events and on The Rachael Ray Show.
But Jordan’s impact doesn’t stop there. She is a fierce advocate for the inclusion of disabilities in the world of toys and design. When she noticed that American Girl dolls were creating accessories for kids with disabilities, she launched a petition that gathered over 25,000 signatures, urging the company to create dolls with limb differences. Through her efforts, Jordan’s work has prompted significant change in the industry, including her involvement with Mattel, where she consulted on creating a doll with a limb difference modeled after her.
A true changemaker, Jordan doesn’t just advocate for herself, she empowers others. She co-founded the Design With Us nonprofit with her mom, creating workshops that teach kids with disabilities about design thinking and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). The BOOST workshops have already made waves, hosting sessions in San Francisco and Cambridge, and giving children the chance to explore new career paths through design.
Jordan’s advocacy and achievements have garnered national recognition, including being named a finalist for Time Magazine’s Kid of the Year and Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21. She’s also spoken at major events like SXSW and the Strategic Design Conference at Parsons Design School.
Jordan is not just changing the conversation about disability, she’s breaking down barriers and opening up new possibilities for kids with disabilities to see themselves reflected in the world around them. Whether through design, public speaking, or writing her memoir Born Just Right, Jordan continues to inspire future generations to believe that being different is not only okay but something to be celebrated.
Her journey is only just beginning. In addition to her advocacy work, Jordan is pursuing a career in acting, aiming to use her platform to further amplify the voices of people with disabilities.
