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Motivational speaker, vocalist and drummer Gaynell Colburn has been playing the drums since age three, and has used her love of music to teach at-risk children through the work of ther Telsie B. Howard Foundation, a tribute to her late grandmother.
At age 16 Colburn was in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, which left her paralyzed from the waist down. She went on to graduate from college and became a master programmer of computerized music. Colburn worked with Stevie Wonder as a percussionist on the video My Eyes Don't Cry, and performed the music for The Cosby Show Theme, The Cosby Show and The Cosby Album.
In 1984, Colburn was named Miss Wheelchair America. Last year she was the recipient of the 1998 Essence Award. Shortly after her performance at UAH, she will begin filming the Hollywood movie The Adjudication of Hunter. In the movie, Colburn will make her acting debut portraying a physically challenged teacher who helps to reform an at-risk teenage boy who has been placed in a juvenile detention facility.
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