PLEASANT HILL -- Given the obstacles she faced 43 years ago as a newborn, it's unlikely anyone pictured Alette Coble-Temple becoming who she is today -- an associate professor with John F. Kennedy University's Clinical Psychology program.

Recently named one of six select members of the American Psychological Association's Committee on Women in Psychology, Dr. Coble-Temple is married and has a 10-year-old daughter. Defying expectations of people with cerebral palsy who are in wheelchairs, she participates in "Survivor-style" activities like bi-skiing (a chair with skis) and rope obstacle-training courses.

To her already formidable list of accomplishments Coble-Temple can now add the title Ms. Wheelchair California, captured at a Feb. 27 pageant in Long Beach.

Bob Temple, her husband, convinced her to compete for the Ms. Wheelchair California crown. The position is based on advocacy, achievement, communication and presentation, and gives a meaningful platform to advocate for California residents living with disabilities.

"I said, 'No way am I doing a beauty pageant, when he brought it up," she recalled before her win. But she said the prospect of working from a larger stage than her integrated professional seminar courses at JFKU provide was too tempting.

"The Stephen Hawkings and Christopher Reeves of the world are the only ones we see," Coble-Temple said. "Not every athlete becomes a professional athlete, so we can't expect the disabled community to be exceptional people. We have to embrace a new idea of what it means to be successful."

Coble-Temple's cerebral palsy is the result of a lack of oxygen shortly after birth; at that point, she was given a 10-percent chance of surviving. Growing up as the first wheelchair-bound student in the Los Altos School District, she was teased, bullied and ostracized. By the time she was 11, she wanted to be a doctor, but school was problematic.

"I hated junior high and high school," Coble-Temple said. "I didn't go to the adults. I was scared that if I complained I would be sent back to a special school and then I would be bored academically."

Coble-Temple went on to attend Santa Clara University, where she says she "did a 180," rising out of her depression amid a culture she said emphasized appreciating people for who they are.

"I was living with people who embraced differences. It didn't matter how I talked or looked, they wanted to get to know me," she said.

Coble-Temple appreciates cities easy for people with disabilities to navigate. She gives Walnut Creek, where she lives, high marks in that regard.

"I can go from my house to anywhere using BART, the trails and the bus by myself. To me, that's amazing," she said. "I love that Insigna, my hair salon, has an accessible button to open the bathroom door."

Outside the classroom, Coble-Temple has worked with teenage girls on probation and young boys at the Orin Allen Boys Ranch, and provides assessments for the California Parole Board.

"I evaluate parole candidates' ability to execute safe functioning in the community," she said. "I ask how they'll use resources and who will help them when they're out of incarceration. Understanding their history is important."

Natasha Krikorian, a JFKU doctoral student, said Coble-Temple encourages students to shadow her at conferences and during the psychological evaluations she conducts at area prisons. She finds Coble-Temple's "push the envelope" approach "empowering and motivating."

"Dr. Coble-Temple is tenacious and provocative in that she encourages students to explore topics that would otherwise be considered provocative or taboo in terms of social stigma," said Krikorian, who, inspired by Coble-Temple, selected sexuality and disability as her thesis topic.

Coble-Temple said policies that deny equal reproductive health care to people with disabilities, or try to convince women like herself it's impossible to conceive, are ripe for change. She also is working on what she calls a PRIDE platform ("parental rights include disability equality"), aimed at how to work positively and creatively with people with disabilities who want to create families.

Her other concerns are the 70 percent unemployment rate for people with disabilities, and that 25 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, there are still can be times when children are removed from the homes of people with disabilities.

"The main factor in all of this is fear -- and shame," she said. "Disability has historically been viewed as a bad thing, a sin, a reflection of a family's morality. You've done something wrong and this is how your family is paying the price. Because of this myth that if you're disabled you are less than valuable, there aren't many positive images."

PLEASANT HILL -- Given the obstacles she faced 43 years ago as a newborn, it's unlikely anyone pictured Alette Coble-Temple becoming who she is today -- an associate professor with John F. Kennedy University's Clinical Psychology program.

Recently named one of six select members of the American Psychological Association's Committee on Women in Psychology, Dr. Coble-Temple is married and has a 10-year-old daughter. Defying expectations of people with cerebral palsy who are in wheelchairs, she participates in "Survivor-style" activities like bi-skiing (a chair with skis) and rope obstacle-training courses.

To her already formidable list of accomplishments she can add the title Ms. Wheelchair California --- we can say a little about that here, the nuts and bolts of what the competition is, when and where she won it. (would getting a follow-up quote from Alette be difficult? I saw her on TV, and I can see how it might be ....)

Her condition stems from a lack of oxygen shortly after birth; at that point, she was given a 10-percent chance of surviving. Growing up as the first wheelchair-bound student in the Los Altos School District, she was teased, bullied and ostracized. By the time she was 11, she wanted to be a doctor, but school was problematic.

"I hated junior high and high school," Coble-Temple said. "I didn't go to the adults. I was scared that if I complained I would be sent back to a special school and then I would be bored academically."

Coble-Temple went on to attend Santa Clara University, where she says she "did a 180," rising out of her depression amid a culture she said emphasized appreciating people's differences.

"I was living with people who embraced differences. It didn't matter how I talked or looked, they wanted to get to know me," she said.

Coble-Temple appreciates cities that are easy for people with disabilities to navigate, and she gives Walnut Creek -- where she lives -- high marks in that regard.

"I can go from my house to anywhere using BART, the trails and the bus by myself. To me that's amazing," she said. "I love that Insigna, my hair salon, has an accessible button to open the bathroom door."

Coble-Temple has worked with teenage girls on probation and young boys at the Orin Allen Boys Ranch, and has done assessments for the California Parole Board.

"I evaluate parole candidates' ability to execute safe functioning in the community," she said. "I ask how they'll use resources and who will help them when they're out of incarceration. Understanding their history is important."

Natasha Krikorian, a JFKU doctoral student, said Coble-Temple encourages students to shadow her at conferences and during the psychological evaluations she conducts at area prisons. She finds Coble-Temple's "push the envelope" approach "empowering and motivating."

"Dr. Coble-Temple is tenacious and provocative in that she encourages students to explore topics that would otherwise be considered provocative or taboo in terms of social stigma," said Krikorian, who -- inspired by Coble-Temple -- selected sexuality and disability as her thesis topic.

Coble-Temple said policies that deny equal reproductive health care to people with disabilities, or try to convince women like herself it's impossible to conceive, are ripe for change. She also is working on what she calls a PRIDE platform ("parental rights include disability equality"), aimed at how to work positively and creatively with people with disabilities who want to create families.

Her other concerns are the 70 percent unemployment rate for people with disabilities, and that 25 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, there are still can be times when children are removed from the homes of people with disabilities.

"The main factor in all of this is fear -- and shame," she said. "Disability has historically been viewed as a bad thing, a sin, a reflection of a family's morality. You've done something wrong and this is how your family is paying the price. Because of this myth that if you're disabled you are less than valuable, there aren't many positive images."

Which is what has led her to her most improbable endeavor. Bob Temple, her husband, convinced her to compete for Ms. Wheelchair California, a competition based on advocacy, achievement, communication, and presentation.

"I said, 'No way am I doing a beauty pageant,' when he brought it up," she recalls. But the opportunity to advocate on a larger stage than her integrated professional seminar courses at JFKU allow was too tempting.

"The Stephen Hawkings and Christopher Reeves of the world are the only ones we see," she says. "Not every athlete becomes a professional athlete so we can't expect the disabled community to be exceptional people. We have to embrace a new idea of what it means to be successful."