A cherished advocate for the local disability community and national spinal cord injury community has passed away.
Motion Project Foundation founder Natalie Barnhard-Castrogiovanni died on Friday surrounded by family and friends.
Natalie Barnhard-Castrogiovanni devoted her life to helping others have the best quality of life possible. When she was a 24-year-old physical therapist in 2004, a piece of equipment fell and left her with a spinal cord injury, or SCI. At the time, treatment required her moving to Georgia.
Barnhard-Castrogiovanni wasn't alone in having relocated for treatment. For example, one Swiss study showed that people with spinal cord injuries tend to live closer to SCI treatment centers than the rest of the population — highlighting how specialized SCI treatment in many countries is sparse. And literature shows that prompt, specialized treatment for SCI is strongly recommended for the best outcomes.
Not only knowing this, but living it, Barnhard-Castrogiovanni founded the Motion Project Foundation and started Western New York's first specialized SCI center in Cheektowaga.
Since then, the Motion Project has partnered with the University at Buffalo to train physical therapy and occupational therapy students and conduct research. The Motion Project has purchased state-of-the-art specialized equipment and offers treatment insurance may not typically cover at an affordable cost, while also offering scholarships for treatment.
"Not only do people have access to cutting-edge rehab technology equipment, but then they have a family of people who understand, we are a center through lived perspective," Barnhard-Castrogiovanni told BTPM NPR in September 2025. "So we understand every angle of it, from the stress of going through this, to the resources that you need after an injury, the type of support that you need after an injury."
"I think when you know you're part of a family, it's not just clinical," she added. "You know, we need more than just the clinical, we need: 'how do we get out of isolation? How do we learn about different things that come with an injury like this?' So, this center provides just hope for people that they can have an amazing life despite what has happened to them."
Self-advocate and peer mentor Hannah Brecher, who worked with Barnhard-Castrogiovanni on a local health conference, says it's easy to see the ways she’s shaped and changed healthcare locally.
"You see it through the clients that she has. You see it through the type of equipment that she has," Brecher said. "In New York State, it's hard when you're disabled. You can't afford certain pieces of equipment. You have to go through different hurdles."
"But for Natalie, she saw something, and she saw a vision. And she said, 'I'm going to go for this' and she definitely made it a reality," Brecher added.
Beyond a her vision and work with the Motion Project, Barnhard-Castrogiovanni was a leader in the local disability community. Madison Czworka, the program and engagement manager for the Center for Self-Advocacy, who has partnered with Motion Project, says what stuck with her the most was Barnhard-Castrogiovanni's openness.
"I think my favorite memory of Natalie was just getting to spend one-on-one time with her at the Motion Project facility, and seeing kind of like the work that she dedicated her life to," Czworka told BTPM NPR.
"Interacting with her there, I shared a lot of laughs with her, and a lot of really open and vulnerable conversations, and I really valued that," Czworka said. "It allowed us to develop a relationship outside of just, like, being professional, which I think is really awesome."
Activists and advocates in the disability community say they will remember her warmth, kindness, and the ways she went above and beyond for those around her. Many recall her showing up and supporting others across the disability community, including at festivals and different events. Just a week before her passing, the Motion Project shared the fundraiser of advocate BJ Stasio, who is looking to repair his wheelchair-accessible van.
"She cared about the health and well-being of other people, and she was a beacon of light for everyone she met and everyone she helped," said Stasio.
The Motion Project remains open this week in honor of their founder. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
