Yanira Cardona
Hola! My name is Yanira Cardona (Ja-Knee-Rah) but I go by Yaya. I'm proudly from Puerto Rico but Duval has been my home since 2004.
Join our email list to be entered to win a trip to Jacksonville! Click the button for more details.
More InfoJacksonville stole my heart. I came to Jacksonville in 2012 to pursue a college degree at the University of North Florida and I’ve never looked back.
I graduated college, started my career, and truly just love this city. I am always advocating for disability rights, access and inclusion through my platform Wheellifeconnections. I was your Ms. Wheelchair USA in 2022 and have even been a speaker with TedxJacksonville. I work full-time in Sales Support and am also a mouth artist (I paint with my mouth)! I love being a part of this community! In my opinion, we are a very accessible city for people with disabilities and I’m really excited to show you all that we have to offer.
The thing I love most about Jacksonville is how open to new ideas this community is. They’re always looking for ways to include everyone in our community’s local events and within businesses.
I love all of our beautiful waterways here so it’s either a trip to the beach or a walk along our river walk. I find both to be extremely peaceful and just beautiful to look at.
This is such a hard question because we are such a unique spot for different types of food. I love that not only do we have so many local restaurants but we also have food trucks, coffee shops, and bakeries as well. If there is a food you are craving, I promise you can find a great local restaurant that serves it!