Happy New Year from Your Foundation!

The ANCOR Foundation kicked off the year at its annual retreat in Baltimore, MD, alongside the SAE and Government Relations annual retreats. The Foundation board members headed into the retreat excited about the year ahead, especially as we build on the momentum from Fall 2017 launch of the Included. Supported. Empowered. public awareness campaign and the Leadership Academy.

The Foundation retreat was also a wonderful opportunity to officially welcome and get to know the newest Foundation Board members: Patricia Browne and Rita Wiersma (we met Gerald Nebeker virtually, but look forward to meeting him in person in New Orleans at the conference this April!). Patricia Browne is the President and CEO of the National Children’s Center (NCC) in Washington, DC. Patricia brings more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in strategy, organization leadership, marketing strategy, and board governance to the Foundation. Rita Wiersma is the CEO of Community Involvement Programs in Minneapolis, MN. She has been active in the disability field for 25 years, and is a passionate advocate for people living with disabilities or mental health diagnoses. Gerald Nebeker is the founder of RISE, Inc. and brings to the Foundation decades of strong leadership as an advocate supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Included. Supported. Empowered. public awareness campaign is in full-swing and we enthusiastically welcome all members, partners, and allies to join the campaign by sharing your stories and helping us make the campaign go viral with all your networks nationwide. Our fearless campaign leaders, Barbara Merrill (ANCOR CEO) and campaign co-chairs, Chris Stevenson and Robert Budd are leading the way, and will have more to share this April in New Orleans. We will also be sharing articles and news from and about the Leadership Academy participants throughout the year so you can get to know each of them as they grow into our next generation of leaders. And of course, we are looking forward to announcing this year’s honorees for the ANCOR Foundation Legacy Leader Awards at the ANCOR annual conference this April.

Foundation Board dinner (L-R): Chris Stevenson (President), Mike Hutcherson (Treasurer), Larry Weishaar (Vice President), Rita Wiersma, Barbara Merrill (ANCOR CEO), Bonnie-Jean Brooks, Terry Rogers, Lynne Megan, Marcy Stevenson (guest), and Patricia Browne.