ICYMI: Introducing the Outstanding Recipients of ANCOR’s 2020 DSP of the Year Awards

As a courtesy to our members, we are re-sharing this announcement:

Direct Support Professionals, or DSPs, are the bedrock of inclusive supports. Since 2007, ANCOR has honored excellence in the field of direct support with our annual Direct Support Professional of the Year Awards, underwritten by ANCOR Diamond Partner Relias.

Today, we are honored to introduce you to the 55 outstanding professionals who are the recipients of the 2020 DSP of the Year Awards. These extraordinary and essential professionals work tirelessly every day to solve problems, engineer solutions, adapt, innovate, listen and support. Because of their work, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are better equipped to live quality lives in truly inclusive communities.

This year’s class of award recipients includes statewide honorees in 44 states and the District of Columbia, as well as nine recipients of our special category awards and the 2020 National DSP of the Year, Eligio Velasquez (pictured at right), an incredible DSP who works at ANCOR member ARCA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Congratulations to Eligio and the entire ARCA team, as well as to all of this year’s award recipients!

Ready to celebrate these outstanding champions of disability inclusion? Get started today by:

• Reading Recognizing Excellence, our digital publication that profiles each of this year’s award recipients. Then, share Recognizing Excellence with family, friends, and others in your community.
• Registering for the 2020 DSP of the Year Virtual Awards Presentation, taking place Wednesday, May 6 from 4–5:30 pm EDT / 1-2:30 pm PDT.
• Downloading and sharing the formal announcement in this press release, which you can share with your lawmakers, members of the press and others who need to see and share the value of the direct support workforce.
• Adapting the tools in our DSP of the Year Outreach Toolkit. If someone from your organization or in your community won one of this year’s awards and you want to help spread the word, the templates and sample social media posts in this toolkit will make the process a breeze!

Now, perhaps more than ever, it’s critical that we all share and celebrate the stories of excellence in direct support. Thank for you joining us as we celebrate and congratulate these outstanding professionals!