Hello Disability Support Services Family!
First, I want to extend a couple of thank you notes. Edina Rutland, I greatly appreciate your immediate past presidency and the friendship that we have cultivated. I look forward to your guidance over the next two years!
To everyone who volunteered for our 50th anniversary CAPED celebration, what an amazing job! It would take a book to thank each of you and report everything you did to make this happen. Please know that I appreciate each and every one of you for your support in coordinating this beautiful event. We are immensely grateful for every little thing you did, because every little thing was important!
I feel a great sense of pride in our past presidents and members who have contributed to 50 years of historic accomplishments for disability rights. With this pride in my heart, I look to the next 50 years. It is our time to support disability rights, ensuring we build on past accomplishments and do not let previous advancements slip away during challenging political times.
I am a person with multiple invisible disabilities. I am the father of a beautiful son with significant mental health disabilities. I am the nephew of an uncle with severe physical disabilities. I am the godfather of a young man with cognitive disabilities. I am the son of a single mother whose extended family was largely taken away to concentration camps during the Holocaust.
I would like to share my priorities for guiding CAPED over the next two years and explain why I am focusing on these areas.
- Increase CAPED’s Capacity
- Expand Leadership: We need to include both volunteer and paid leadership. Why is this a priority? CAPED relies on volunteers for direction and guidance, but the effectiveness of our organization is limited if we only utilize volunteers. Most volunteers are already working beyond full-time in their jobs. We need staff who can work year-round to drive forward the initiatives put forth by our membership. Simply put, paid leadership will enable us to achieve much more than we have in the past.
- Focus on Students and Individuals with Disabilities
- Embed Student Leadership: Expand activities to ensure that student leadership is embedded in CAPED’s structure.
- Recruitment: Be intentional about recruiting individuals with disabilities into CAPED leadership roles.
- Prepare for Legislative Challenges
- Protect Disability Rights: Our good friend Paul Grossman and others have informed us that Section 504 is under attack. CAPED will need to act quickly to provide our members with the information they need to protect disability rights.
- Promote Inclusivity
- Address Concerns: Over the past several years, I have received indirect feedback that CAPED needs to be more inclusive. I want you to know that I hear you. I am committed to understanding this perspective better and bringing it to CAPED leadership.
- Engage in Dialogue: For those who feel this way, please reach out and share your views with me so I can better understand how to move forward. I realize that sharing this information puts you in a vulnerable position, but I cannot be as effective in this goal without your input.
- Support Inclusivity: I will also ask you to actively help CAPED with activities that support increased inclusivity.
One of the things I have always cherished about being with all of you is the profound sense of love, service, and dedication you bring to your work every day. You truly feel like family to me. As we move CAPED into the next 50 years, I will need your support. I am excited about the work we will do together. Take care, everyone!