CCDC Person of the Month

February 2012 - Dr. James Tucker Person of the Month

Dr. Tucker, a member of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition Board of Directors, is a father, teacher, war veteran, publisher, activist and man of unwavering conviction and courage.  He is our person of the month in honor of African American History Month.  He correctly points out that we need to honor all of our history all of the time, not a specific month.  He says that if one does not know where one came from, one cannot know where they are going.   He has worked hard to promote African American History by publishing the African American Voice, coordinating Juneteenth in Colorado and much more.

Dr. James Tucker is a disabled veteran and is the proud father of Undray, who is an adult living with autism.  He is an ardent advocate for his son and is determined to see Undrey have all possible opportunities.  Undrey loves to be part of the action, and helps his father deliver the Voice each month.

Tucker was born in New Madrid Missouri on May 6, 1951 and began his crusade for justice and equality while earning his undergraduate degree in history and political science at Rust College in Holly Springs Mississippi.  After graduation he enlisted in the Army, which brought him to Colorado at Fort Carson.  In 1985 Tucker earned his Masters in counseling and student development from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee Alabama. When America went to war in 1991, Tucker went too, serving in Northern Iraq and Saudi Arabia as a legal specialist with the 217th Medical Battalion.  During this service Tucker started the African American Voice publishing his first issue in 1991.  In between military assignments he taught social studies at Harrison High School for 23 years retiring in the spring of 2001.

In the disability rights community Tucker has been a strong voice for unity and action. He has consistently worked to unite the majority (people of color, people with disabilities, people who are low income) and believes that people of all races struggle because of failures in education and because too many Americans do not have a sense of their own history.  People become either victims or oppressors when they do not understand and appreciate their roots.  When asked what is the number one change needed, without hesitation he says it is education.  When asked what about education needs to change he said that administrators have taken over and that teaching needs to become a profession again.  Politics should not dictate what to teach and how to teach. Knowledge is power he says, and giving all students that knowledge is the only way to make lasting positive changes locally and globally.

When asked what he has gained from having a son with Autism he said that Undrey has made him a better father and showed him the meaning of life.  He says the feeling of caring for someone who belongs to you is an amazing experience and one he would not trade.

In terms of black history he points to learn about Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black History.  Dr. Woodson was born a son of slaves and received his PhD from Harvard.   You can visit his museum at http://www.woodsonmuseum.org/ .

When I asked Dr. Tucker what was one piece of wisdom he had for our membership he said “we are all part of the 99% and we must unite for real change”.  He says he is proud to affiliate with CCDC and sees CCDC as one of the few organizations where action follows words.

January 2012 - Babs Johnson

Babs Johnson is a slight woman who has had an enormous impact on disability rights.  With a base in Denver but an impact that spread throughout the country.  January is “Independent Living” month so it makes sense that we focus on someone who has been the glue holding together Colorado’s first center for Independent Living.

Babs is currently the interim director of the Atlantis Community.  The Atlantis Community is a fixture in disability culture in Denver and is known internationally as the birthplace of ADAPT.  Founded in 70’s as the nation’s second Independent Living Center ever since 1980 Babs Johnson has been an important part of this community.  She came to Atlantis from Wyoming, where she was born and raised.  She had done some disability work in Wyoming working on implementation of section 504—which prohibited discrimination based on disability in federally funded programs and was drawn to disability rights.  In the intervening three decades Babs has done almost every job there is to do at Atlantis, starting as an attendant and ending as an interim director.  However her rise from an entry level to director position is not what gets Babs excited—what gets her passion going is talking about people with disabilities getting to make choices and have full lives as valued and respected citizens.  You can hear the passion in her voice when she tells me what Independent Living means to her—which is that you have control over the decisions in your life, the freedom to live where you want, go where you want and to interact in society. 

I asked her what is the biggest change she has seen in our community since she started on this journey and she said that it is that we now have a sense of pride in who we are as a people.  She said that we finally know how that we are first class citizens and are entitled to respect for our rights.  She said rights include everything from accessibility to housing to having necessary services that support independent living.  When asked what things will look like in 20 years if we do our job she said –without hesitation—no more nursing homes.   I asked her what she thought of the commonly held perspective that nursing homes are a necessary part of the “long term care continuum”.  She said “I don’t believe that because I have helped to provide services for people that no one thought could be served in the community, including one person in a coma and another person who could only communicate by eye blinks.  Both of them thrived and improved and the person in the coma became responsive.  That would not have happened in a facility. “She went on to say “I do believe that society has engrained in people that they have to go into a nursing home so that they won’t be a burden on someone else” and also spoke of the learned helplessness that is created by institutional mindsets.

Babs feels strongly about the COMMUNITY aspect of Atlantis Community.  She raised her children at the office –if you can call it an office because it is really a community center.  When I asked her about this –and if it was a deliberate choice to engage her children in the disability community she seemed perplexed.  Why wouldn’t I fully engage my family?   She explained that Atlantis is a lifestyle, not just a place.  The community aspect is extremely important.  She said with pride that she has always shared holidays with others from the Atlantis Community and that she believes the sense of community is why it works.  About raising her children within the disability rights movement she said “By raising them in the community it gave them understanding and empathy of disability, sensitivity and both are giving, caring people”.    She also said that because the work of disability rights, especially being a pioneer and getting people out of nursing facilities, is so intense that a natural closeness forms among those working and those receiving services.  Many of those who receive services from the Atlantis Community go on to work there, or at least volunteer. 

All of them are members of ADAPT, the activist arm.  ADAPT began as Americans for Accessible Public Transit and fought for lifts on busses, with Denver being at the forefront of that fight.  Then they went on to be the primary group responsible for getting the ADA passed, then became American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today and now are simply ADAPT.  Currently they focus on the right to community based services.  “Our homes not nursing homes” is their “tag line”.    Babs went on every national action up until the 25th action and stopped counting how many times she was arrested at 35.  ADAPT is a huge part of her life and she believes that the activism must accompany the services.   As one of the founding members of ADAPT, Babs has seen how direct action works and has helped to use it to change the world.

December 2011 - James McBryan

At 26 years old, Oakland, California resident James McBryan has already contributed so much to his community.  He has always had a passion for helping others and wants to change the world in every way that he can, from big to small.  

In August of this year, James participated in Project Freshkicks, which paired nonprofits with web development companies that want to give back.  James and his team from TechScouts (formerly Twomile) coded for 24 hours straight in order to build a beautiful new website for CCDC.  The team was made up of designer Jay Darnell, developer Kevin Major, and James McBryan as project manager and developer.  Together they revamped CCDC's website and launched it the next day!  They all loved working on the project together and had a great experience.  

TechScouts, James' web development company, strives to make an impact on the community and the world by working with social start-ups and entrepreneurs, building products that help the community such as OurVolts (a free volunteer tracking system), and maintaining a pro bono grant program for nonprofits that need websites.

The TechScouts pro bono program is meant to lend nonprofits a hand with updating or revamping their websites.  In this day and age, everyone has a website, and so much of people's first impression with a nonprofit is with their website's front page.  However, nonprofits often find it difficult to budget for a new website - that is why TechScouts offers a pro bono grant program to which nonprofits can apply.

A little more about CCDC's person of the month - not only is James dedicated to making a difference through his company, but in his personal life as well.  James has traveled down to Honduras several times to help a rural school system revitalize their computer network.  He even brought down more volunteers through Engineers Without Borders to help make a greater impact not only with their network but their education system as well.  

James is also an active, dedicated member of the swing dancing community in Berkeley, California.  For several years during his undergraduate studies and as an alum, James taught free informal swing dancing lessons on campus, choreographed performances, and organized a student-run swing class for credit in order to spread his love of the music and the dance to others.  James continued to be a part of the swing community by helping to found The Dancers' Den, a beautiful indoor swing dance in a historic ballroom.

All of these contributions to society made it easy for people that know James to nominate and vote for him to be the Taproot Foundation's first ever Pro Bono Role Model of the Year.  And he won!  James went to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans as his prize and met some great people.  

In James' own words, it's all about encouraging and empowering others. "I want to help in the hardest situations, fix the biggest problems in the world, but I can't. Not alone at least. The pro bono activity I contribute to the world is supporting others. I seriously believe helping other people's dreams, being their first follower, and making them feel like a super hero can make the biggest change."

CCDC is grateful to James and his team from TechScouts (formerly Twomile) for their continued generosity.  TechScouts has a unique understanding and perspective of the needs of nonprofits.  For more information about James, the TechScouts and to see their portfolio, please visit their website at http://www.thetechscouts.com/.

November 2011 - The Goguen-Bolduc Family

When told that our family would be featured on the CCDC website for National Caregivers Month, I pondered what made our family unique and qualified to be given such an honor. I was asked to send a copy of a family photo. As I searched through our photos, I realized that there was not have a single photo that I could entitle “our family.” I choice a photo of the adoption of our daughter. It shows my husband and I as parents and several of our children. It shows our precious grandson. Most of all, it shows our family’s growth. Our family has an ever-changing membership. It is not defined by biological connections or even legal definitions. For a time, I would define it as “the Brady bunch” gone awry! When my husband and I first married, it was a traditional blended (more liked diced than blended) family of yours and mine; 3 boys and two girls. Within a short period of time, we would call it “yours, mine and the State’s.” Then there was the young adults who came for dinner and left several months later. We added a “ours” several years later – a child that we call “the keeper” after we agreed to babysit him for a weekend and he stayed for 6 years. We adopted him and held him as he passed from this world. We did not have the privilege of welcoming him into this world, but we had the great honor of helping him pass to his next great adventure. With his passing, we added friends who held us in their hearts during our time of grieving and healing. They became our brothers and sisters as we shared laughter and tears, blessings and heartache, holidays and, of course, lots of food! Our children added a grandson and we expect more grandchildren to expand our family even more in the future. We decided we were not “empty nester” kind of people and welcomed our teenage daughter into our ever growing circle that we call “family.” People enter, leave and re-enter our family for a variety of reasons – through birth, marriage, adoption, invitation, and circumstances in our life or their lives. Sometimes they like us; sometimes they love us; sometimes they get angry at us; sometimes they forgive us. We value each relationship. I believe that is what makes our family unique and worthy of this honor by CCDC.

Some might say that our family is unique in that it is a diverse group of abilities and quirks. We are tall, short, skinny, plus-size, light-skinned, mocha skinned, blond-haired, brown-haired, grey-haired, white-haired, no-haired; we are young and old; we have mental health needs, physical health needs, sensory needs, Autism, developmental disabilities; we have gifts and challenges. We care for each other and we give care to each other. We are all caregivers. We thank you for this honor.

October 2011 - Lloyd Lewis

Since 1945 October has been a month in the United States where we promote the employment of people with disabilities.  Yet, only about 17.7% of people with disabilities were employed as opposed to 68.8% of those without disabilities.  The unemployment rate stays consistently double for people with disabilities when compared with those without disabilities. There are books, articles, blogs and billions of dollars spent on government programs to combat these horrific statistics. We can all talk forever about the reasons for this.  People with disabilities are sick of talk and want action. It is with pride that we introduce Lloyd Lewis as our person of the month for October. Lloyd is a man of action.  His action is spurred by intense passion and commitment and the results are amazing.  Lloyd is almost halfway through a first term as the President of the Board of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition.  He is the President and CEO of the Arc Thrift Stores and has been for six years.  Arc Thrift is an incredible operation employing more than 1,000 Coloradans, including MANY people with disabilities in their stores throughout Colorado.  The profit, which has been increased significantly by Lloyd’s efforts, supports the great work of the Arc and related organizations throughout Colorado. Before coming to Arc Thrift Lloyd worked in the business world, mostly in the financial and technology industries.  He has a strong business and financial background including a Masters Degree in Business from the University of Chicago.   Lloyd serves on a number of boards including the Mile High Down Syndrome Association and the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. His favorite and most important role however, is that of a dad.  Lloyd has two grown children and two young children.  His younger children, seen in the picture, are Aiden who is 5 and Kennedy who is 7.   Lloyd loves hanging out with his sons, their bedtime routine, watching them grow and play. What would make someone leave the world of high finance, high tech with the attendant salaries and move to the non-profit world?   Disability entered Lloyd’s life when his son Kennedy was born with Down syndrome.  Lloyd’s love for Kennedy and Aiden is clear in his face when he talks about them and is obvious to even a casual observer observing them together.  Many people become depressed when acquiring a disability or learning that ones child has a disability.  There is no doubt that it is a major life change.  At that juncture one can sink into a cycle of despair and hopelessness and see disability as a tragedy or one can take action to address any concerns.  Lloyd chose the later and has done so with gusto.  He does not see Kennedy as tragic or pathetic.  When he talks about Kennedy he talks about a sweet little boy who loves to laugh and make others laugh and whose favorite thing to do is dance—so much so that he even would dance to the sound of a garage door opener! Acknowledging the reality that Kennedy and many of us with disabilities will always have a need for supports is different than assuming that we are not only capable of contributing to our communities but are responsible to be engaged citizens. In our society, most people between the ages of 18-65 work or engage in activities to move towards employment such as college, trade school, etc.    For this work we need employers willing to hire us and hold us accountable and help us succeed by providing training and reasonable accommodations and most importantly by having high expectations.   All too often erroneous assumptions are made that organizations that are mission driven cannot be profitable.  Lloyd has proven that to be a fallacy and in fact demonstrates that being mission driven is essential for profitability and productivity.

Since Lloyd became CEO of Arc Thrift he increased employment of people with disabilities from 25 people to 200.  With a workforce of 1000 the 200 employees with disabilities work side by side with their non-disabled colleagues.   Lloyd is clear that he does not hire people with disabilities out of pity or to be a nice guy.  He is a business man and if he does not turn a profit to support the business and the Arcs who rely on this funding it fails.  He explains that hiring people with disabilities and being mission focused is good for the bottom line.  He says that he hires people who are dedicated, committed team players who contribute to high employee moral.  Employee moral increases productivity which in turn increases sales and earnings. When people know why they are going to work each day they do a better job-a phenomena we have certainly seen at CCDC. When asked why he feels that employment should be a priority of the disability community he says “for most people work is one of the major drivers of self esteem and self worth, this is no less true for people with disabilities.”

His dream for Kennedy is he achieves his potential (whatever that is), be happy, appreciated by others in the community, have a job and live as independently as possible.

As CCDC becomes a 21st century civil rights organization we benefit from Lloyd’s leadership.  21 years after the ADA we can no longer accept society relegating us to a status of simply being consumers or commodities rather than citizens.  We must have full access and can no longer accept simply not being institutionalized as enough.  We need to make sure that all of us have the tools we need to achieve our potential, be appreciated by our communities because we are engaged responsible citizens with a lot to contribute.   Clearly Lloyd has a lot on his plate and when asked why he accepted an invitation to join the CCDC board, then the position of Board President he said  “CCDC one of the most prominent disability advocacy groups, well respected, a mover and shaker in the disability advocacy community.”   When asked about his dreams for CCDC over the next few years his response was  that he would like to see a substantial growth in resources, even greater success at the state level, more visibility and awareness of the importance of equality and inclusion of people with disabilities.

CCDC is fortunate to have a man of action, who is deeply passionate about disability rights, with the business background that we need as our Board President.

September 2011 - Ron Hutter

Ron Hutter is the first CCDC member of the month. Ron won the Dan Davidson Award for Inclusion in Employment in July. Ron got his job with the Cherry Creek School District about the same time CCDC was founded, in 1990. He has kept the job for 21 years. I asked Ron why he works and he answered with a chuckle that it keeps him from being a couch potato. On a more serious note, he talked about how he has developed friendships in the workplace and that he loves children. His particular job is assisting children with disabilities on the school bus and Ron lives to help others.

I asked Ron, why he wants to help others so much –knowing that so many in our society are not interested in supporting neighbors, coworkers, or even family members. He was shocked at the question and said that helping people when he can, how he can and where he can is just who he is—a core component of his personality. Anyone who has met Ron will know this to be true. I cannot remember any CCDC event since Ron joined where he has not come in cheerfully, given me a hug and asked what he can do to help—and whatever it is that is asked he does it with a smile. He says helping people and just being part of the workforce is more important to him than the paycheck. He does earn a real living and the paycheck is important, it simply not the only reason he works.

It was not surprising, when asked why he is a member of CCDC that he answered that being part of CCDC helps me to help others. He also said CCDC stands for something good for the people who are disabled. He became involved with CCDC after his older brother joined the organization.

Ron has several hobbies. His family has owned an auto repair shop since the 60’s so fixing stuff was probably in his blood. He took apart his first carburetor at age six. He also likes to work on computers and loves trucks. His other big hobby is sports and he has participated in Special Olympics since he was eight years old. He does cross country skiing, snow shoes, bowling, cycling, golf, and swimming. He used to coach basketball but has not had time lately. He trains for each event in between competitions, and each training session lasts for eight weeks. Sometimes he trains for two sports at once.

I asked him what is different for kids today than it was for him as a child, growing up with a disability. He said that when he was a child most disabled children were institutionalized. He proudly mentioned that his parents would “never let that happen”. He was proud that the school district he works for, (Cherry Creek) has been recognized for having quality programs for children with disabilities.

CCDC member Donna Sablan presented the Davidson Award to Ron and referred to him as a hero. Ron said “I don’t see myself as a hero—I don’t know what it is like to be without a disability. I only know my life as it is and I like my life.”

I nominated Ron for the Davidson award because he is a perfect role model for a modern person with a disability. He works at a mainstream job with equal pay. He will advocate for himself and others as needed, and does not see his disability as a reason to be less than anyone else. He is proud of taking extra responsibilities at work as needed. While he is fully integrated at work, he has not distanced himself from the disability community, rather he embraces it. Too many of us have acted as if integration must be all or nothing. Folks who get mainstream jobs often distance themselves from the disability community—conversely some of us in the disability community are too insular and do not venture outside of our world enough. Ron strikes the perfect balance and is a role model. He does not separate who he is from his disability and does not see his disability as a deficit.