We are excited to announce that on October 1, ADA 25 Advancing Leadership (now called Disability Lead) will launch as an independent non-profit organization after several years of incubation at The Chicago Community Trust, with Emily Blum as our new Executive Director.
A seasoned nonprofit leader, Emily has more than 20 years of experience bringing stakeholders together to create and implement effective communications strategies around complex social and political issues. She has held senior positions at Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago Humanities Festival, and Heartland Alliance. Emily serves on the board of Inspiration Corporation and is an honors history graduate of Kenyon College.
We are incredibly proud that our search has culminated in an outstanding leader who is already a Member of the [Disability Lead] family. A 2018 Fellow, Emily has a passion for helping people and organizations use their voices to create a better, more inclusive Chicago region. As a woman who experiences a disability, leading [Disability Lead] is both personal and professional for Emily. Her engagement with our program has given her additional tools to use her voice on behalf of people with disabilities.
We want to thank the search committee, our newly formed Board of Directors, and the entire [Disability Lead] community for your recommendations, support, and encouragement throughout this process.
Our new nonprofit will be supported by an administrative partnership with National Able Network, Inc., and located at National Able Network’s collaborative workspace at 567 West Lake Street. Our new, distinguished Board of Directors includes many individuals and organizations who have been active supporters of [Disability Lead] since the beginning such as The Chicago Community Trust, Exelon, BMO Harris Bank, and JPMorgan Chase.
We are deeply grateful to our founding Executive Director Emily Harris for laying a strong foundation for our nationally unique disability leadership organization. She has decided that this transition is the right time to return to her consulting practice, Harris Strategies, LLC, helping other organizations turn their ideas into reality. We are delighted that she will be working side by side with us as a proud [Disability Lead] Member. We are also thrilled that Robin Burnett, Alex Perez-Garcia, and Risa Jaz Rifkind are all continuing to contribute their talents as a strong staff team.
Please stay tuned for more updates as we begin this exciting new chapter for [Disability Lead].