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A movie about people and families on the PA Waiting List.
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They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do and something to hope for.
Tom Boden
Patricia Armstrong joined Vision for Equality in 1999 as the Coordinator for Independent Monitoring for Quality, IM4Q. Through the years she has advocated on behalf of people with disabilities and served as a founding member of the Philadelphia Police and Fire Association for Handicapped Children. She's honored to have received The Leona and Marion Fialkowski Award and TASH Distinguished Parent Award. Patt and her husband John, on behalf of their oldest son, Gary, were plaintiffs in Armstrong vs. Klein and were successful in implementing the Extended School Year program which benefited children with regression/ recoupment difficulties across the nation. On behalf of their son Gary, along with their two surviving sons, feel privileged to have had a small part in his short life. Audrey Coccia is Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Vision for Equality, Inc. She has been active in the disability movement for over 35 years. She is well respected and regarded as a major force in upholding the rights of people with disabilities. She is a Governor appointed member of the Developmental Disabilities Council, a member of the Pennsylvania Planning Advisory Council and a past board member of the Board of the Pennsylvania Protection & Advocacy Agency. She is presently Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Community Advocacy Coalition, a statewide advocacy network. Mrs. Coccia serves on many additional State and County committees representing the issues of people with disabilities. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for her advocacy efforts and has appeared publicly on National and Local TV and radio shows discussing disability rights. Mrs. Coccia has fought for social change, while bringing the ·view· of people with disabilities and their families to the forefront. Mrs. Coccia is married, the mother of two daughters and grandmother to three grandsons. Her daughter, Gina, is at the heart of her work. She has been the catalyst in her life that brought her to the field of disabilities and motivates her each day to continue the work that she does. Maureen Devaney is presently the Co-Executive Director and co-founder of Vision for Equality, Inc. and Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Waiting List Campaign, PA WL. She has volunteered and worked for over 30 years as an advocate in the disability movement and has served in numerous capacities on Boards and local and state planning and policy making committees. She has received numerous awards for her leadership, advocacy and work around waiting list initiatives. She has extensive experience in community organizing, networking and building coalitions. She served in various capacities on committees and councils dedicated to: Self Determination, Inclusion, Systems Change, Early Intervention, Education, Family Support, school to adult life Transition, Waiting Lists, Closing Institutions, Recruitment/ Retention, etc. She is presently the Co-chairperson of the Pennsylvania OMR Planning Advisory Committee, Chairperson of the PAC/OMR Recruitment/Retention Workforce Development Committee and member of the Philadelphia Supports Coordination Steering Committee. She has been recently appointed by Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle Richman as a member of the Stakeholders Planning Team and People Stat. Maureen and her husband, Tom, are proud parents of their 3 children, Jim, Tom and their daughter Colleen. Colleen has been Maureen's main inspiration to help create a better service system for all. Kathy Foy joined Vision for EQuality, Inc. in 2004 and is the Training Department Manager who oversees local and statewide training projects. Her son Kevin is the force that drives her interest in helping people with developmental disabilities to help themselves. Kevin has grown into an independent young man with the help and mentoring from people in the disabilities field and he is constantly growing and learning. Kathy is thankful to be a part of the projects that coach people with disabilities and their families and caregivers to be advocates for themselves and others. Barbara Klein, the Associate Director of Vision for Equality, has worked with and advocated for people with disabilities and their families for over 20 years. As a Parent Specialist at the Arc-Philadelphia, the Coordinator of the Parent Involvement Consultants at the School District of Philadelphia, and the Coordinator of the Consumer/Family Satisfaction Teams at Vision for Equality, Barbara has focused on informing and empowering people and their families so that they can achieve a quality life in the community and have the dignity and respect to which they are entitled. It is a privilege to be able to interact with people with disabilities and their families, of whom so many are strong and determined. Barbara and her husband are the parents of a daughter and a son, both wonderful and accomplished adults. Her son, Jonathan, has been the driving force behind her interest and commitment. Sheila McLeod is the coordiantor of the Consumer and Family Satisfaction Team. She has served the disability community, for over twenty years, in the capacities of Parent Training Coordinator, ICF/MR Residential Supervisor, Red Cross Trainer, Customer Satisfaction Specialist. She has participated in individual and systemic advocacy on a variety of levels including the person centered planning process with individuals and the self determination planning processes. She has extended her support on the MR advisory and planning committees as well as State-wide focus, planning and policy efforts. The McLeod Family has been enriched by the presence of a wonderful young lady who joined our family through the Life Sharing program and decided to remain and enlighten us all for over eighteen years. Additionally, she is the mom to two other spectacular young women both of whom are on there own extraordinary journey. Kim Matthews is the Office Manager at Vision for Equality. Her experience includes an education background, including teaching students with disabilities. Her interest for the Special Education field began at a young age, when Kim worked with a family who had a young child with a disability. Kim worked with the child throughout his childhood, and has watched him grow into an independent, active young man, who is a committed member of his community. Kim has enjoyed meeting and working with all the different people that pass through Vision for Equality’s doors. She has found that her work at Vision for Equality is educational and challenging and a very positive change of pace from the school setting. Kim enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and family. Loretta Mongi is the Administrator. Her personal experience includes an extremely diverse background, which encompasses, corporate, private sector and entrepreneurial experiences. She has spent the past several years of her career with an emphasis on all aspects of Human Resource including benefits administration, recruiting and employee relations. Loretta enjoys her role at Vision as she truly gets to know each employee, which also includes the volunteer network. Her favorite “hobby” and how she spends her free time is devoted to her husband and two children. Rosette Proodian is the Operations Assistant and has worked in the disabilities field in office support for 10 years. Prior to that she worked for the School District. Rosie is considered the heart of the agency while she supports the co-executive directors and operations of the agency. She loves that we all have that common bond, feeling compassion for other parents with family members with developmental disabilities. Rosie was instrumental along with the support of The Arc of Pennsylvania in pursuing one of the first due process hearing under the Rights of Education in 1976. Rosie has 2 children; her son Gregory has developmental disabilities. Hana Sabree is the coordinator of the training departments. She has over twenty-three years experience as an advocate for people with disabilities and received a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Temple University in 1989. She has continued to enrich her knowledge base by participating in the first Community Leaders Training: C2P2; Personal Futures Planning training, Workshops on Inclusion, Self-Determination, and others. Ms. Sabree is certified as an Outcome Based Trainer with The Council, and as an HIV/AIDS Prevention trainer for people with disabilities. She has served as Chair for the Philadelphia School District's Right To Education Taskforce. She co-founded a local Down Syndrome Support Group for parents. She sits on the governing board of Quality Progressions. She also is on Pennsylvania's Cultural Competency Committee. Ms. Sabree has conducted presentations at the University of Pennsylvania, Allegheny University Hospital-MCP, Thomas Jefferson University, and others. She has a 24 year old son who has Down Syndrome. Sheila Stasko coordinates PA WL and directs the PA WL Campaign Training program. She has been an outspoken advocate and organizer for the rights of persons with disabilities for 25 years. Sheila founded Parents of Down Syndrome in 1978 and served as President for 8 years. She served as chair and co-chair of the Right to Education Task Force for 19 years. In 1991, Sheila created “Life After High School.” Sheila is a member of the PAC and served as co-chair of the Planning Advisory Committee of the Office of Mental Retardation 2001-2002. She was a member of the Multi-Year Plan, Waiting List Planning Committee. She is currently co-chair of the Waiting List Committee, a sub-committee of the PAC and the Waiting List Oversight Committee. Sheila is the mother of six children; her youngest son John works in the community. He has mental retardation. |
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