Stakeholders
The Georgia Advocacy Office
The Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO) is a non-profit corporation. Its mission is to work with and for oppressed and vulnerable individuals in Georgia who are labeled as disabled or mentally ill to secure their protection and advocacy. GAO’s work is mandated by Congress, and GAO has been designated by Georgia as the agency to implement protection and advocacy within the state.
Executive Director, Ruby Moore
404.885.1234
The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities
The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, Georgia’s DD Council, is the state planning council created by a federal mandate though the Developmental Disabilities Act. The Council is a separate state agency attached to the Georgia Department of Human Services for administrative purposes. The Council is charged with creating systems change for people with developmental disabilities and their families to increase independence, inclusion, integration, and productivity for people with disabilities through such activities as public policy research, analysis, and reform, project demonstrations, and education and training.
Executive Director, Eric Jacobson
404.657.2126
The Institute on Human Development and Disability
The Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD), a Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service, was established at the University of Georgia in 1965 as part of a federal initiative to help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families. IHDD advances the understanding of the abilities of all people through education, research, and public service.
Executive Director, Zolinda Stoneman, Ph.D.
706.542.8067
The Center for Leadership in Disability
The Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD), a Center for Excellence for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service, moved to Georgia State University in August 2008. CLD is housed within the Center for Healthy Development in the College of Health and Human Services. CLD’s mission is to translate research into sustainable community practices that contribute to independent, self-determined, inclusive, and productive lives.
Executive Director, Emily Graybill
404.413.1286
Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, Inc.
The Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) of Georgia was founded in 1995 to ensure that people with disabilities have opportunities to live as independently as possible. The SILC of Georgia is a non-profit, non-governmental, consumer-controlled organization that plays the vital role of providing disability information, financial support, and technical assistance to a network of seven Centers for Independent Living (CILs) located throughout the state. Centers for Independent Living are non-residential, community-based organizations, governed and staffed by people with disabilities, that offer a wide variety of services to consumers with disabilities and their families.
Executive Director, Shelly Simmons
770.270.6860
People First of Georgia
People First is a self-advocacy organization by and for people with disabilities. It is 600 strong in Georgia. People First members are working hard to build the self-advocacy movement in Georgia, strengthening current self-advocates and expanding the number of people involved in self advocacy. The three main goals of the organization are: to free people from nursing homes and institutions, to increase choice and control in the lives of people with disabilities, and to increase positive social attitudes toward people with disabilities.
President, Marion Jackson
www.peoplefirstga.org