Thursday, May 19th, 2016
Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog today! Thank you all for taking the time to visit us this week.
In today’s blog post, we would like to take the opportunity to reflect on the incredible progress that Integrated Living Opportunities (ILO) has made in our mission to help individuals with disabilities and their families – or, as we refer to them, our self-advocates and participating family members – build intentional, integrated, supportive communities for adults with disabilities. From an idea sparked a movement, and from that movement grew a network that is currently 19 families strong. From that network, communities will develop and as a result integrated, intentional, supported, independent living options for adults with disabilities will become available in Maryland and Washington, D.C. To everyone that has contributed to our efforts thus far, we thank you – and we hope to continue to rely on your support.
As we make plans for continued development, we understand that an important part of growing is to recognize how far we have come; by looking at goals we have already achieved, we find the inspiration and motivation to continue. That’s why we would like to take a moment to revisit our progress as an organization, thank those that have contributed to our cause thus far (and made ILO into what it is today), and introduce a new group of people that will help ILO reach our goals and continue to grow as an organization.
Please join us!
History of ILO
Those of you that have been following us since the beginning are no doubt familiar with our origin story: ILO began as the brainchild of ILO President, Founder and CEO Maedi Tanham Carney. Carney, as a parent and a professional in the special needs community, became aware of the need for independent, integrated supported living options both through her work with M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC and her capacity as a parent of an adult with special needs. Carney, inspired by this need, began to research a number of independent living programs from across the country when she discovered Center for Independent Future Community Living Option residences. Inspired by the success of this community building movement, Carney and five of the founding participating families travelled to Evanston, Illinois to take part in Center for Independent Future New Futures Initiative training session – ILO was born!
Since that first training session, ILO has grown by leaps and bounds from an idea (and the support of those five founding participating families), we have grown into an organization that is 501-c3 certified, incorporated in the District of Columbia, with a network of support 19 families strong. We are building intentional communities in Germantown and Gaithersburg, MD and Washington, D.C., and have helped a number of self-advocates achieve independent living. We are on track to help another 8 self-advocates achieve this same goal over the next year.
If you would like to learn more about ILO, our goals, our mission, and our history please take a moment to visit the About Us page of our website.
Behind the Scenes: Meet the Board of Directors
Of course, ILO wouldn’t be where it is today without the tireless work and advocacy of the members of the board of directors. We are proud to lay claim to some of the most talented professionals and advocates in the area – educators, lawyers, businessmen, architects, all devoted to helping their adult family members with disabilities (and all adults with disabilities) realize hopes and dreams by creating intentional, integrated, and supportive communities. Allow us to introduce to you ILO’s Board of Directors:
ILO Founder, President, & CEO: Maedi Tanham Carney, CFP, CWIC
As a certified accountant and founder/owner of special needs planning company M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC Carney brings with her years of experience as a professional and a parent in the special needs community. Carney’s vision and dedication initially got ILO off the ground, and she continues to work to improve and expand the services that ILO offers to adults with disabilities.
ILO Secretary: Dorothy E.B. Fickenscher
As an educator with more than 30 years of experience, Ms. Fickenscher is one of the Founding Participating Family members of ILO. She is trained in how to administer Center for Independent Futures skills inventory, and has worked tirelessly to develop and facilitate community pods in Maryland.
ILO Treasurer: Gerald Dorros
Gerald Dorros is a Senior Vice President and founding member of CoVant Management, Inc., a firm that provides capital and operational expertise to companies in the federal technology solutions marketplace. Dorros brings his considerable business acumen to ILO’s Board of Directors in the role of treasurer.
ILO Member At Large: Chris Snowber
Christopher Snowber is the co-founding principal of Hamilton Snowber Architects in Washington DC, a residential design firm with new homes and renovation projects in the metropolitan area, as well as other locations on the East Coast and Midwest. Chris is licensed to practice architecture in Washington DC and Virginia, and has been a member of the American Institute of Architects since 1986.
ILO Member at Large: Matt Hoffman
Matt directs Enterprise efforts to remain on the leading edge of delivering new products, programs and policies to address the challenges facing the affordable housing and community development industry. He graduated with degrees in public policy from Brown University and Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Matt’s brother Zach has an intellectual disability and lives in a Benedictine Open Community Program group home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
ILO Member at Large: Jonathan Hudis
Jonathan Hudis is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Quarles & Brady LLP. He helps clients of all sizes establish and grow trademark and copyright portfolios, design and implement procedures to protect their intellectual capital, resolve foreign and domestic disputes, preserve trade secrets, and formulate company-wide IP strategies and policies. He counsels clients in copyright, trademark, trade secrets, and unfair competition matters, as well as related matters pertaining to the Internet.
ILO Member at Large: Glen Lazovick
Glen Lazovick is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Apex Home Loans, Inc. Lazovick first joined Apex Home Loans, Montgomery County’s largest independent mortgage banker, in July of 2013. He holds the Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (CMPS) designation and brings more than twenty six years of mortgage and lending experience to Apex Home Loans.
To learn more about each of the members of our board, please visit our Meet the Board Page for detailed biographies.
The Future Looks Bright: Introducing our new Advisory Council
The Board of Directors at ILO have decided to bring in additional experts and professionals to help us ensure that we are the best that we can be, and that we have access to all the tools, resources and information that we need to help our self-advocates build the best communities for themselves. This team of experts has graciously consented to come together and form an advisory council for ILO – we very feel fortunate to be able to seek and rely on advice from these very prestigious members of the special needs and medical communities. Please allow us to introduce you:
Tina Campanella, CEO
Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities
Lance D. Clawson, M.D., F.A.A.C.A.P., Diplomat
Child & Adolescent Psychology
Kurt Newman, M.D., President and CEO
Children’s National Health System
Ann C. Sikon, Executive Director
Center for Independent Futures
John D. Spencer, CPA, Senior Vice President
Victory Housing
William R. Stixrud, Ph. D, Clinical Neuropsychologist
Stixrud Group
Ronald Steven Suskind, Author & Journalist
Ron is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, and bestselling author.
If you would like to learn more about the members of our Advisory Council, please contact us or visit the Advisory Council page of our website.
Would you like more information?
If you would like to learn more about ILO or our mission, please take a moment to browse through our website, or contact us. We would love to meet you, learn about the dreams you have for your family member with special needs, and introduce you to our growing network of participating families.
If you would like to stay in touch, please contact us or check out our blog subscription option on the right hand side of our webpage – by doing so you will receive a copy of each week’s blog directly to your inbox.
Thanks again for dropping by – please visit us again next week. Until then!
