CDSN Board of Directors
Dion Aroner, AJE Partners and former California Assemblywoman
Dr. Mike Clark, Executive Director, Kern Regional Center
Dr. Linda Collins, Executive Director, Career Ladders Project
Patricia Kemerling, Former Executive Director, The Arc of San Francisco
Keisha Weller, Consumer, Board Member, People First of California
Tracy Mensch, Consumer, Manager, KRC All Star Café
Dr. Charles Lakin, Director, Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota
Bryon MacDonald, World Institute on Disability; Program, Policy and Development Manager for the California Work Incentives Initiative
Tom Nerney, Executive Director, Center for Self-Determination
Stephen Rosenbaum, Staff Attorney, Protection and Advocacy Inc
Dr. Carol Zabin, Senior Labor Specialist, UC Berkeley Labor Center
Dion Aroner, Former Assemblymember. Represented the cities of Richmond, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland in the State Assembly from 1996-2002. She previously served as Chief of Staff to her predecessor, Tom Bates, where she became a recognized expert on welfare reform, foster care, and developmental services. During her tenure as Assemblywoman, she chaired the Assembly Human Services Committee and served on Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services. She authored groundbreaking legislation on developmental services, the employment of people with disabilities, welfare and foster care reform, as well as local government finance, school finance, juvenile justice, transportation, and child care. Her ability to support collaboration based on common interests was reflected in the Assembly Speaker’s decision to appoint Dion as Democratic Caucus Chair during the last two years of her time in the Assembly. After being termed out of the Assembly, she was selected as the Legislator-in-Residence at UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies and the Center for Labor Research and Education. She alsois a partner in AJE Partners,a governmental and public affairs firm located in Berkeley.Dion is the founding board member of the CDSN.
Dr. Michal Clark, Executive Director of Kern Regional Center. Parent of a young woman with Down syndrome and the Executive Director of Kern Regional Center in Bakersfield, CA. He has served as President of the National Down Syndrome Congress, President of the Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA), and Chair of the American Association of Mental Retardation, Region II. He also occasionally teaches educational psychology and research methods at the School of Education at California State University, Bakersfield. Mike is a prominent voice supporting the self-determination of people with developmental disabilities.
Dr. Linda Collins, Executive Director, Career Ladders Project. Director of the Career Ladders Project which researches and assesses the challenges and opportunities facing colleges and their regional workforce partners in developing career pathways for low wage workers. Linda has served two terms as President of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (CCC) and worked closely with the Board of Governors in developing the Ladders of Opportunity policy initiative. Linda has represented the community colleges on numerous state task forces including a CCC Advisory Committee to the Little Hoover Commission and the Intersegmental Coordinating Council. She recently served on the Advisory Board to the California Tomorrow Project on community colleges. Linda currently chairs the national Committee on Community Colleges for the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and is a Professor of Sociology at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, CA.
Patricia Kemerling, Past-Executive Director of the Arc of San Francisco. Led the transformation of The Arc of San Francisco from segregated services to become a nationally prominent provider of inclusive residential, day, and employment supports. She is recognized for cultivating strong labor management collaboration, in a union environment. She was active in state level advocacy and a founding Director of the California Alliance for Inclusive Communities. She has returned to Wisconsin to be near her sister with developmental disabilities, and is currently a social worker supporting economically needy people with disabilities.
Dr. Charles Lakin, Director, Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota. A leading expert on the recruitment, retention and training of direct support professionals with more than 30 years experience in services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities as a teacher, researcher, consultant and advocate.. Some of the projects under his direction include the College of Direct Support (the premier on-line direct support training resource in developmental services) and the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, which developed the Direct Support Professional Code of Ethics. He frequently consults with state, federal and international agencies in matters of policy, research and evaluation. Among recognitions afforded Charlie are appointments by President Clinton to the President's Committee on Mental Retardation, the American Association on Mental Retardation's Dybwad Humanitarian Award, and the University of Minnesota's Outstanding Community Service Award.
Bryon MacDonald, Founder and Program Manager, California Work Incentives Initiative (www.db101.org), World Institute on Disability. A persistent advocate for the employment of people with disabilities. Bryon played a leadership role in the successful passage of key legislation, including Senator Ted Kennedy’s Social Security Ticket to Work Act and former California Assemblymember Dion Aroner’s AB 925 (”Nine to Five”). From 2000-2004, he served as a member of the Social Security Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel, to which he was appointed to a four-year term by President William Jefferson Clinton. He has been a member of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) since 1996, NCIL board member from 1999-2004, and has chaired the NCIL Social Security Subcommittee since 1997. In addition, Mr. MacDonald is a member of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and a Founding Board Member of The Abilities Fund. Bryon got his start in employment advocacy working for ten years in organizations developing supported employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities
Tracey Mensch, Manager, All Star Café – A mother, a wife, and a businesswoman. In 1994, Tracy was the first client of Kern Regional Center to live on her own in a supported living arrangement, paving the way for many others. She has volunteered in her community and has been working for the Independent Living Center of Kern County as public speaker on disability rights. Recently, Tracy started her own business and became the manager of the Kern Regional Center All Star Café. At the café she coaches other disabled clients who are interested in starting their own small business and teaching them the skills they need to succeed. Her goal is to continue to help other individuals with disabilities realize that they can succeed in the world and become whatever they want to be.
Tom Nerney, Executive Director, Center for Self-Determination. A leading national proponent for the self-determination of people with developmental disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and traumatic brain injuries. He provides technical assistance on self-determination across the country. Currently he is assisting states in designing new and innovative Medicaid Waivers; addressing the impoverishment of individuals by promoting asset development and policy changes to Social Security. He is interested in working with the Consumer Directed Services Network to build a workforce infrastructure that can support the growth of self-determination.
Stephen Rosenbaum, Staff Attorney, Protection and Advocacy, Inc. Steve is the father of a son with developmental and physical disabilities and an attorney specializing in the educational rights of students with disabilities and support services for adults with disabilities. He is a Lecturer in Law at Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley and a Lecturer in disability rights at Stanford Law School. He has written several journal articles on education, disability, immigration, and human rights. He serves on the UC, Berkeley Disability Studies Advisory Committee. Steve has received advocacy awards from Support for Families of Children with Disabilities and the Alameda County Developmental Disabilities Council and was selected by Harvard Law School as a Wasserstein Fellow for the 2002-03 academic year.
Kecia Weller, Board Member, People First of California. A prominent self-advocate and public speaker. She serves on the People First Board as a representative from Developmental Disabilities Area 10 Board in Los Angeles. Kecia has worked for eight years as a Coordinator for Self-Advocacy at West Side Regional Center in Los Angeles. She was a founding member of the Disability Commission for the City of Santa Monica and has served for five years on the Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities where she is currently Treasurer. For the last four years, she has served as the Alternate representative from Region 2 (CA, HI, NV, and AZ) to the Board of Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), the national self-advocacy organization. Kecia was chosen by the Board of People First of California to serve on the Consumer Directed Services Network Board of Directors.
Dr. Carol Zabin, Labor Specialist, Center for Labor Research and Education, UC Berkeley. A labor economist whose research addresses job quality, living wages, and worker trainingin health and human services and other industries. Carol has served as a research advisor to numerous community organizations, unions, and foundations on issues of workforce development reform, the role of unions in labor markets, and improving opportunities and outcomes for low-wage workers. She wrote expert testimony for the Sanchez lawsuit. Recently at the request of State Senator Wesley Chesbro, she authored the publication "Quality Services and Quality Jobs for Supporting Californians with Developmental Disabilities". With Dion Aroner, Carol has worked on the development of the Consumer Directed Services Network from its inception.