Three awards programs honor individuals, organizations dedicated to enhancing community inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
SANTA FE, N.M. – Today, the ANCOR Foundation announced the 2024 class of honorees for three distinct awards programs, each of which recognize outstanding contributions to community inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Honorees for the Legacy Leaders Hall of Fame, the Community Builder Award and the Rising Star Mid-Career Impact Award will be recognized in a ceremony this evening as part of ANCOR Connect ’24 in Santa Fe, N.M.
As the 501(c)(3) charitable extension of ANCOR, the ANCOR Foundation aspires to cultivate and recognize exceptional leaders supporting inclusive communities. Through a number of vehicles, including the three awards announced today, the ANCOR Foundation seeks to lay the groundwork for a more inclusive future.
Brand new this year is the ANCOR Foundation’s Rising Star Mid-Career Impact Award, which recognizes mid-career professionals who support ANCOR’s mission through service and dedication to change in public policy or organizational practice. ANCOR, the leading voice in Washington for nearly 2,500 community-based providers of I/DD services, advances the ability of its members to support people to fully participate in their communities.
Three honorees are being recognized with the inaugural Rising Star Mid-Career Impact Award, including Maghan Bowman, executive operations director for Exceptional Persons, Inc., in Waterloo, Iowa; Jordan Eddings, director of I/DD services for LifeSkills, Inc., in Bowling Green, Ky.; and Rachel Neumann, chief operating officer for COF Training Services in Ottawa, Kan.
The second award being bestowed today is the ANCOR Foundation’s Legacy Leaders Hall of Fame. Established in 2010, the Legacy Leaders Hall of Fame recognizes longtime members of ANCOR who have positively influenced the association and made meaningful contributions to its quest for community inclusion for all.
This year, the Legacy Leaders Hall of Fame is sponsored by New Mexico-based Seré Consulting and will honor three outstanding professionals who comprise the 2024 class of inductees. They include Diane Beastrom, vice president of transition for I Am Boundless in Independence, Ohio; Patricia Browne, recently retired president and chief executive officer for National Children’s Center in Washington, D.C.; and Ed Matthews, president and chief executive officer for ADAPT Community Network in New York City.
Finally, the Foundation’s Community Builder Award honors substantial initiatives undertaken by organizations other than I/DD service providers that create inclusive opportunities for people with I/DD to live fulfilling lives. Established in 2004, the Community Builder Award recognizes organizations that actively seek to amplify the contributions of individuals or groups that are systematically overlooked.
The recipient of the 2024 Community Builder Award is Shri Studio in Pawtucket, R.I. Founded in 2010, Shri is a yoga studio and social enterprise serving more than 8,500 students every year, including adults and children with I/DD, as well as veterans and active-duty personnel, incarcerated youth, men and women in recovery, and others. Shri’s adaptive project, which provides challenging yet compassionate yoga classes to people with varying support needs, is one initiative among many that is making a difference across Rhode Island.
“Since we got our start nearly a quarter-century ago, the ANCOR Foundation has been unleashing leaders to be creative change-makers for their organizations, in their communities and nationally. But this work truly takes all of us, including outstanding community partners like Shri Studio and committed professionals who are relentless in their pursuit of inclusive communities,” said Gabrielle Sedor, director of the ANCOR Foundation. “From seasoned leaders like Ed [Matthews], Diane [Beastrom] and Patricia [Browne] who have committed their entire careers to this work, to the next generation of leaders like Jordan [Eddings], Maghan [Bowman] and Rachel [Neumann], we couldn’t do what we do without the dedication of these leaders doing what they do best: leading the way.”
To learn more about the ANCOR Foundation and its initiatives to honor exceptional leaders in the field of community-based I/DD services, please visit ancorfoundation.org.
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For more than 50 years, the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ancor.org) has been a leading advocate for the critical role service providers play in enriching the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). As the 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of ANCOR, the ANCOR Foundation exists to recognize current and past leaders and to develop future leaders through dynamic education and innovative practices to strengthen inclusive communities for and with people with disabilities.