Legacy Leader Hall of Fame

The Legacy Leader Hall of Fame recognizes retiring or recently retired longtime ANCOR members who have positively influenced our association.

The ANCOR Foundation is the charitable counterpart of ANCOR—the nation’s leading community of disability service providers. The Foundation’s mission is to build the commitment and ability of providers and communities to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. 

The Foundation believes that a legacy is an individual’s enduring impact on those they serve. Legacies are not accidental but rather are deliberate, thoughtful actions that place those served at the center of their leadership focus.   

The Legacy Leader Circle was established in 2010 to honor our finest and most influential leaders. Our initial selection process sought to celebrate the accomplishments of long-term ANCOR members who made significant contributions during their tenure and continued to engage upon retirement.    

Whether a giant bolder or a pebble, a Legacy Leader’s splash is always followed by ripples. Our transition from the Legacy Leader Circle to the Legacy Leader Hall of Fame represents a desire to recognize upon retirement both the leaders most visible to our members as well as the leaders who more quietly influence our ANCOR Community by empowering others. Thus, the Foundation gives this award to recognize longtime members, both seen and unseen, whose focused commitment has shaped us into a stronger association. 

Nominate a Hall of Fame Candidate

Summary

Revised in 2024, the Legacy Leader Hall of Fame serves to recognize retiring or recently retired longtime ANCOR members who have positively influenced the shape of our Association.  

All previously named Legacy Leader Circle awardees shall immediately be inducted into the Legacy Leader Hall of Fame. 

Eligibility

To be considered for the Legacy Leader Hall of Fame, a nominee must:

  • Be or have been an ANCOR member during their time as a human services leader.  
  • Demonstrate multiple years of significant service to ANCOR.  
  • Be supported by recommendation letters from two additional currently active association members. 
Nominator Criteria

Nominations can be completed by either a member or non-member who is:

  • The nominee 
  • A member who has served on a committee with or under the nominee’s leadership 
  • A board member of an I/DD organization
  • A community partner
  • An employee of the nominee’s organization with the Chief Executive Officer’s approval. (*If the nominee is the Chief Executive Officer, then the Board of Directors must endorse the nomination.)
Nomination Process
  • Nominations are due by Friday, March 1, 2024.
  • The ANCOR Foundation Awards & Recognition Committee will review submissions.  
  • Preference will be given to nominators who are ANCOR members and/or nominees who have an explicit ANCOR member connection. 
  • The committee may request additional documents to support the application. 
  • The awards presentation will be held on ​April 9, 2024, at ANCOR Connect ’24.

Submit Your Nomination

If you have questions about the nomination process, please email Sasha Sencer.

Legacy Leader Inductees by Year

2023

Dan Brown
Executive Director
Racker

Linda Plourde
Chief Executive Officer
Bayberry, Inc.

Tony Thomas
Executive Director
Welcome House

2022

Derrick Dufresne
President
Community Resource Associates

DiAnna Hoover
Former Executive Director (awarded posthumously)
Home of Hope

Kim Opsahl
Director
Indiana Division of Disability & Rehabilitative Services

Terri Williams
President
Mains’l Services

2021

Gary Blumenthal
Vice President, Government Relations
InVision Human Services

William “Bill” Loyd, Jr.
Director, UI REACH
University of Iowa

Julie Manworren
Chief Executive Officer
Volunteers of America Minnesota & Wisconsin

2020

Arthur Ginsberg
President & CEO
CRi

Jan Hannah
Former Owner & CEO (awarded posthumously)
Community Living Concepts

Angela King
President & CEO
Volunteers of America Texas

Cindy Kauffman
Director of Strategic Operations
SEEC

Richard Hernandez
Director of Government Relations, Southwest Region
BrightSpring Health Services

2019

Bob Baker
Vice President
Keystone Human Services

Paula Hart
President & CEO
Volunteers of America Minnesota & Wisconsin

Naomi “Deane” Ruppert
Former President & CEO (awarded posthumously)
Emmaus Homes

2018

Carol Beatty
Secretary
Maryland Department of Disabilities

Rod Braun
Executive Director
Christian Opportunity Centers

Robert Budd
President & CEO
Family Residences & Essential Enterprises

Michael Hutcherson
Senior Vice President
Rose & Kiernan

Joe Severtson
Chief Executive Officer
One Vision

Chris Stevenson
President & CEO
Cedar Lake

Tim Sullivan
Director
Institute for Professional Practice

2017

Mark Davis
President & CEO
Ohio Provider Resource Association

Daryn Demeritt
Vice President, Government Relations
BrightSpring Health Services

Judy Goodwin
Executive Director
Oklahoma Community-Based Providers

Ann Moffitt
Vice President, Community Development
Keystone Human Services

Bruce Nelson
Chief Executive Officer
ARRM

Chris Sparks
President & CEO
Exceptional Persons, Inc.

Greg Wellems
Director of Business Operations
Imagine!

Donna Werner
Senior Vice President, Advocacy
Mosaic

2016

Regis Champ
President & CEO
NHS Allegheny Valley School

Maureen Corcoran
President
Vory’s Health Care Advisors

Tim Kral
Executive Director
Oregon Rehabilitation Association

Marty Lampner
President & CEO
Chimes International

Dan Rosen
Founder & CEO
D. Rosen Associates

Karin Stockwell
Senior Director, Minnesota
Dungarvin

Janet Stover
President & CEO
IARF

2015

Ron Cohen
President & CEO
UCP of Los Angeles

Rabbi Erwin Freidman
Former Executive Director (awarded posthumously)
National Children’s Foundation

Diane McComb
State Association Liaison
ANCOR

Kathy Meath
President & CEO
St. Louis Arc

Regis Obijiski
Executive Director
New Horizons Resources

Bill Tapp
Vice President, DirectCourse
Elsevier

Dave Toeniskoetter
President & CEO
Dungarvin

Shirley Walker
President & CEO
PAR

2014
  • Jim Blume
  • Christine Collins
  • Jim Hammond
  • Patrick Johnson
  • Bob Laux
  • Costa Miller (posthumously)
  • Wendy Swager
2013
  • Cecil Fox
  • Jeff Gardner
  • Wayne Larson
  • John McGee
  • Timothy Nelson
  • William Repicci
  • Aase Righter
  • David Ruppell
  • Thomas Wilds
2012
  • Gale Bohling
  • Richard Farnsworth
  • Suellen Galbraith
  • David Ray Kiely
  • Kathy LeMay
  • Dennis Popp
  • Tim Quinn
  • Terry Rogers
2011
  • Dan Berkowicz
  • Dennis Felty
  • Amy Gerowitz
  • Than Johnson
  • Peter Kowalski
  • J. Gary Mattson
  • Renee Pietrangelo
  • John Rose
  • Julian Streett
  • Larry Weishaar
2010
  • Bonnie-Jean Brooks
  • Frank Capone
  • Richard Carman
  • Tom Daniels
  • Emily Ennis
  • Joni Fritz
  • Ann Hardiman
  • Charles Hooker
  • Diane Iagulli
  • Charlene Kinnelly
  • Steve Lesko
  • Thomas Lewins
  • Ken Lovan
  • Cindy Mahan
  • Patti Manus
  • Lynne Megan
  • Carol Mitchell
  • Gary Mrosko
  • Terry Perl
  • James Pierce
  • Jim Richardson
  • Fred Romkema
  • Peggy Schneider
  • Thomas Scheinhost
  • Nancy Silver Hargreaves
  • Rita Taunton