We are pleased to announce the relaunch of the NADSP Foundation, an important step in our work to strengthen the direct support workforce and improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Foundation is built around a clear vision: A future where direct support professionals are valued as true professionals and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are empowered to live, work and thrive in their home communities with dignity, inclusion and self-direction.For decades, the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals has advanced the professional growth of our direct support workforce. The NADSP Foundation will build on that legacy by promoting direct support professionalism and leadership through education, credentialing, scholarships, workforce development, and strategic partnerships that support the aspirations of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Foundation will create new opportunities for direct support professionals to earn credentials, receive scholarships, build leadership skills, and advance their careers. It will also strengthen partnerships with businesses, foundations, associations, and individuals who share our belief that direct support professionals are essential to the future of community-based services. We are fortunate to begin this work with an extraordinary group of leaders who will serve as our board members.

The Board will assist us in:

• Identifying and establishing relationships with potential donors and Foundation members.
• Setting annual fundraising and development goals.
• Identifying future partnerships with businesses, charitable foundations, provider organizations and professional associations.
• Expanding scholarships, credentialing opportunities, workforce-development programs and leadership initiatives for direct support professionals.
• Building long-term support for NADSP’s mission and programs.

The NADSP Foundation Board

Valerie J. Bradley

Valerie Bradley is the founder and President Emerita of the Human Services Research Institute, which she led from its founding in 1976 until 2016. Her research and public-policy work have helped shape the movement away from institutional care and toward community living, individual supports, self-direction and meaningful measures of quality.

Val helped establish the National Core Indicators initiative, now used by states across the country to measure the experiences and outcomes of people receiving intellectual and developmental disability services. She has directed numerous federal and state policy studies and has been a national leader in improving the quality and accountability of community-based services.

Val served as Chair of the President’s Committee on Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities from 1994 to 2000 and as President of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Her honors include the AAIDD Distinguished Career Award, the AAIDD Presidential Award, the NASDDDS Robert Gettings Compass Award and NADSP’s John F. Kennedy Jr. Award for Direct Support Workforce Advocacy and Leadership.

Merrill Friedman

Merrill Friedman is Regional Vice President for Inclusive Policy and Advocacy at Elevance Health. She is a nationally respected leader in disability policy, inclusive health care, aging, home and community-based services, long-term services and supports, health equity and community partnerships.

Merrill has worked throughout her career to ensure that people with disabilities and older adults have a meaningful voice in the policies, programs and services that affect their lives. She has served on the boards of numerous national organizations, including the TASH, Mental Health America and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Merrill was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Her experience in national advocacy, corporate partnerships and inclusive public policy will be especially valuable as the Foundation builds relationships with future donors and partners.

Stephanie L. Rasmussen

Stephanie Rasmussen brings more than 30 years of experience in direct support, provider administration, state government, managed care and long-term services and supports.Stephanie currently serves as Vice President of LTSS Product and Strategy for Centene Corporation. Earlier in her career, she provided direct support to people with developmental disabilities, managed residential and employment services, served as Executive Director of the Alliance for Kansans with Developmental Disabilities and held several leadership positions with Community Living Opportunities.She also served as Administrator of Intellectual and Developmental Disability Community Placements for the State of Kansas, helping people move from state institutions and other facilities into community-based settings. Her career has given her firsthand knowledge of direct support, provider operations, public policy, workforce development and the importance of strong community services.

Regis Obijiski

Regis Obijiski is a nationally recognized leader in the development and professionalization of the Direct Support Professional workforce. He served for more than 25 years as Executive Director of New Horizons Resources and later as Director of Workforce Transformation for the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. In that role, he helped establish six Regional Centers for Workforce Transformation to strengthen the skills and professional development of more than 100,000 direct support professionals. Regis helped develop national direct support professional standards, competencies, credentialing systems and workforce-development programs. He is also one of the founding members of the NADSP Board of Directors.His honors include the ANCOR National Legacy Award, NADSP’s John F. Kennedy Jr. Award for Direct Support Advocacy and Leadership, the AAIDD Essential Change Agent recognition and a two-time winner of the Moving Mountains Award.

Building the Foundation Together

These appointed members bring decades of experience in direct support, workforce development, disability policy, research, health care, provider leadership, community living, advocacy and organizational development.Their role will not simply be ceremonial. They will actively assist us in identifying donors, introducing the Foundation to potential members and partners, establishing annual fundraising goals and helping us create new opportunities for direct support professionals. Over the coming months, we will begin reaching out to individuals, businesses, foundations, provider organizations and professional associations that may be interested in supporting this work.

We also invite NADSP members and friends to help us identify people and organizations that may want to become part of the Foundation. A personal introduction, a business connection or a conversation with a potential supporter can help us open new doors. The Foundation is not being re-launched to simply to raise money. Our intention is to invest in direct support professionals and in the future of community living for people with disabilities.

We know direct support professionals make it possible for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live in their own homes, hold jobs, participate in their communities, build relationships and direct their own lives. Yet direct support professionals continue to face inadequate wages, limited access to professional development and too few opportunities for advancement. The NADSP Foundation will help us address those challenges by creating greater access to education, credentials, scholarships and leadership opportunities. This is an exciting moment for NADSP and for the direct support workforce. With the support of our members, partners and friends, the Foundation can become a powerful resource for the people who make dignity, inclusion and self-direction possible every day.