CIL Case Studies
Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) in collaboration with Public Research and Evaluation Services (PRES) conducted a three-phase research study entitled, Disability, Diversity and Intersectionality (DDI) project. The study was designed to determine how centers for independent living are designing, implementing, and evaluating culturally and linguistically competent policies and practices to improve services, programs, and outreach for racially/ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse groups. The research project included a focus group, key informant interviews, and discussions with CILs. CILs that were nominated and deemed as making progress in serving underserved racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse individuals participated in interviews for the purpose of completing a case study about their work.
As a result, nine CILs were selected and case studies were completed. These CILs emphasize that their progress is an ongoing journey and that they are learning along with everyone else. The centers and their directors are:
- Access Living (Chicago, Illinois), Marca Bristo, President and CEO
- Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York (Manhattan, New York), Susan Dooha, Executive Director
- Central Coast Center for Independent Living (Salinas, California), Elsa Quezada, Executive Director
- Central Iowa Center for Independent Living (Des Moines, Iowa), Reyma McCoy McDeid, Executive Director
- Community Resources for Independent Living (Hayward, California), Ron Halog, Executive Director
- disABILITY Link (Tucker, Georgia), Kim Gibson, Executive Director
- Illinois/Iowa Independent Living Center (Illinois/Iowa: Rock Island, Illinois), Liz Sherwin, Executive Director
- IndependenceFirst (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Lee Schulz, President & CEO
- Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (St. Paul, Minnesota), Jesse Bethke Gomez, Executive Director
View the resulting publication, Disability, Diversity, and Intersectionality in Centers for Independent Living: Nine Case Studies, published February 2020.