Staff News

Sara Bianco joined Equip for Equality as its disability community organizer in February. Sara, who comes to Equip for Equality with a wealth of advocacy experience for the deaf community, will be working full time to support systemic self-advocacy for people with disabilities. Previously, she worked as Deaf Services coordinator at the DuPage Center for Independent Living. She also has experience with the legislative process, having advocated to the legislature, organized legislative meetings, and trained and supported others in legislative advocacy.

This March, Ernestine (Tina) Welch joined Equip for Equality as a senior accountant, bringing with her an extensive accounting background and more than 15 years' experience in the nonprofit sector. She was the business office accountant at Youth Service Project Inc. for four years, and she worked as the associate A/P manager for the Sport & Social Clubs of U.S. for three years. She also worked for the Lakefront SRO Corporation for seven years.

This July, Equip for Equality hired Steve Estes as a contracted, part-time advocate. Steve was most recently an advocate for the Florida P&A, where he specialized in institutional rights and in combating abuse and neglect of people with mental illness. Prior to working there, Steve was an admissions counselor for the Riverside Behavioral Center in Florida. He also worked as a drop-in center coordinator, emergency screener, community support counselor, crisis intervention worker and adult day treatment counselor for two different community mental health centers. With family in Illinois, Steve is happy to be able to return to the Midwest, where he will be focusing primarily on intake and follow-up advocacy.

Jeff Plesko will be joining Equip for Equality to launch a Carbondale office. See the article in this issue about Jeff and Equip for Equality's planned downstate services.

This spring, one of Equip for Equality's past clients, Brenda Reiter, received an advocacy award at the National Disability Rights Network annual conference. Brenda, a person living with mental illness, was subjected to employment discrimination and received assistance from Equip for Equality in filing an ADA charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ultimately, Brenda received a favorable settlement. As part of the agreement, the employer also altered key employment policies, such as requiring staff members to undergo ADA training. Brenda now works as a note-taker, assisting students with disabilities, a job she loves. Equip for Equality's Alan Goldstein was Brenda's attorney on the case. Upon accepting the award, Brenda praised Equip for Equality and Alan on their excellent work.

In May, Equip for Equality senior counsel Karen Ward served as a delegate to the Conference on Emergency Management and Individuals with Disabilities and the Elderly, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Karen represented the Illinois developmental disability network at the three-day conference, which was held in Washington, D.C.

This summer, the Legal Advocacy Program, Public Policy Program and Abuse Investigation Unit welcomed seven interns.

Mike Soukup returned for a second year as an Equip for Equality intern. He just finished his second year at Loyola University School of Law and was sponsored by the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI). Mike became interested in disability advocacy while serving as a counselor in a therapeutic residential program for youth in the foster care system in Seattle and while working with children with disabilities in a Seattle Public School. At Loyola, he participates in the Childlaw Fellowship program and serves as a senior editor on the Children's Legal Rights Journal.

Meghan Dolan graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law and will work at Kirkland & Ellis in the fall. Like Mike, she had a PILI internship and worked part time while studying for the bar exam and then worked full time at Equip for Equality in August.

Michelle Bazin Johnson finished her second year at Valparaiso School of Law. Michelle has a master's in social work and worked at Equip for Equality via an externship at Valparaiso. Her primary focus was intake.

Liz Lawhorn finished her first year at Loyola, and her internship was paid for under Loyola's Child Law Fellowship program. Liz has a passion for and primary interest in issues that involve children.

Melinda (Lindy) Stanley finished her first year at Kent. Prior to going to law school, she worked at the Legal Assistance Foundation inter viewing clients, including people whose primary language is Spanish. In addition to supporting the legal programs' lawyers and advocates, she worked on Equip for Equality's Latinos with Disabilities Advocacy Project.

Jill Meinhardt completed a B.A. from Ohio State University with majors in child psychology and criminology and a minor in special education. She has completed her second year in law school, pursuing a dual degree in law and special education policy. Her master's degree focuses on the effects of Individuals with the Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on foster children and on wards of the state. She is currently a guardian ad litem for four children with multiple disabilities in Ohio.

Kristina Grace O'Young completed her B.A. in French language and English literature at the University of British Columbia. She participated in a one-year exchange program at he Universite de Jean- Moulin, Lyon III, and completed one year at Peking University, participating in an intensive Chinese program. She recently finished her second year at Loyola. Kristina provided support to the Abuse Investigation Unit.

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