Beginning in the 1970s, Western Pennsylvania disability rights advocates helped build the foundation for the inclusion of children and adults with a range of disabilities in their communities, including access to public school education. The latest interviews in the Consortium’s Voices of Change series highlight the work of four such advocates. Randy Gorske and M.J. Bartelmay In one … [Read more...]

The Consortium is pleased to announce the hiring of H. Pancho Timmons as its new Project Director, as well as Alonna Carter as Project Scholar for a new effort dedicated to collecting histories of people with disabilities who are people of color. As Project Director, Timmons brings more than a 15 years’ experience in disability-focused organizations. After earning degrees in Social Work (B.A, … [Read more...]

Pioneering disability rights advocate Patricia "Pat" Clapp, who helped change the way society viewed services for people with intellectual disabilities, passed away on November 26, 2021. A native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg, Clapp served as president of the Arc of Pennsylvania and was instrumental in the effort to assure the Right to Education in Pennsylvania, and to end abuses in … [Read more...]