The Leadership Institute uses a Wisdom Council to guide its work and meet its goal and objectives. Wisdom Councils have their roots in the cultures of the Mayan and pre-Mayan peoples and have been used historically to bring diverse groups together to address complex issues and reach consensus using the following energies or principles: (1) clarity & action, (2) integrity & vitality, (3) inter-relatedness & timing, (4) maintenance & balance, (5) purpose & direction, (6) power & danger, (7) present condition & appreciation, and (8) freedom & creativity.1
Over the five-year project period, the Leadership Institute’s Wisdom Council will provide sage counsel by providing input on curricula adaptation, topics for the web-based learning and reflection forums, mentoring activities, dissemination, and evaluation. The Wisdom Council will meet via conference calls three times annually and provide guidance in small groups. Membership includes 20 representatives from across the I/DD network.
Wisdom Council Members
Diana Autin
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network
New Jersey’s Parent Training and Information Center
Fabricio Balcazar
Center for Capacity Building on Minorities with Disabilities Research
College of Applied Health Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
Harolyn M.E. Belcher
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine - Pediatrics
The Family Center at Kennedy Krieger Institute
Dawn Cooper
Diversity & Cultural Competency
The Arc of the United States
Daniel Crimmins
Center for Leadership in Disability (UCEDD)
Georgia State University School of Public Health
Diana Denboba
Former Branch Chief and Project Officer for NCCC
Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HRSA, HHS
Judith M. Holt
Division of Interdisciplinary Training
Center for Persons with Disabilities
Utah State University
Andrew J. Imparato
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
James R. Meadours
Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered
Donna A. Meltzer
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
Dawn Rudolph
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Thomas Uno
Northern Arizona University
Institute for Human Development
Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Multicultural Council
Nora Wells
Family Voices National
Nachama L. Wilker
National Disability Rights Network
1 Wisdom Council. Retrieved on 3/2/15 from http://mutualinspiration.co.uk/WisdomCouncil/Wisdom%20Council%20Process.html
