Summit Description

The Paul W. Spooner Generational Leadership Summit was founded by the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC), Disability Policy Consortium (DPC), and Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL).

The Paul W. Spooner Generational Leadership Summit empowers emerging activists and community leaders from across the Commonwealth to take up the mantle of the disability rights movement by championing access, inclusion, and independence for all. Approximately 20 new and emerging leaders are brought together with experienced leaders to discuss where disability advocacy needs to go in the coming decades and what we can learn from the past that got us to where we are today.

Many thanks to Sue Rorke for providing the photos of Paul used on this website.




Themes

What support do leaders need?

The two-day summit is designed to learn and understand from younger leaders what they need to continue growing and successfully address issues and how our collective communities can support their work in the years to come. As older leaders age out of the movement or pass on, the disability community can't afford a gap in planning, knowledge, and creating a blueprint for change. Now is the time to prepare for the future!

What issues must be tackled?

First and foremost, protection of advances made in civil and disability rights over the past three or four decades must be preserved and strengthened. Summit sponsors, in conjunction with a planning team, will identify additional critical priorities in the short and long term that will be incorporated into the program. The processes for effective leadership will be examined. Issues related to poverty, housing, food insecurity, health care, employment, transportation, and discrimination including racism, and stigma will be carefully discussed. Envisioning tangible measures of progress over time will be a key part of the summit program.

What must be done to build our advocacy?

As new leaders evolve, social justice and intersectionality have become a thriving platform for growth and shared power. We will discuss what intentional intersectional strategies make sense to advance disability rights and civil rights. Aligning with other marginalized groups and ensuring that the disability agenda is on their agenda, and vice versa, will be a prominent topic. Additionally, embracing and including BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and non-binary people, among others, in positions of power, must move from aspirational to a disability advocacy norm.

The 2025 application will open soon.

You can view the participants in the September 23-25, 2024 conference in Marlborough by clicking here.
Conference Application

Join the next
generation of leaders.

We'll choose a group of leaders from around the state to join us in Marlborough September 23-25. Please answer all questions below to the best of your ability. The deadline for applications is July 12, 2024.

Click here to download this form as a Word document that you can fill out and return via email to MassDDC@Mass.gov. Please remember to save it before closing!

First Name
Last Name
Address
City
State
Zip
Email
Phone
Do you self-identify as a person with a disability? Yes    No
If so, what is your disability?
Race/Ethnicity:
Gender Identity:
Sexual Orientation:
Please specify any accommodations you would need for the weekend.
Indicate how you view leadership and how you envision putting the experience gained at the summit to use?
Why do you see yourself as an emerging or current leader?
Provide an example when you demonstrated leadership.
Describe up to three advocacy efforts/activities in which you have been involved.
What would you like to learn or need to know as a leader advocating for people with disabilities?
Do you have an affiliation to a disability advocacy organization(s), and if so, what is your role with that organization?
Feel free to upload a resume or file. PDFs, please.
Important! Type any two digits (10-99) to prove you are not a robot.