Around GCDD: GCDD Welcomes New Staff
GCDD added two new members to its staff to help the organization continue its mission to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play and worship in Georgia communities.
Gabrielle Melnick joined as the community organizing assistant to the Real Communities initiative this past summer. The University of Georgia graduate will provide administrative and logistical support to communities within the Real Communities initiative, and she will report to Real Communities Organizing Director Caitlin Childs. Her past experience includes serving as an art specialist at a summer camp in Georgia where she helped support campers with and without disabilities – of all ages – to express themselves through various artistic mediums.
A former GCDD public policy intern, Nick Perry joined the staff in June 2015 as the public policy specialist and sibling coordinator. In his role, Perry will provide assistance in managing key stakeholder relationships, creating outreach and advocacy tools and materials and conducting a wide range of policy-related research. Perry will report to Public Policy Director Dawn Alford. As the brother of a young man with cerebral palsy, Perry hopes to help create a Georgia in which individuals of all abilities can be fully involved in all aspects of community living and shed light on the challenges of siblings of individuals with disabilities.
Tags: Making a Difference