GCDD Welcomes New Staff Members!

Rena Harris is the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities’ (GCDD) new Chief Program Officer. Rena will lead efforts across Georgia to improve services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She will make sure their voices are heard and that the agency's work represents all of Georgia's disability community.

With more than 25 years of experience in disability rights and human services, Rena brings deep expertise in policy advocacy, community engagement, and organizational leadership. She holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. She is known for building strong partnerships with self-advocates, families, providers, and policymakers.

She began her career as a Direct Support Professional working with individuals who recently moved from institutions to community-based services. She then spent two decades in Georgia’s provider community. She later held leadership roles within the state’s protection and advocacy system and served as Executive Director of Georgia Options. In that role she oversaw person-centered programs that supported people with developmental disabilities to live in homes of their choosing.

Rena’s commitment to disability justice is also deeply personal. She is autistic and the mother of two young adults, one of whom is also autistic.
She lives in Gwinnett County with her husband, children, and their two dogs and two cats.

M. Cathy Harmon-Christian, PhD is GCDD’s new Public Policy Director. In this role, Cathy will work closely with her team to promote and enact public policies which advance the well-being of all Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a proud member of a family with multiple disabilities, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with GCDD staff and Council on this important mission.

Cathy grew up in Peoria, IL, and earned a BA in English from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI; a MA in International Relations from Boston University; a MTS from Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL; and an interdisciplinary PhD from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. She had the unique opportunity to live and work in the community at Schumacher College (Devon, UK) while working on her dissertation. She was a Visiting Scholar at Linacre College, Oxford University, exploring cultural anthropology and ethnography.

Cathy has a strong background of education and experience promoting and advocating for multiple human rights issues. Cathy’s most recent position as Executive Director for Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty resulted in the passing of House Bill 123 in May 2025. This bill ensures people with intellectual disabilities will no longer be executed in the State of Georgia. She worked closely with GCDD and Georgia legislators over the last two years to advance and pass this important legislation.

In her personal time, Cathy loves to read and supports her public library system whenever she can. She also enjoys birding, wet and dry felting, travelling to England to see her adult child and husband, and sharing her home with six cat companions.