Steven E. Brown
Institute on Disability Culture:
A Little History
A little HISTORY Steven E. Brown and Lillian Gonzales Brown, Institute on
Disability Culture Co-Founders, have worked in the field of disability
rights for several decades, first individually, then as a husband and wife team.
In the 1980s, both Steven E. Brown and Lillian Gonzales Brown perceived a need for knowledge about the history, ideologies, and diverse expressions of people with disabilities. They established the Institute on Disability Culture, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in 1994.
MISSION:
Promoting pride in the history, activities, and cultural identity of individuals with disabilities throughout the world.
Brief biographies:
STEVEN E. BROWN earned a doctorate in history in 1981 at the University of Oklahoma. When discrimination because of his
disability detoured a career in history, he expanded his activities with a local disability rights group, and set the stage for three decades of work within the disability rights movement.
Brown's initial work in disability rights involved development
of peer support and skills training programs, community organizing
and public education at Progressive Independence, an Oklahoma
independent living center. Subsequent positions as an advocate,
then as a disability specialist providing information and referral in a
statewide advocacy agency, led to a stint as executive director of
Progressive Independence (PI). While at PI, Brown's unswerving
commitment to advocacy and empowerment issues with all
disability populations became widely known and respected .
Brown embraced the 1990s with a new role as Training
Director for the Research and Training Center on Public Policy in
Independent Living at the World Institute on Disability (WID) in
Oakland, California. In this capacity, he facilitated planning of the
1991 international symposium, "Empowerment Strategies for the
Development of a National Personal Assistance Services System,"
supervised an internship program for disabled college students,
and was instrumental in including concepts of disability culture in
WID publications and activities.
Brown, and his wife and partner, Lillian Gonzales Brown,
realized their dream to establish the not-for-profit Institute on
Disability Culture (IDC) in early 1994, shortly after moving to
southern New Mexico.
Brown's publications may be found on the Order Page for this website. In recent years, Brown has conducted trainings and presentations throughout the United States and Europe on a variety of disability related subjects.
LILLIAN GONZALES BROWN has been on the cutting edge
of various aspects of the disability rights movement such as Peer
Support, Independent Living Skills, Sexuality, and Disability Culture.
Gonzales Brown joined the Independent Living Movement
in the 1970's at one of the world's first independent living centers: the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Berkeley, California. A member of the team which designed and implemented the country's original Independent Living Curriculum, she also worked with disabled people in a variety of direct services areas, such as Peer Support, Sexuality, Independent Living Skills Training, and goal planning.
A complementary background in the field of Sexuality and
Disability began with training as a Disability Educator, then
becoming an associate staff member, at the Sex and Disability Unit,
University of California, San Francisco. Work in the field included
community education, conference planning and presentations,
lecturing at colleges and universities, continuing education for
health professionals, and curriculum development for specific
groups in the disabled community. Offering her services as a
private consultant, Gonzales Brown contributed to the early
development and implementation of sexuality curricula which
advocated for rights to information, relationships and privacy for
people with mental retardation.
Continuing to add to her expertise, Gonzales Brown worked
as a Health Educator for Planned Parenthood, integrating a
disability focus into staff trainings and community education. She
worked for ten years on a voluntary basis for suicide prevention
programs, doing crisis intervention and training of counselors.
During her tenure at CIL in Berkeley, and later at the World
Institute on Disability, Gonzales Brown also developed
individualized Peer Support and independent living skills training
programs for international students and visitors. Having gained
international recognition for her expertise in Peer Support, for the
past decade she has been sought after to conduct trainings abroad
on different aspects of the disability movement. She has taught
courses in Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, Japan, and
Scandinavia for various disability groups and newly forming
independent living centers.
FEES FOR SERVICES AND PRODUCTS
ADDITIONAL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
Disability Culture Co-Founders, have worked in the field of disability
rights for several decades, first individually, then as a husband and wife team.
In the 1980s, both Steven E. Brown and Lillian Gonzales Brown perceived a need for knowledge about the history, ideologies, and diverse expressions of people with disabilities. They established the Institute on Disability Culture, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in 1994.
MISSION:
Promoting pride in the history, activities, and cultural identity of individuals with disabilities throughout the world.
Brief biographies:
STEVEN E. BROWN earned a doctorate in history in 1981 at the University of Oklahoma. When discrimination because of his
disability detoured a career in history, he expanded his activities with a local disability rights group, and set the stage for three decades of work within the disability rights movement.
Brown's initial work in disability rights involved development
of peer support and skills training programs, community organizing
and public education at Progressive Independence, an Oklahoma
independent living center. Subsequent positions as an advocate,
then as a disability specialist providing information and referral in a
statewide advocacy agency, led to a stint as executive director of
Progressive Independence (PI). While at PI, Brown's unswerving
commitment to advocacy and empowerment issues with all
disability populations became widely known and respected .
Brown embraced the 1990s with a new role as Training
Director for the Research and Training Center on Public Policy in
Independent Living at the World Institute on Disability (WID) in
Oakland, California. In this capacity, he facilitated planning of the
1991 international symposium, "Empowerment Strategies for the
Development of a National Personal Assistance Services System,"
supervised an internship program for disabled college students,
and was instrumental in including concepts of disability culture in
WID publications and activities.
Brown, and his wife and partner, Lillian Gonzales Brown,
realized their dream to establish the not-for-profit Institute on
Disability Culture (IDC) in early 1994, shortly after moving to
southern New Mexico.
Brown's publications may be found on the Order Page for this website. In recent years, Brown has conducted trainings and presentations throughout the United States and Europe on a variety of disability related subjects.
LILLIAN GONZALES BROWN has been on the cutting edge
of various aspects of the disability rights movement such as Peer
Support, Independent Living Skills, Sexuality, and Disability Culture.
Gonzales Brown joined the Independent Living Movement
in the 1970's at one of the world's first independent living centers: the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Berkeley, California. A member of the team which designed and implemented the country's original Independent Living Curriculum, she also worked with disabled people in a variety of direct services areas, such as Peer Support, Sexuality, Independent Living Skills Training, and goal planning.
A complementary background in the field of Sexuality and
Disability began with training as a Disability Educator, then
becoming an associate staff member, at the Sex and Disability Unit,
University of California, San Francisco. Work in the field included
community education, conference planning and presentations,
lecturing at colleges and universities, continuing education for
health professionals, and curriculum development for specific
groups in the disabled community. Offering her services as a
private consultant, Gonzales Brown contributed to the early
development and implementation of sexuality curricula which
advocated for rights to information, relationships and privacy for
people with mental retardation.
Continuing to add to her expertise, Gonzales Brown worked
as a Health Educator for Planned Parenthood, integrating a
disability focus into staff trainings and community education. She
worked for ten years on a voluntary basis for suicide prevention
programs, doing crisis intervention and training of counselors.
During her tenure at CIL in Berkeley, and later at the World
Institute on Disability, Gonzales Brown also developed
individualized Peer Support and independent living skills training
programs for international students and visitors. Having gained
international recognition for her expertise in Peer Support, for the
past decade she has been sought after to conduct trainings abroad
on different aspects of the disability movement. She has taught
courses in Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, Japan, and
Scandinavia for various disability groups and newly forming
independent living centers.
FEES FOR SERVICES AND PRODUCTS
ADDITIONAL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
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