On Tuesday, Stephanie Orlando officially took over as Western New York Independent Living’s CEO, as long-time CEO Doug Usiak retires.
Independent Living Centers are federally mandated to be run by a majority of people with disabilities, and exist to support people with disabilities in living in their communities. Orlando sat down with BTPM's Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins earlier this month to share what she’s learned from Usiak, the future of the agency, and the challenges that she believes lie ahead.
On air, we shared a question and answer from that interview which includes her story and how she plans to lead, but the entire interview is included below.
AUDIO (FULL INTERVIEW)
TRANSCRIPT (FULL INTERVIEW)
This is a rush transcript written by an external contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Stephanie Orlando: So officially July 1st, I become the next CEO of Western New York Independent Living. We've been working at this for a while now as a succession plan, and I had an interview process and a process of really learning the organization and from the CEO role because I had learned and worked for Western York Independent living as COO and really been learning the in and outs of all of our programs and general operations, but not from the CEO executive seat.
And I've been really fortunate to have ongoing mentorship by Douglas Usiak, our current CEO. He is just been a phenomenal mentor and really cares about the future of Western New York Independent Living, and I feel very honored to have his trust in me to carry forward his legacy and I feel very well-prepared. And I also feel that I have a lot of support from a lot of our long-time employees as well as from Doug. He's going to continue on as a consultant, helping me really with that institutional historical knowledge that he has on just what has worked and what hasn't and why we've grown the way we have so that I continue to build on our history and our roots and continue to make us stronger.
Emyle Watkins: What are some lessons from Doug that you'll take with you into being CEO?
Stephanie Orlando: Oh, that's tough because there's many. I think the biggest one is staying in touch with our, as we call them consumers, the people that we serve and the people that we are supposed to be run for and by and we are. And it means having that open door and the willingness to pick up the phone and talk to people. I laugh because I feel like I'm from the generation that's aversive to phones. Even though I grew up with the cord on the wall and the phone at home and I still have a home phone. So I'm not totally millennial or anything, but I'm right at the cusp. So I really do think that working here, I learned a lot more about the value of talking to people and not just relying on email and really building a relationship that people feel like you're there for them and that you're open to listening to their experience and their ideas about how things can be better. And I really hope to build on that and continue to have that open door and easy access.
Emyle Watkins: I feel like so often when we talk about disability or even when people hear the words independent living, they don't realize an independent living center is different from long-term care and the services and supports you provide. And I think so often we think about these aging populations into disability. What are some of the challenges you see ahead with serving and reaching this younger new generation of people with disabilities? As you talk about even just connecting with people, talking on the phone, all these kids are communicating via social media now. How do you reach these younger generations and let them know these supports exist for them too?
Stephanie Orlando: I think that it's somewhat of having that online presence and that presence in social media world, and it's also just being where people are and being a part of the community. I think that you have to be there and someone that asks questions and listens and hears people's responses. And we've been expanding our youth services quite a bit and really looking to other young people to help us build that bridge and hear from people that are around the same age, what is the best way to reach young people? And we've created youth spaces and are right now actually competing for an Office of Mental Health Youth Safe Spaces grant, but we're building on some of the work that we've been doing already to make our spaces more welcoming, to be able to provide services virtually, but really, also work with people hands-on and not just direct them where to go and what to do themselves.
Because I think a lot of what the peer movement is about is we do with, and you don't have to be alone and you don't have to feel alone. We've been through it ourselves and we can be that guide without judgment and that process, and I think that appeals to young people.
Emyle Watkins: And what are some things you're excited to do as CEO? Is there anything you're looking ahead to that you feel very passionate about working on or expanding?
Stephanie Orlando: There are so many things. Disability Pride is coming up and that's one of the bright spots for me, and a lot of the reason for that is our coalition of people that are supporting Disability Pride has really grown. And I feel like I've been very excited about the future with Western New York Independent Living, yet a lot of our civil rights are under threat right now, and the future of disability rights, equal access is under threat. So I really need, and I think this community needs this bright spot where we come together on positive things and things that we can all agree on. And I think that that camaraderie and networking and just fun, the planning team will go out to Food Truck Tuesday and different things together, and that means that we can work together better when things get real rough and when we really need to come together for the tough things.
And I really look forward to having more of what Doug refers to as the fundraisers, the things that we did a lot of when Western New Independent Living First started, the social element of things. And I think that the social element leads to a strong civil rights movement.
Emyle Watkins: And you mentioned you're coming into this role at a time where disability rights are under threat. What is your message to the community you'll serve as you come into this role at this really difficult time? What would you say to your consumers?
Stephanie Orlando: We're all in it together. We need a strong movement as I said. We need people to speak up and to feel heard, and I'm always here to listen and to hear where people are with things and meet them where they're at. And I think that that's important not only in the services we provide, but also as we move forward with disability rights. We need to know what people are experiencing and help them voice that to people that can really make change, and I think that Western New York Independent Living has a strong history of those relationships with elected officials. Today was our Meet the Candidates Day for the Buffalo Mayoral primary, and I think that we will continue to be that platform that people can really launch their voice from and that megaphone, that microphone that will help them feel heard. And they not only feel heard, but be a part of the solution, be a part of the change, and that looks different in many shapes and forms.
Not everybody has to be at a protest. That might be good for some, but there's a lot of behind the scenes things in terms of just meeting people at a table and telling their story and whatever people feel comfortable with. I think that we want to help you find that and help you share your story so that people know what the true impact of some of these decisions are.
Emyle Watkins: I feel like so many times when we see leaders in the disability community, sometimes we see duty humans, but a lot of times we do see, not to stereotype, but white men in wheelchairs, right? And there are so many women and non-binary people and people with non-visible disabilities. And I guess I'm wondering how are you going to bring your lived experience into this role and help shape the future of disability rights in our area as someone who doesn't fit that image, I think that a lot of people have of someone with a disability of being a white man in a wheelchair?
Stephanie Orlando: And I'm not just a caring white lady either. I am a person with multiple disabilities. I think that things have shifted a lot in terms of who the CEOs are for non-profits. I see a lot more women, and that's wonderful to see that we've broken that glass ceiling. For me, I grew up in the disability peer movement. My lived experience started with trauma as a child, and I went through the special ed system, the mental health system. I was in residential placement. I was a high school dropout. So your next CEO of Western New York Independent Living has her GED, but also, I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Buffalo. And I think that I bring that idea that you don't have to do things the way that everyone else does them. I've always made my own path and I see people here every day that are advocates for themselves and make their own path.
And I think that there has always been some level of stigma about mental health in the disability community, and we're seeing it now with the addiction recovery work we do, like substance use disorders and viewing them as they are as disabilities is not widely done at the moment, but here at Western New York Independent Living, we've been a pioneer of that and I think that I'll continue to carry that forward. I've been, as I said, in this movement, I started as a teenager working for what's now Endeavor in 1998. I started as a peer and a large portion of that was when I became part of the National Youth Movement, talking with my peers on the mental health side about what the disability rights side of things was.
I was really fortunate to be a part of this group called the National Youth Leadership Network. It no longer exists, but the alumni of that network, a lot of us have really gone places in the disability movement. And I remember being a part of that group, and then a part of SAMHSA funded, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, their youth components, and often being the bridge between them and talking about, well, when we say we don't want to be locked up in an institution, that's what the disability movement's talking about. It's not, "Oh, I have a disability and I'm permanently disabled," because a lot of people view it that way like, "It's one more label you're giving me in the mental health world," and it's hard when maybe you're labeled with... In special ed, there's some pretty tough labels that you are given. People viewed it as that, as a sentence.
And once you start talking about, no, this is your rights, this is a community, this isn't a dirty word. Everyone has different abilities and your disability does not define who you are in terms of some type of stereotype. It is what you define as what you want to do with your life, and you shouldn't have that be confined by these perceptions and misconceptions of disability. And that bridge, I think is something that I will continue to build on, not just... Here, I think we've been doing it a long time, but I think bringing that to the national scene, and even in our state, helping to bring more of that level of all disabilities are to be seen and heard even if they're invisible disabilities.
Emyle Watkins: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me about your new upcoming role.
Stephanie Orlando: Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.
