ABOUT
US
InFocus Advocacy® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works with self-advocates, families, and communities to enhance the image of people living with a disability. Our work contributes to the creation of inclusive communities, where everyone is welcome and valued.
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Preparing Businesses
to better serve people with disabilities and their families
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Empowering Self-advocates
to voice their needs and use their expertise as consumers to help their communities.
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Designing Inclusive Programming
in recreation, physical activity, cultural arts, and friendship domains.
Siblings InFocus
Stuart J. Schleien
Ph.D, LRT/CTRS, CPRP
Stuart J. Schleien is Co-Founder and an Executive Director for InFocus Advocacy.
He is also Professor & Chair in the Department of Community & Therapeutic Recreation at UNC Greensboro. As a Licensed and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, he develops best practices that help parents and professionals design inclusive recreation, physical activity, and camp programs for children and adults with diverse skills and abilities. He has expertise as a systems change agent for inclusive service delivery, helping agencies manage successful organizational change and development. Dr. Schleien has written 7 books and over 125 journal articles and book chapters on this topic and has presented his work throughout the U.S. and Canada, and in Australia, England, Germany, Israel, Spain, and Sweden.
our
Ginger Walton
M.S.N., RN, FNP, CNLCP
Ginger Walton is Co-Founder and an Executive Director for InFocus Advocacy. With a clinical background as a Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in neurodevelopmental pediatrics, she has worked with children, teens, and young adults challenged by intellectual or developmental disability, learning disability, and mental health concerns. She has expertise in developmental assessments, the impact of disability, parent education, community education, interdisciplinary teamwork, and life care planning. Ms. Walton is a fellow in the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) and completed a fellowship in leadership education for neurodevelopmental disabilities (LEND) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, her alma mater.
Lindsey Oakes
Ph.D., LRT/CTRS
Lindsey Oakes previously served as the Program Coordinator of InFocus Advocacy and continues to work with our organization as a senior associate. She is also an Assistant Professor of Therapeutic Recreation in the Division of Recreation Administration at Texas State University in San Marcos Texas. She received her Ph.D. in Public Health Education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2020. Lindsey served as the Student Support Coordinator at Beyond Academics from August 2012 to August 2016. In this position, she supported college students with varying abilities through the four year Integrative Community Students certificate program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Her passion for person-centered services,advocacy, and inclusion for all is reflected through her day-to-day work.
team
OUR
BOARD
Kristy S. Andraos is the founding attorney of Andraos Law, PLLC, a law firm dedicated to providing assistance to seniors and individuals of varying abilities. Mrs. Andraos also serves on the Board of North Carolina’s chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She has been voted a Business North Carolina Legal Elite Attorney for several years running and has been distinguished as a North Carolina Super Lawyer’s Rising Star in the area of Elder Law for the years of 2017-2021.
Ally Clayton is a junior in the Bachelor of Social Work program at UNCG and has served on the InFocus Advocacy board of directors since 2015. She has an extensive history of advocacy through InFocus programs and other community involvement in Greensboro and has been volunteering with adults with disabilities in various capacities for the last decade. She plans to pursue her MSW and clinical social work licensure in order to speak for those who can't speak for themselves.
Mr. Grey Cockerham is a self-advocate from Greensboro, NC. He currently works as a barista at A Special Blend, and enjoys gardening, travel and participating in his church community. Grey has made several presentations about community inclusion at professional conferences across the state and nation.
Kim M. Gromko is a Program Manager of Mergers and Acquisition for Essilor and holds a B.S. in Accounting and a M.B.A. and Master Certificate in Health Admin from SNHU. As a mother of an adult child with autism and epilepsy, she is a life-long advocate for her daughter and others with disabilities. Kim has written and spoken nationally about disability advocacy, and has served on various boards, including a local Arc, Kopper Top Life Learning Center and the Autism Society of Guilford County.
Lavinia Jackson brings the intersectional perspective to the board. As a disabled Veteran and single-parent, she advocates for the minoritized with care, compassion and a commitment to full inclusion. She is Tabby's mom, a teenager living with osteogenesis imperfecta type 1.
Ms. Kimberly D. Miller is an AP Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation at UNC Greensboro. She holds a master’s degree from UNCG in Therapeutic Recreation. Her research interests include inclusive recreation, community inclusion, inclusive post-secondary education, and participatory action research with individuals with intellectual disabilities.