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.
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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.