Board Member Biography – Maureen S. Hollowell

Maureen Hollowell is the Director of Advocacy and Services at the Endependence Center, Inc. in Norfolk. She lives in Virginia Beach with her husband Lew, they have five adult children. Their adult daughter has spina bifida and is deaf.  Ms. Hollowell has been active in a variety of local, state, and national disability organizations since 1981.  She has served on the Board for Rights of Virginians with Disabilities (now the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities), the Statewide Independent Living Council, the Developmental Disabilities Advisory Council to the Department for Rights of Virginians with Disabilities (now the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy), the State Special Education Advisory Committee, and local school boards’ Special Education Advisory Committees.  She is Chairman of the National Council on Independent Living’s IDEA Committee.  Ms. Hollowell has organized and directed three statewide projects.   Project ACT focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act.   The Project developed a training curriculum and materials and prepared 50 individuals to conduct ADA training throughout Virginia from 1991 through 1994.  Project River focused on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments of 1997.  The Project  conducted training throughout Virginia for students, their families, and educators and established an ongoing listserv, River-L@Handinet.org.  Making Community Living a Reality Project  focused on home and community-based Medicaid waivers. Thirty-five community activists were prepared to conduct workshops on Medicaid waivers, materials were developed, and technical assistance provided to people with disabilities, their families, and providers.   The Virginia Medicaid Waivers Network was formed and a listserv, VaWaivers-L@Handinet.org, was established.