Julie . Reiskin
Colorado Cross-Disability CoalitionJulie Reiskin, LCSW, is the executive director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC). CCDC advocates for social justice for people with all types of disabilities. CCDC is a leading disability rights organization whose unique model of blending legal and non-attorney advocacy has achieved results for thousands of Coloradoans with disabilities. With a motto of "Nothing About Us Without Us---Ever", CCDC has led the way in citizen or "client" engagement and CCDC trained advocates permeate the Colorado public policy arena. CCDC and Reiskin assist other organizations with assuring real and meaningful participation by "clients" at all levels. Through CCDC and the disability community Ms. Reiskin has gained expertise on nonprofit accountability and best practices, publically funded long-term community based services, disability rights law, public benefits and the intersectionality of systemic and individual advocacy. Ms. Reiskin has proposed and helped to implement many solutions to create a sustainable and client friendly Medicaid program - such as the consumer direction as a delivery model, acted as a respected advocate for individuals and has trained many others in health advocacy and health policy. Prior to becoming the Executive Director for CCDC in 1996, Ms. Reiskin served as the organization's policy analyst. In 2010, Ms. Reiskin was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation as the client representative. In 2018, she was elected to serve on the Board of the ACLU of Colorado and was also appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Denver Foundation. Ms. Reiskin is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver at the Graduate School of Social Work teaching both policy advocacy and program development. Ms. Reiskin provides consulting with organizations seeking to improve, expand or enhance their ability to effectively practice real and meaningful client/constituent engagement at all levels of the organization. She also helps organizations develop disability cultural competence. She has her MSW and BS from the University of Connectcut.
(07/19)


