Each year, NCIL recognizes individuals and / or organizations for outstanding advocacy efforts. NCIL encourages you to nominate someone in your region who you believe is deserving of this award. Please take a few minutes to complete the nomination form by June 10, 2020.

• Nominate someone from your region online.

Purpose of the NCIL regional advocacy award: To recognize individuals or groups / organizations within each region for outstanding systems advocacy efforts consistent with independent living goals and philosophy at a national, state, or local level.

It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of activist and organizer Stacey Park. Stacey passed away from surgical complications on May 19, 2020, on her 33rd birthday.

Originally from North Carolina, Stacey served on the North Carolina Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) and was a former American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) intern. She was a fixture of disability activism in the Bay Area after moving there in 2010. A co-founder of the Disability Justice Culture Club, Stacey coordinated direct aid to disabled people and other marginalized groups during emergencies like the 2019 PG&E power shutoffs in the Bay Area and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Stacey’s activism was truly intersectional in nature, addressing overlapping systems of oppression and all facets of a human being, including disability, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. Her commitment to disability justice as a queer disabled woman of color was unparalleled.

NCIL Resolutions

The purpose of resolutions is for members to speak directly to what NCIL does and what NCIL stands for. A resolution, if adopted by the membership, is a formal opinion from NCIL or a commitment to taking action on a specific topic.

• Submit your resolution using our online form
• Please read the NCIL Guide to Resolution Writing before developing your resolution.
• See also: NCIL’s past resolutions

Resolutions must be received by June 24, 2020.

May 21, 2020

Dear NCIL Members:

NCIL is planning to hold virtual elections for our Governing Board positions this year. We will be sending a ballot to all members next week that will allow NCIL to amend its Bylaws to permit virtual elections this year. Regardless of the election process, our Standard Operating Procedures require us to release our call for nominations this week. So please read below and consider nominations you may want to make for the open Board positions. We will be releasing more information about the Bylaw amendment, balloting, and election dates and procedures in the next few weeks.

NCIL members have an opportunity to nominate an individual to run for each of the following positions on the NCIL Board:

• Vice President,
• Secretary,
• Diversity Committee Chair,
• three Member-At-Large positions,
• and Representatives of Regions II, IV, VI, VIII, and X (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10).

If you or someone you know would be interested in running for the NCIL Board, please fill out the nomination form.

Please carefully review the position descriptions and memorandum, as it will help in considering potential nominees. Also, make sure to share these resources with the individual you are nominating so that they have a clear understanding of what will be expected should they be elected.

Nomination Deadline: June 12, 2020.

July 20 – August 7, 2020

It’s official – NCIL’s 2020 Annual Conference on Independent Living will be virtual! We’ve been working very hard behind the scenes to plan the event and we’re so excited to share the news with you. We certainly have much work to do together this summer and we will proceed with as much effort and intensity as if we were in Washington together!

We are spreading our conference events out a bit to accommodate the realities of virtual events and participation from home. The week of July 20th will feature the big kick-off events and plenaries, followed by two weeks of additional workshops and other events.

We are working hard on conference registration, the final schedule, and other details. We will be releasing additional updates over the next two weeks with all of the information you will need to register and get involved.

NCIL remains fully committed to an event that is safe and accessible to all. We know there will be some access challenges to a virtual conference, just as there are access challenges to in-person conferences. We are already busy coordinating accommodations and support, and are ready to respond to your accommodation requests and feedback to hold the most accessible virtual conference possible. Accommodations can be requested when you register and you are always welcome to submit questions to [email protected].

We would like to share a brief update on NCIL’s Annual Conference on Independent Living planning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. NCIL’s Annual Conference Subcommittee and staff have been hard at work gathering information and resources according to our conference contingency plan. With our research and analysis nearly complete, NCIL’s Governing Board is planning to meet very soon to make key decisions about the format and timing of this year’s conference. We plan to make a more significant announcement very soon. We hope you find this update helpful and we welcome your questions anytime!

NCIL remains fully committed to an event that is safe and accessible to all. 

The President has signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (S. 3548) into law. The House passed the CARES Act on Friday after it was passed by the Senate on Wednesday. Read the final bill (PDF).

The CARES Act is a $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package. While the CARES Act did address some of the disability community’s needs, most of our priorities were not included. Disabled people are at disproportionate risk during this pandemic, and Congress must do more to ensure all future legislation addresses our needs.

We wanted to be in touch about NCIL’s Annual Conference on Independent Living. It has become clear that the COVID-19 epidemic is a long-term event, certain to impact the NCIL conference in a variety of ways. NCIL’s Annual Conference Subcommittee, staff, and governing board are gathering information and resources to sort out the best way for the coolest bunch of people with disabilities and independent living advocates to gather, share, learn from each other, and shake things up, even if that means gathering virtually or a significant delay in the event. We will withhold opening guestrooms and registration until we know more, but please stay tuned for more information. We will keep you posted as the situation develops.

Just know that we’re absolutely committed to an event that is safe and accessible to all.