Plain language announcement
The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) has hired a new Executive Director. The Executive Director is the person hired to lead the organization. The Board of Directors for NCIL hires the Executive Director. The Board of Directors are a group of people who oversee how the organization operates.
The person who will be the Executive Director at NCIL is Reyma McCoy McDeid. Reyma is the first disabled Black woman to lead a national disability organization in the United States.
Reyma McCoy McDeid has worked as a leader for disability organizations before. Reyma has a passion for disability justice. Disability Justice is about how discrimination against people for any reason hurts everyone. Disability Justice is about more than fighting for rights to be given to people.
The executive director who is retiring from NCIL is Kelly Buckland. Mr. Buckland was the executive director for 12 years.
The board president, Sarah Launderville, said the board is excited to hire Reyma as the executive director. Ms. Launderville believes Reyma is qualified and will improve NCIL.
McCoy McDeid is the former treasurer for the NCIL board of directors. The treasurer oversees the financial operations for an organization.
Reyma also has done work with NCIL on racial equity issues. Racial equity issues are ways that disabled people who are Black, indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC) experience discrimination. People who are BIPOC experience discrimination for that, as well as for their disability.
President Biden appointed Reyma as Commissioner for the Administration on Disabilities (AoD) at the Administration on Community Living (ACL). The Administration on Community Living is a federal agency. ACL oversees the programs that NCIL member organizations operate.
Prior to that, Reyma served for over five years as Executive Director of Central Iowa Center for Independent Living (CICIL). CICIL received an award as the Organization of the Year in the City of Des Moines in 2018. Reyma is the first openly autistic person to run for state legislature in US history.
McCoy McDeid holds a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Administration from Lindenwood University. This is a college degree that gave her special knowledge about how to run organizations like NCIL.
Reyma said she was very happy to become the next Executive Director for NCIL. She believes the people who work at NCIL are good at their jobs. She thinks the members of NCIL want to see NCIL do well. Reyma is ready to lead NCIL through its next phase of development. She learned to do disability work by two people who have passed away recently. Even though she is sad about that, she is excited to begin working for NCIL.
The NCIL board of directors took six months to hire the executive director. Sarah Launderville led the group who looked for the executive director. She is happy that the executive director will be Reyma. Sarah Launderville also believes the process for hiring an executive director can be more fair. The board will help other organizations learn from their experience.
Please join the board of directors of NCIL in congratulating Reyma as she works with Kelly Buckland to ensure a smooth transition.
Image is of McCoy McDeid. Ms. McCoy McDeid is a light-skinned Black woman in her early forties. Ms. McCoy McDeid has long curly brown hair and glasses. She is seated in front of a black background on a stool. She is wearing a short, form-fitted dress that features a watercolor pattern. Photo by Urban Couture Photography, Des Moines, IA.
