Darlene Zangara has been hired as director of Minnesota’s Olmstead Plan Implementation Office, and will implement a plan to improve the way Minnesota provides services and support to people with disabilities.
The state adopted the Olmstead Plan last year as a framework to help individuals with disabilities choose where they live, where they work or go to school, and how they participate in community life. There are goals and timelines to measure progress.
Zangara will support state agencies as they work to implement the plan across the state.
Said Zangara: “I am looking forward to engaging Minnesota in this groundbreaking transformative plan in creating a stronger culture of empowerment, integration and inclusion for all Minnesotans.”
Zangara is the founder of Leveraging Your Voice, a consulting company dedicated to serving marginalized leaders and organizations. She also has worked with Communication Services for the Deaf (CSD), headed the Ohio Resource Center on Deafness, and served on numerous boards and commissions and as adjunct faculty member at several colleges and universities.
