FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jody Yarborough 

November, 1, 2011 Phone: 408.894.9041 

 

SVILC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SARAH TRIANO, TO PARTICIPATE IN 
INDEPENDENT LIVING AND DISABILTY POLICY FIELD COLLOQUIUM 


Nomination to attend is a high honor; one of few EDs across the country to participate in such a gathering. 

 

SAN JOSE — Silicon Valley Independent Living Center’s Executive Director, Sarah Triano, has been nominated to 
participate in a colloquium gathering of leaders in the independent living and disability policy field, organized by the 
Independent Living Research Utilization Program (ILRU) on Nov. 8-9, 2011 in Dallas, Texas. There are over 400 Centers 
for Independent Living (CIL) across the country, and Triano is one of 35 CIL directors and thought leaders in the IL 
movement to be nominated to attend. 

The colloquium will focus on the future of CILs. Together participants will forge a consensus statement and inform 
continuing discussion on the future of CILs. ILRU believes that CILs must become stronger, more vibrant organizations in 
the 21st Century. Most CILs were founded in a different era. The needs of CIL constituents are changing. There are both 
challenges and opportunities for growth in a changing service and funding environment. Centers must examine the larger 
forces that are driving these changes and craft new service and funding models and new organizational structures to meet 
them. 

I am honored to be chosen for this opportunity and excited to share about our collective efforts to put the concept of 
“disability justice” into practice in our everyday work and lives at the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center. At 
SVILC, we are developing a vision for the future of CILs based on disability justice that acknowledges the intersections of 
multiple oppressions and the inherent connection of the disability struggle to the larger struggle for social justice and 
human rights. It is time, in the words of Grace Lee Boggs, to “transform ourselves from victims, service providers, and 
members of an identity struggle to pioneers in creating a new, more humane and just society for all.” 

The ILRU (Independent Living Research Utilization) program is a national center for information, training, research, and 
technical assistance in independent living. Its goal is to expand the body of knowledge in independent living and to improve 
utilization of results of research programs and demonstration projects in this field. It is a program of TIRR (The Institute for 
Rehabilitation and Research), a nationally recognized medical rehabilitation facility for persons with disabilities. 

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SVILC is a cross-disability, intergenerational, and multicultural disability justice organization that creates fully inclusive 
communities that value the dignity, equality, freedom and worth of every human being. For more information go to 
www.svilc.org.