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MEET THE COUNCIL
As of January 15th, 2009
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Charles was born and raised on the beaches in South Carolina. Charles has had many jobs and even more life experiences. He has written two books that chronicle his life as a person struggling with mental illness. The two books are titled Pink Pencil and Abnormal Behavior. Charles was a paratrooper for three years and is very proud of his military service. He has lived in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, but home is South Carolina. He and his wife Judy were married for 28 years until she passed away from lung cancer. Charles has been blessed with a son and four grandchildren.
Charles has made it his mission to spread hope to people and to teach people that mental illness is not something to be feared, but just another bump in the unpaved road of life.
Charles is a man of many talents including golfing, cooking, and spreading the word of God.
Charles was appointed to the SC Independent Living Council in February 2007.
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Almarie Wright became interested in the council or IL Movement because she wanted to provide information to people and communities about the SC Independent Living Council. Almarie is an Evangelist. She tries to inspire people to live there life to it’s fullest. Almarie’s hobbies are writing newsletters and reading.
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Steve is the Executive Director of the Disability Action Center. The Disability Action Center is the largest Independent Living Center in our State, and provides support and services to citizens living with disabilities in 23 South Carolina counties. Steve was nominated to serve as the CIL (Centers for Independent Living) representative by his peers, and was appointed by Governor Mark Sanford on February 19th, 2008.
Steve has made a lifetime commitment to a set of core beliefs that is grounded by independent living philosophy. Those beliefs support a conviction that all people have abilities, strengths, and intrinsic importance. Additionally, all people have a right to participate fully in community life, and make choices of their own free will without external influence and interference.
Steve has prior experience working with people and systems in Connecticut, North Carolina, and Vermont. He has served as an Executive Director of a Community Rehabilitation Provider in Winston–Salem, NC and the CEO of a Community Mental Health Center in Burlington, Vermont. As Director of Residential Services at Washington County Mental Health, he led a transition team that supported the closing of Vermont’s last institution for people with developmental disabilities, the Brandon Training School. Steve received his Master’s degree from the University of Vermont, and completed a Certificate Program at Duke University in 2002.
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Susan Israel is 51 years old. She has been married for 25 years. She received her Undergraduate Degree in Psychology from Francis Marion University in 1980. She has no children; however she has four dogs and two cats that are treated like children. She enjoys crafts, crocheting, and attending church.
Susan became very interested in becoming a SCILC Member because of her compassion she has towards others that are struggling with a similar disability that she has. While she was in college she had her first onset of sever symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and depression began. The journey has been long for her in finding the right diagnosis and treatment.
Susan now manages her illnesses with medication and counseling as needed and last not but not least her Christian Faith. Since 1995, when she could no longer work full time, she began to volunteer and advocate with organizations such as the Mental Health Association in Florence County, Protection and Advocacy for People with Mental Illness (PAMI), SC Share, and now SC Independent Living Council (SCILC).
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Starr Vaughn lives in Gaston, SC. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2006 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She works full–time at the SC Employment Security Commission. In 2008, she won the Mayor’s Committee Employee with a Disability of the Year Award.
Starr is 27 years old and has Osteogenesis Imperfecta. It is a bone disorder that causes the bones to break easily. She became active in the SC Independent Living Council a few years ago while working part–time for them. It was a great experience for her because she began to realize that there was so much involved with people with disabilities that she hadn’t known before. After she found a full–time job with the state, she decided to become even more active with the council by becoming a member.
Starr is interested in programs that allows people with disabilities to gain independence through adaptive equipment in cars / vans and believes that information should be easier to find. Because equipment is so expensive she hopes more grants will become more readily available through programs that would allow everyone to be fully independent. Unfortunately, many people with disabilities cannot afford all of the equipment they need and spend their entire life relying on others to take them places when they could easily take themselves if they were given the financial help to adapt an appropriate automobile. Many people don't know where to go or even how to gain the information they need to find grants to help offset the cost of adaptive equipment or don’t even know the appropriate equipment that would be best suited for them. Maybe with the help of these types of programs we can truly understand the meaning of “independent living”.
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Jamie lives in Columbia, SC with her husband and the rest of her "family" which includes 6 birds, 3 African dwarf frogs, 1 spiny-tailed lizard and 2 aquatic turtles! She has athetoid spastic cerebral palsy which was caused at birth by being dropped on the floor of the delivery room by an intoxicated doctor.
Jamie had never heard of SCILC until she was approached by Scottie O'Neal in the parking lot of Sam's Club. She has wanted to be able to help other parents with disabled children. She hopes being a part of SCILC to be the answer to that wish. She would like to introduce a law that will protect the disabled from being used by scam artists, family members, etc.
Ms. Walters is very family-oriented. Also, she is quite independent and outgoing considering the severity of the condition. As she often says, "I'm like everybody else. I just have wheels under me."
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Tanya M. Inabinet is the mother of three beautiful daughters, one whom has special needs who is 16 years old attending school in Richland One.
Tanya has been employed with PRO-Parents of SC, Inc. for six and half years where she has served on the Board of Directors and was also the secretary to the board. She currently is Regional Education Coordinator serving Midlands of South Carolina. She serves 15 counties and has presented numerous workshops on special education in all counties. She has done numerous trainings of staff, parents and other educators with the Disabilities and Special Needs Board in all the 15 counties that she serves. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Epilepsy Foundation of SC, SC Advisory Council on the Education of Students with Disabilities Committee member, Council on Consumer Affairs Committee member, SC Assistive Technology Advisory Council member, and SC Deaf / Blind Advisory Council member, SC-Alt Assessment / Standard Settings participant.
Tanya has displayed and presented to several organizations and parent groups. She has also presented several workshops on special education at University of South Carolina, Winthrop University, Benedict College, and Midlands Technical College. Tanya believes in being an active member in the community where she lives by educating the public on special education and disability awareness.
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Karen Segars Lee and her first husband owned and operated a successful auto salvage business in Walterboro, SC and after 13 years it was sold and moved to Florence where they began a trucking company. In 1995, Karen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and in 1999 she was widowed. Things went badly after that. She began abusing alcohol and drugs. Eventually, Karen lost her home and her son. According to Karen it did not matter and nor did she care. She had pretty much given up and moved in with friends in Hartsville.
In 2005, Karen's mother became ill and she went back to Walterboro to be with her. Karen stayed with her best friend from school. On Valentine's Day that year, her best friend from school whom Karen was staying with set her up on a blind date. His name was Howard Lee and he was a member of the SC Independent Living Council. Howard was a survivor of traumatic brain injury and had been widowed in 2004. They spent the week comparing their lives and misfortunes. Because Howard had found a way to move on and Karen decided that she could too. Howard took Karen to Narcotics Anonymous and helped her to clean up. Karen moved to his home in Islandton that spring and since the fall of 2005, Karen attended all the quarterly SCILC meetings.
In 2006, Howard was able to return to work and in 2007 he retired his position on the SCILC. Howard encouraged Karen to apply in his place, as their part of the state is under-represented on the SCILC. Karen was welcomed into the membership of the SCILC early in 2008 and in March 2008, Karen and Howard were married.
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Clay is originally from the upstate New York area where he spent 45 years. Clay's career was in the trucking industry, sales, operations, and dispatch. He moved to Myrtle Beach, SC. in 1994 and started a self-help support group for people with nervous symptoms. Later Clay started to volunteer for different agencies in SC such as Protection and Advocacy for people with disabilities, Mental Health Assoc.-HC, SHARE, the Department of Mental Health (DMH)-Planning Commission, and Waccamaw Center for Mental Health.
Clay was first introduced to the SCILC by its Director at a Peer Support Training. He immediately fell in love, but more so with the organization, its philosophy, concepts, and ideas that might help those with mental illness. Clay says the SCILC has an atmosphere where you can feel free to express yourself and present new ideas without criticism. His message to all is “Individually, we are but drops of rain on a dry desert, but when we come together we can be a thunderstorm creating the flood which can make the changes we want for the disabled”.
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Mike is a person with a disability and he enjoys working with like-minded people. He wants to help people with disabilities make a positive impact to achieve their goals and improve their quality of life.
Mike wants to see and enforce positive changes with and for the entire disability community. Being a part of the Council gives him a chance to work with others and achieve our common goals to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
Miks is very interested in the laws changing for the better, especially for People with Disabilities (PWD). Members of the Centers for Independent Living, the SC Independent Living Council and the Spinal Cord Injury Association are in the process now on amending a law that would redistribute funds that were collected for research for people with Spinal Cord Injuries, to one that would allow consumers to access funds. This would give consumers the opportunity to improve their quality of life, achieve their goals, have employment opportunities, take a more active role in society, and to help deinstitutionalize the consumers. This law would allow folks to return to the community and get services they need to improve their lives.
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SC Vocational Rehabilitation Department |
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Freda King has been employed with South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department (SCVRD) since June 17, 1994. During her tenure with the Department, she has held many positions – Counselor, Project Supervisor, Consultant, and Administrator for the Comprehensive Center. Currently she is employed as an Area Development Specialist.
Freda became affiliated with the South Carolina Independent Living Council as the liaison between the Council and the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department. In addition, she is the DSU (Designated State Unit Representative) and secretary for the South Carolina Independent Living Council.
Since becoming involved with the Council, Freda has broadened her knowledge in providing service as well as advocating for persons with disabilities. She believes in the mission and philosophy of the Council and is eager to assist in any capacity when needed. In addition to being the DSU Representative and Secretary, she is a member of the legislative / bylaw and planning committees.
Freda obtained her masters degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from South Carolina State University in May 1993. She enjoys working with persons with disabilities and carrying out SCVRD’s mission, “Enabling eligible South Carolinians with disabilities to prepare for, achieve and maintain competitive employment”.
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SC Commission for the Blind |
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Loretta Clayton was born in Chicago, Illinois. She spent her childhood adolescent years in Chicago. She has been a resident of South Carolina since September of 1982.
In 1973, she received her B.A. Degree in Spanish with a minor in Psychology from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. In June of 1982, she received her M.S. Degree in Counseling from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1986, she received her M.Ed. in Rehabilitation Counseling from USC in Columbia, SC. She received her teacher training in special education for the visually impaired at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.
Loretta is legally blind due to Albinism, a genetic eye condition. She is a licensed special education teacher. From September of 1976 to February 2001, she held various positions as a special education teacher for the Visually Impaired. During this time period the age of the students ranged from four years old up to seventy two years of age. The population included children, adolescents, and adults who were visually challenged with concomitant disabilities. Grade levels ranged from K-12. The adults were in the Rehabilitation Training Center at the Commission for the Blind. "Teaching should focus on the worth and dignity of each individual. It is a holistic awareness of the individual's intellectual, social, economic, emotional / psychological attributes which inevitably have an influence on the learner's becoming an active and productive member / participant in society."
For the past 15 years, Loretta has worked at the Commission for the Blind. Her career at the Commission for the Blind started in 1992 when she was hired as a Braille Instructor (5 years) and Remedial Education Instructor (3 1/2 years). In February of 2002 to March of 2007, she worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor serving 5 counties: Aiken, Lexington, Edgefield, Newberry, and Saluda. She provided rehabilitation services to individuals who are blind and visually challenged with the ultimate goal of being rehabilitated and placed into gainful employment. On April 2007, Loretta presently serves as the Independent Living Counselor at the Commission for the Blind (statewide coverage). Loretta is also responsible for conducting consumer's home management assessments for the Midlands, training new counselors at the SC Commission for the Blind, and supervising interns.
Loretta's hobbies are listening to music (especially music of the "70's" and classical), watching movie classics (Bette Davis, Joan Crawford just to name a few), baking, reading (Spanish & English), exercising with weights, and knitting (self-taught).
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Client Assistance Program (CAP), Office of the Governor |
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Marge Butler is the Director for the Client Assistance Program (CAP) in the Office of the Governor. CAP is the federally mandated program that advocates for persons with disabilities in South Carolina who are seeking or receiving services through the Vocational Rehabilitation Department, Commission for the Blind, and all Independent Living Programs and projects funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Marge has been employed with CAP for sixteen years. Prior to that time, Marge was involved with recruiting for adoptive families for special needs children through out the Southeastern states.
In 2003, Marge completed her Master”s in Rehabilitation Counseling through the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She is also a graduate of the Governor’s EXCEL Leadership Institute. Marge is involved with various disability-related advisory committees in the community, to include the National Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, the Midlands Mayor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and is the current chairperson for the SC Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
Born in Michigan, Marge is a transplant to South Carolina, after her family fell in love with this state when her husband was stationed at Fort Jackson. Phil and Marge enjoy visiting their 9 (soon to be 10) grandchildren and all under 11 years old. We like to visit their parents too. Marge enjoys reading, church activities, and exercising, especially with the Wii.
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