Board of Director's

Lloyd Lewis has served as President and CEO for Arc Thrift Stores since December 2005, a Colorado non-profit corporation whose primary lines of business include the popular arc Thrift stores as well as the Vehicles for Charity program. In this capacity, Lloyd is responsible for generating funding to support advocacy for persons with developmental disabilities in the state of Colorado for 12 Arc chapters, including Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, autism, and other forms of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Lloyd’s role includes oversight and management of arc’s 21 retail stores, corporate and support operations and a staff of over 1,000 employees. Arc Thriftstores is one of the largest employers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the State of Colorado, and since Lloyd’s tenure, has been an employer of other significantly challenged populations as needs arise, including refugees, people from substance abuse programs, people from homeless programs, women from safe houses, etc. Under Lloyd’s leadership and partnership with Volunteers of America, Arc’s annual food drive to supply meals on wheels and soup kitchens and food pantries has grown to the second largest in the State, and this year nearly 170 tons of food were collected and distributed.

Non profit boards of directors - In addition to the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, Lloyd also serves as the chair of the board of the Mile High Down Syndrome Association.  Past committees/boards include the marketing and resource committee for the Arc of the United States and the Arc of Colorado, among others. He is the father of five children, including a nine year old with Down syndrome and a seven year old who has sensory processing disorder.

Community - At Arc, he is instrumental in forging relationships with communities of color, including Clinica Tepeyac, the Latina Safehouse, as well as other community organizations including the Mayor’s Road Home project.

Education - Lloyd holds a Masters Degree from the University of Chicago Graduate Business School, and has prior corporate experience with companies including IBM and Smith Barney. Prior to Arc, Lloyd had extensive financial experience, including serving as Director of Finance for a publicly traded company, and as Controller and CFO for a high tech start-up company.

Awards - Additionally, Lloyd is the recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Vision & Leadership Award from the Arc Thrift Stores Board of Directors; the Arc of Pikes Peak 2007 President’s Award; and a Civil Rights Award from NewsEd Corporation for his work with challenged communities in 2008. He is also the recipient of an award as one of Denver’s “unsung heroes” in celebration of Denver’s 150th anniversary in 2009, and Lloyd and Arc werer named as a 2010 “Changemaker” for the City of Denver Changemaker program sponsored by Ashoka and the City of Denver.

Peter Konrad serves as advisor and consultant to foundations in setting strategic direction, managing operations, developing programs, establishing financial discipline and investing endowments. A particular area of emphasis is working with new and emerging family foundations to help maintain donor intent, develop focused and effective grant-making programs, and to establish the organizational infrastructure to support such programs. In this capacity, he has served as the sole staff person for a first generation foundation, the Harvey Family Foundation, a three generation foundation, the JFM Foundation, and a seventh generation foundation, the Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation. For 15 years, Peter served as Vice President of The Colorado Trust, where he was responsible for all aspects of foundation management.

Peter has been particularly active in the foundation community. He received recognition in 1998 as Outstanding Professional in Philanthropy in Colorado, served two terms as President of the Colorado Association of Foundations, and served individual terms as President and Chairman of the Board of the Conference of Southwest Foundations, an association of over 250 foundations. He has also been active on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations, including serving as Trustee of his alma mater, the University of Redlands and as a trustee of a private foundation in Denver. As Adjunct Professor of Nonprofit Management at Regis University, he received recognition as Teacher of the Year for his excellence in teaching. He has co-authored a third edition of a textbook, Financial Management of Non-Profits and has assisted the Council on Foundations in writing The Guide to Small Foundation Management.

Brian is an attorney and journalist living in Denver, Colorado. He has been working with the disability community since 2009. Although he has struggled with bipolar disorder since 1990, he didn't consider himself to have a disability until 2005, when he lost his second job in less than nine months due to his illness. Since then he has reorganized his career around writing and has developed a sustainable working life. The disability community in Denver has been welcoming and provided much support, for which Brian is extremely grateful. He currently represents CCDC as Chair of the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Employment Workgroup. He also serves on the Self-Employment Subgroup of the MIG and as Editor of the Employment Workgroup Newsletter. Prior to his work with CCDC, he represented clients with traumatic brain injuries for the Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People. He can be reached through his website, www.brianbinford.com.

Christina Johnson was born in Iowa but grew up in Southern California in the 1950s, when there were still orange groves and mountain views. Her parents were both drama professors and active in community theater. Her father was blind and a federationist (member of National Federation for the Blind) so she learned about disability advocacy at a young age. She attended University of Redlands for two years then transferred to George Washington University where she had a double major in sociology and drama. She graduated in 1968 and stayed in DC as an activist. She worked with a variety of groups including the Black Panther Party and Students for a Democratic Society. She moved to San Diego at the invitation of a life long friend, Joan Baez, to work on the constellation project, which was a city wide effort to hold an election to determine if the government should send the US Constellation, an anti aircraft carrier, back to Vietnam. The movement was to stop the killing in Southeast Asia. She began using guerrilla street theater at this time. In the early 19070s she moved to the big Island of Hawaii where her world changed and she acquired a disability (traumatic brain injury) as a result of domestic violence. This deepened her awareness of domestic violence as a problem in our society. She moved to Colorado in 1986. She began working with others to organize on a cross-disability basis and was one of the founders of CCDC. In Colorado she has worked with a variety of groups including ADAPT, the Domestic Violence Initiative for Women with Disabilities and the Governor’s Advisory Council for People with Disabilities in addition to her loyal and consistent involvement with CCDC. She has served on the board, as a member and as a youth coordinator on staff in the past. She currently lives in Lakewood and thrives on good friends and sense of humor. She has a grown son, two step daughters and three grandchildren. She is presently working on emergency preparedness issues so that people with disabilities can expect a sense of safety and respect in the event of a disaster. She believes that one measure of the greatness of a society is in how the most vulnerable are treated. She felt that those with disabilities who died in Katrina and 911 were the canaries in the mine of their time. Her favorite quote is by Eldridge Cleaver “you are either part of the problem or part of the solution” and strives to always be part of the solution.

With more than twenty years of experience in the marketing field, Lori brings top retail, consumer product, business-to-business and non-profit organizations knowledge and experience in all aspects of marketing, advertising, PR, management, business and employee motivation.  This includes business planning, development of growth objectives and goals, development and analysis of strategic business initiatives and implementation of staff accountability programs.

Her experience with brands such as Big O Tires, Pentax Imaging, Papa John’s Pizza, Arc Thrift Stores, Hain Celestial and Orange Glo, and entrepreneurial start-ups, enable her to contribute a strong understanding of the intricacies today's businesses. She has presented at numerous industry sales meetings and small business forums on topics such as “Selling on the Trade Show Floor”, “Tips on Growing a Small Business in a Down Economy,” “Marketing Small Businesses with a Small Budget,” “Whale Hunting:  Sales Development Strategy,” others.

Her work with private, non-profit, state and federal government organizations and her experience in the field of advertising, enable her to contribute a strong understanding of the intricacies of running a business, program, campaign or event.  She served as a Director of the Business Marketing Association (BMA) for seven years, has served on the board of directors of D.A.R.E. Colorado for nine years and is past Chairman of the D.A.R.E. program for the State of Colorado.

JC Lodge has been involved with the disability community for over 25 years in a variety of capacities; as the CEO of a home health company, the Executive Director of a single entry point agency, bureaucrat, policy maker and, most importantly, as the parent of a child with a traumatic brain injury. JC is dedicated to furthering the mission, vision and principles embodied in the work of the staff, volunteers and members of CCDC. I am humbled and honored to work with this phenomenal group of brave and generous individuals.

JC has also volunteered in a number of other capacities such as the Boulder and Greater Denver Metro Chambers of Commerce, Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services Advisory Board, Colorado Department of Human Services Policy Advisory Board and as a foster parent.

While only actively participating in the last six years with disability rights issues, Damian has long been involved within the movement at large, owing to his father championing the cause for over forty years. Much of his youth was spent at board/bored meetings, demonstrating unfair practices, marching, shouting, carrying banners, riding on the laps of newly deinstitutionalized wheelchair users,  surrounded by influential leaders such as Wade Blank, and Ed Roberts, all the while being familiar with the “medical model” not necessarily being the best paradigm for disabled Americans. Early on it was apparent to Damian that the fight would not be on a level playing field, as early disability rights advocates, fought against established institutions and many cultural biases.

With a degree in history, Damian earned his Master’s in Education from Brooklyn College. While earning his degree, Damian taught writing to elementary students, in Bushwick, a hardscrabble neighborhood in Brooklyn known for its problems with drugs and violence.  The inequity and marginalization of students, based upon class and race, was another reminder that systems needed fixing, and were inherently imbalanced.

Moving back to Denver in 2006, Damian began working at Personal Assistance Services of Colorado (PASCO), a Denver area home-health agency. A licensed CNA, who has worked within the administration of the company, and is currently PASCO’s Consumer Liaison, Damian has worked closely with advocacy groups and the Colorado state legislature to fight discriminatory practices. He has worked with many consumers from southern parts of the country, where home-health services are insufficient, subsequently, helping move a handful of said consumers to Colorado.

When not working, Damian enjoys being a new father, to Matilda (14 months), spending time with his wife, Marti, hiking with his dogs, Irma and Darwin, and reading.

Amy Smith is a 57 year-old Colorado woman who was in psychiatric treatment for 40 years, only recently reclaiming her live by emancipating from the system in 2008. She is the former director of WE CAN! of Colorado, the state's consumer organization, also formally the director of Community Connections Drop-In Empowerment Center, co-founder of ClearMind, Inc and developer & director of RISE University.

James Tucker was born in New Madrid, Missouri on May 6, 1951. Tucker began his crusade for justice and equality while earning an undergraduate degree in history and political science from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Army and served three years on active duty at Fort Carson, Colorado. He also served 17 years in the Colorado Army National Guard. In 1985 Tucker received a Master’s degree in counseling and student development from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama.

When America went to war in 1991, Tucker went too, serving in Saudi Arabia and northern Iraq as a legal specialist with the 217th Medical Battalion. While serving during the Persian Gulf War, Tucker started the African American Voice Newspaper, Inc and published the first edition in June 1991. In between his military duties, he taught social studies at Harrison High School for 23 years. He retired in the spring of 2001.

In 2011 Tucker officially retired from the Colorado Army National Guard. He is a disabled veteran. Today, James Tucker is a proud father of a son with autism. He continues with no less enthusiasm and conviction, looking forward to the future with the belief that if you are willing to set your sights high enough, you can make a difference.

Josh has had the opportunity to live with both life-long and acquired disabilities, each giving him unique perspectives on life. Born with a birth defect in his leg, Josh’s parents refused to do as the doctors suggested and have his leg amputated, instead kept seeing doctors until they found one willing to attempt to make his leg functional. While this was the more painful and complex option, it seemed most logical since it still allowed for amputation if the foot could not be made functional. About 10 years and a half dozen surgeries later, he was able to walk with only a slight limp; running, jumping, and lengthy walking would cause severe stress fractures however, so his activities were still limited.

As a teen, Josh normalized his disability, and never saw himself as disabled. He had a modified PE class at school, but rode dirt bikes, snowmobiles, and horses, drove with regular foot pedals, and worked around his family’s farm. While he didn’t see himself as disabled, classmates did, which nearly caused him to quit school when he turned 16.

Again Josh’s parents did what they thought was best, and he and his dad moved to California from Pennsylvania so he could attend a different school. While back in Pennsylvania over summer break between his junior and senior year of high school, Josh rolled his Jeep, resulting in the death of his friend and a broken neck for himself. After 3 weeks in ICU, Josh came to Craig Hospital for rehab for 4 months, returned to the school he despised for his senior year, then moved to Denver 7 days after graduating high school.

Colorado has brought Josh numerous opportunities and experiences, including: his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from CU Denver, working as an engineer for a NASCAR team, exposure to all facets of the disability rights movement, and comfort of living in one of the most accessible cities in the world. An implosion of “work incentives” resulting in the loss of his Medicaid benefits after getting laid off has brought Josh into the disability rights arena, though he does intend to return to the “regular” world eventually.

You can learn more about Josh and his companies at http://www.about.me/joshuawinkler