Our Panelists:
Max Barrows (he/him) is Outreach Director for Green Mountain Self-Advocates, a position he has held since 2007. He mentors youth and adults with developmental disabilities to speak up for themselves and become leaders. Max connects with people on all levels, advocating for true inclusion of people with developmental disabilities. In his work, he advances the message that when you meet an individual with a disability, presume competence.
In addition to his work at Green Mountain Self-Advocates, Max is also the Assistant Director of Technical Assistance and Outreach for SARTAC, the Self- Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center. In this Job, he works to strengthen local and state self-advocacy organizations across the nation. Max served as a board member of SABE, Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered from 2008 to 2016.
In 2015, Max received a White House Champions of Change award for his work and the Champion of Equal Opportunity award from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities in 2019. In 2020, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network honored Max with an award for service to the self-advocacy movement. In 2022, Max was invited as a guest of Vice-President, Kamala Harris at her residence, as well a guest of President Joe Biden at White House Rose Garden Celebration of the 32nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On a personal level, Max has a very high interest in extreme weather, and likes to watch college and professional sports.
Sarah Wendell Launderville (she/her) is a psychiatric survivor and the mother of three teens. She is a disability justice activist and was introduced to the independent living movement when hired at the VT Center for Independent Living in 1997, and now is the Executive Director. She has a MS in Human Services, Organizational Management and Leadership and has ben adjunct faculty teaching classes on the disability movement, politics, advocacy and economics. She serves on various boards and committees. Sarah is the President of the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights, Chair of the Vermont Statewide Independent Living Council, a member of the Health Equity Advisory Commission, and Future of Vermont Action Team. She has formerly served as President of the National Council on Independent Living, Chair of the VT State Rehabilitation Council and President of Disability Rights Vermont.
In addition to this work, Sarah has participated in Direct Action to push systems to be more inclusive and has traveled to Brazil and Japan, working to highlight and present on disability issues.
Cammie M Naylor (she/her), MSW, Esq. is a Staff Attorney with the Disability Law Project at Vermont Legal Aid, Inc. She is a graduate of Clemson University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Vermont Law School. As a former children’s therapist, Cammie has long advocated for the needs of children and their families. She joined Vermont Legal Aid as a Staff Attorney in 2017. She has a deep passion for protecting the rights of children and advocating within spaces where a child’s needs and rights intersect.
Cammie advocates for children with disabilities regarding their rights in schools, and other individuals with disabilities who are facing legal problems like guardianship, access to health care, or discrimination because of their disabilities.
When not advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities Cammie is a preschool parent, wishful baker, leisure reader, casual runner, and Barre enthusiast.
Cheryl Van Epps, (she/her) has lived most her life in parts of the Midwest, moving to Vermont 20 years ago felt like a "homecoming" because her ancestors had arrived not far off, in upstate NY, back in the mid-1600's. Just a few weeks ago, she was incredibly lucky fulfill a bucket list item and visit Amsterdam to see from whence she came. She has an interest in her family's first interactions and relationships with Indigenous Peoples and a deep appreciation in how they helped ensure her family's survival. She wishes to give back whatever possible through building relationships and helping make connections.
Cheryl's education is in graduate research in the biomedical sciences, a background that provided her knowledge that came in handy after suffering a traumatic brain injury and had to fight to obtain the care necessary to heal and integrate back into her community.
Coming into her cognitive impairments and condition of chronic pain as an adult and as someone from a multigenerational family of physicians, gives her unique perspective on how the health system performs for folks with disabilities and informs her advocacy for other patients and folks with disabilities. Other interests are in creative arts, tennis, teaching and coaching the youth and chilling with her adult son.