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John O'Brien Named as CQL Faculty Member

September 2007. CQL is proud to announce that John O’Brien, CQL’s newest faculty member, will evaluate select CQL services. Beginning with CQL’s Community Life ^® LENS workshop, Mr. O’Brien will accompany CQL staff on their field work and provide feedback and recommendations about CQL’s work processes. His evaluation will include a report summarizing his findings.

Mr. O’Brien was selected for this activity because of his experience in community evaluation and building, especially for people with disabilities. His projects involve networks of people who cooperate in building local capacity to include people with substantial disabilities in all aspects of community life. Projects focus on:

• Facilitating planning for people and their families, agencies, service systems, and governments that improves ability to listen and respond to people with disabilities and their families.

• Assisting innovators to evaluate programs and policies that open new opportunities for community participation and choice.

• Helping people reflect on the meaning of providing personal assistance and the work of designing and leading agencies that reveal and support capacities and mutual contributions.

• Supporting people to communicate what they are learning from their lives and their work.

John O’Briens’s work expands his experience and his network beyond the United States to include people in Australia, Bosnia, Canada, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, and Wales.