October 6, 2005 TERESA FAVUZZI NAMED NEW DIRECTOR OF CFILC SACRAMENTO – The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers has chosen Teresa Favuzzi as its new Executive Director. Ms. Favuzzi, has served as the organization’s Statewide Community Organizer for the last three years. “I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead this organization,” said Ms. Favuzzi. “As a person with a disability, and a community organizer, I am fueled by a vision that can be summed up in a few words, Organizing, Advocacy Diversity, Inclusion, and Integration”. Ms. Favuzzi was chosen by the organization’s Executive Committee during a nationwide search. “In Teresa, we found a grass-roots community organizer who has played a tremendous role in increasing our visibility on statewide disability issues. We are pleased to have her lead us in this next stage of our push toward inclusion and equal rights for people with disabilities,” said CFILC Board Chair Mary Ann Jones. Over 140,000 Californians live more independently as a result of the 25 Independent Living Centers represented by the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers. CFILC’s mission is to support independent living centers in their local communities through advocating for systems change and promoting access and integration for people with disabilities. Over the last three years, Ms. Favuzzi has worked with Systems Change Advocates across California planning successful campaigns to save Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center; opposing budget cuts to Medi-Cal that included Durable Medical Equipment and Medical Supplies, opposing budget cuts to In Home Supportive Services and worker wages. Ms. Favuzzi has also led efforts to increase voter registration and Get-Out-The Vote efforts in the Disability Community in California. She has been the lead organizer of Disability Capitol Action Day, an annual advocacy event that brings people with all types of disabilities, ages, and ethnicities together to learn about, advocate for, and celebrate disability rights. Ms. Favuzzi earned an MSW at San Francisco State University. She focused her studies on the commonalities of Disability identity and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender identity development and community. Ms. Favuzzi fills the vacancy left by CFILC’s Executive Director of 8 years, Patricia Yeager, who is leaving CFILC to pursue her doctorate in Rehabilitation from the University of Northern Colorado. “Patricia built this organization with a wealth of creativity and innovation,” said Favuzzi. “The success of the Assistive Technology Network, Community Research for Assistive Technology Project, and the Systems Change Network are tributes to her legacy.”