Breaking Ground 108 - December 2021 Cover description: Text on the cover says “Breaking Ground issue 108 – Dec. 2021.” Council logo is also included. Title of the issue is “Forward Together: Celebrating Wanda Willis’ Legacy.” The cover photo shows Wanda Willis, retiring Council Executive Director, standing in front of the state Capitol building looking at the camera with a smile. Wanda is an older white woman with short brown hair and she is wearing all black with a white dotted scarf. She is holding a black folder in her hands, which contains a legislative resolution honoring her years of service in state government. Caption for the photo on the Table of Contents page reads: “Council Executive Director Wanda Willis stands in front of the Tennessee State Capitol, representing the government she has served in for nearly all her career. Wanda will retire in January after 40 years as head of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities.” Photo by Dawn Majors, state photographer. Dawn has provided much of the cover story photography for this magazine over the past couple years. We so appreciate the skill she brings to her work, and the ways that adds to Breaking Ground’s visual appeal. Table of Contents Introduction by Wanda Willis, Executive Director, TN Council on Developmental Disabilities.................................................................................................................. 3 In Their Own Words: The Personal Side of Lasting Impact..............................3 Forward Together: A 33-Year Legacy by Jolene Sharp, Chief Public Information Officer, TN Council on Developmental Disabilities......................................................7 The Art of Collaboration by Lisa Primm, Executive Director, Disability Rights Tennessee................................................................................................................ 10 Five Years of Impact: Measuring the Council’s Success by Bruce Keisling, Executive Director, University of Tennessee Center on Developmental Disabilities.11 Big Solutions for Real Needs by Elise McMillan, Co-Director, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities................................................16 The Next Frontier: What will the Council work on for the next five years? By Jolene Sharp, Chief Public Information Officer, TN Council on Developmental Disabilities................................................................................................................ 21 Back Cover............................................................................................................... 23 Small text on the table of contents page: Learn more about the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. 615.532.6615 | www.tn.gov/cdd | www.facebook.com/TNCouncilonDD | Tnddc@tn.gov. 1 Subscriptions to Breaking Ground are free and available through the Council website. Visit tn.gov/cdd to subscribe or contact us by phone or email with subscription updates or requests, and please include name and mailing or email address. This project was supported in part by grant number 2101TNSCDD, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy. Introduction by Wanda Willis, Executive Director, TN Council on Developmental Disabilities I appreciate this opportunity to express a career’s worth of gratitude here, in the Council’s amazing magazine, Breaking Ground. Transitioning into retirement and leaving this great agency in the hands of the best team I have ever worked with is pure joy. I fell in love with this work as a 21-year-old special education teacher. That was before the first federal law requiring public education for students with disabilities was passed. Over the years, I held many different positions, most in Tennessee state government. Working with the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities has provided the greatest opportunity to work with others on a shared vision and make a difference. My truest mentors have been people with disabilities themselves – people from all walks of life, with all types of disabilities, at different stages of the lifespan, and with different goals. They show me every day that we continue to set th