Robert Stack (executive)
| Robert Stack | |
|---|---|
 Stack 2020.jpg Robert Stack in January 2020 | |
| Born | Robert Paul Stack November 15, 1955 McKeesport, PA |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of Dayton |
| 💼 Occupation | Founder, President and CEO of Community Options |
Robert Paul Stack (born November 15, 1955) is an American nonprofit executive and disability advocate. He is the founder, President, and CEO of Community Options, a nonprofit organization that supports people with developmental disabilities.[1]
Background
Robert Stack was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania in 1955. He originally studied for the priesthood at St. Fidelis Seminary in Butler, Pennsylvania. During this time, he volunteered twice a week to work with children with significant disabilities. Stack eventually withdrew from the Seminary and graduated from the University of Dayton in 1976 with a B.A. in Philosophy. Following his undergraduate studies, Stack taught at Kent State University as a graduate assistant and received a Graduate Student Teaching Award.[2]
Early Career
Stack left Kent State in 1979 and began his career with the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities as an assistant recreational therapist at Long Island's Suffolk Developmental Center. He opened the first two state-operated group homes on the grounds of the developmental center. In 1981, Stack joined the New Jersey Department of Human Services as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Division of Mental Retardation. He wrote the original white paper converting the Division of Mental Retardation to the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Stack left the state agency in 1984 and served for three years as the Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey.
Following his tenure at United Cerebral Palsy, Stack returned to state government and was appointed Deputy Director at the Division of Developmental Disabilities by Assistant Commissioner Eddie C. Moore. In 1988, Stack closed the first developmental center in New Jersey in Middlesex County. Moore was indicted and resigned in 1989 under pressure after acknowledging he had overspent the agency budget.[3]
Community Options, Inc.
In 1989, Stack founded Community Options, Inc. in Bordentown, NJ. Community Options provides community-based residential and employment support to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, physical disabilities, traumatic brain injury and dual diagnoses.[4]
Stack wrote about his experiences in creating a nonprofit in his 2015 book, I Matter So Does Your Cause: Starting a Nonprofit. Stack also published a manual for direct support professionals, Meaningful Day: Day Program Services Curriculum & Staff Guidebook. The guidebook is currently used by staff in all Community Options programs.[5]
Today, Community Options is headquartered in Princeton, NJ and has offices in ten states and supports over 3,600 people with disabilities. With approximately 5,500 employees, it is the third largest nonprofit organization in New Jersey.
Advocacy
Stack has served on gubernatorial transition teams for both Democrat and Republican governors. Stack was a member of Governor-elect Jon Corzine's 2006 transition team. In 2009, Stack was appointed to Governor-elect Chris Christie's transition team as Chair of the Developmental Disabilities Transition Team.[6]
In 2008, Stack was appointed by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to the Poverty Reduction Task Force.[7]
Stack was invited to be the keynote speaker at Oxford University in 2015 on the subject of inclusion for students with disabilities.[8]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stack advocated to state and federal lawmakers for temporary wage increases for direct support professionals.[9] His advocacy led to a $3 increase for all direct care staff in New Jersey for three months.[10]
Personal life
Robert Stack splits his time between Pocono Lake, PA and Princeton, NJ with his wife, Yihong Dou Stack. He has one son, Chris, from a previous marriage.
Publications
- Meaningful Day: Day Program Services Curriculum & Staff Guidebook (2015, Publish Green, ISBN 1634136632)
- I Matter So Does Your Cause: Starting a Nonprofit (2015, Publish Green, ISBN 1329183045)
References
- ↑ "Community Options: Believing in dignity for all". 2018. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ↑ "Robert Stack". 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- ↑ Flint, Peter B., E.C. Moore Is Dead; Embattled Advocate For Disabled Was 41, "The New York Times", January 14, 1991. Retrieved 2020-02-05
- ↑ "History". Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ↑ "Meaningful Day". Retrieved 2020-01-10.
- ↑ "Chris Christie Transition Team". 2009. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
- ↑ "Princeton Resident Named to Gov. Richardson's Task Force". 2008. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ↑ "Princeton Non-Profit Leader Speaks at Oxford University". 2015. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ↑ Durkin, Erin (16 April 2020). "Disability advocates press Congress to fund home health services". National Journal. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ↑ "Murphy Administration Takes Action to Support Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic". State of NJ - Department of Human Services. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
External links
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Biographies:
- Official biography – Community Options
- Robert Stack - Forbes Councils
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