About Us

We model our belief in our values from how we do our work to who leads our work; almost all of MDRC’s board and staff, including those in decision-making roles, are people with disabilities.

Five people with tan skin and multi-color hats sitting at a table reading books using various guided reading tools. Two individuals wearing glasses.

Our History

Michigan Disability Rights Coalition is a 37-year-old statewide nonprofit collaborative of people with disabilities including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), individuals without disabilities, and groups committed to building inclusive communities.

We believe inclusion of people with disabilities cannot be fully realized without also ending all forms of violence like: racism, xenophobia, classism, sexism, ageism, transphobia, heterosexism and all other forms of oppression.

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Our Vision

MDRC envisions a world where people with disabilities:

Live full lives within the community with equal rights, equity and opportunities.

Are valued as essential and vital members of the community.

Can be their full selves, in all their identities, in all aspects of their lives.

Have space for self-discovery, to cultivate community, and to develop pride.

Our mission is to cultivate disability pride and strengthen the disability movement by recognizing disability as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity while collaborating to dismantle all forms of oppression.

person with brown skin sitting in a black coat with a walker position next to them smiling at the camera and Picture of person with tan skin and red glasses seated holding an ipad smiling.
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Our Strategies

Our Strategies

MDRC envisions a world where people
with disabilities:

MDRC envisions a world where people
with disabilities:

  1. Build the economic and political capacity of local
    groups to effectively participate in communities
    of choice and issues advocacy.
  2. Create a state-wide collaborative technology
    infrastructure to foster long term communication
    between local disability groups.
  3. Sponsor events and activities that promote sharing
    of best practice, collaborative planning, and the
    building of consensus around policy impact goals.
  4. Find and develop economic and political resources,
    independent of the existing government and funding
    sources, that can be allocated according to the plans of Michigan's disability community, instead of
    bureaucratic priorities.
  5. Mold a staff team, with a long term commitment
    to Michigan's disability community as a customer
    base—a team capable of working anywhere in the
    state, focusing on the uncertain and rapidly evolving
    disability policy future, and using collaborative
    technologies to supplement face-to-face networking.
  6. Forge a partnership between board, staff and
    constituents for strategic development and
    strategic priorities.
  1. Build the economic and political capacity of local groups to effectively participate in communities of choice and issues advocacy.
  2. Create a state-wide collaborative technology infrastructure to foster long term communication between local disability groups.
  3. Sponsor events and activities that promote sharing of best practice, collaborative planning, and the building of consensus around policy impact goals.
  4. Find and develop economic and political resources, independent of the existing government and funding sources, that can be allocated according to the plans of Michigan's disability community, instead of bureaucratic priorities.
  5. Mold a staff team, with a long term commitment to Michigan's disability community as a customer base—a team capable of working anywhere in the state, focusing on the uncertain and rapidly evolving disability policy future, and using collaborative technologies to supplement face-to-face networking.
  6. Forge a partnership between board, staff and constituents for strategic development and strategic priorities.

Michigan Assistive Technology Program

MDRC Programs

Michigan Assistive Technology Program

Michigan Assistive Technology Program

The Michigan Assistive Technology Program (MATP) is a program for people with disabilities, by people with disabilities.

LEAD Program

LEAD Program

The LEAD project provides communities of color with increased access to disability education and resources to account for the significance of institutionalized oppression and white supremacy on their outcomes.

Computer outline with a split screen with two individual silhouettes in purple and speaking bubbles outside of the screen outlined in teal. A purple gear outline positioned on the left side of the computer and an outline of a person in an orange bubble on the right side of the computer.

Check out MDRC Events!

Discover more about MDRC's work by checking out our events. All of our free and paid events can be found here.

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Meet the Team

Creating Community

Our team shapes the organization by ensuring our work is rooted in deepening our commitment to ending all forms of oppression. From Assistive Technology to Racial Equity, our team has a diverse set of interests that move disability pride forward across the state.