Celebrating One Year of Centered Resources: From Vision to Meaningful Impact
This year marked our first full year in business at Centered Resources—and we’re taking a moment to pause, reflect, and say thank you. What began as a vision to center lived experience, mutual access, and shared leadership has grown into meaningful work alongside committed partners, participants, and communities.
In a time when conversations around disability justice, accessibility, and inclusion are both urgent and evolving, we are proud to be contributing work that is grounded in authentic voices and relevant impact.
Centering Lived Experience on Our Team
One of our core commitments is to ensure that the people directly most affected by systems are meaningfully involved in shaping them. In 2025, we employed 23 contractors across four consulting activities and programs, and 78% of those contractors self-identified as having a disability. An additional 57% identified as a family member of someone with disabilities.
These numbers are not just statistics but reflections of our values. Disability justice calls for leadership by those with lived experience, and we are proud to be building a workforce that reflects that principle.
Investing in People
This year, we welcomed two new consultants, Aldea and Brittany, to our firm and supported 32 hours of professional development for our consultants and subcontractors. Investing in people is essential to sustainable, ethical, and competitive employment—especially in a field that too often relies on unpaid labor or extractive practices.
Investing in professional growth prepares our team to meet new challenges, lead with confidence, and apply their expertise to make a meaningful difference.
Education, Leadership, and Collective Impact
Through three programs, we delivered 86 contact hours of education to 73 participants, focused on building skills, confidence, and connection. Highlights include:
Certifying 10 Facilitators with lived disability experience through the Advocate Leader Program (ALP)
Graduating 28 new Advocate Leaders (ALP)
Graduating 11 new Peer Mentors through our collaborative programming with FIRSTwnc
These programs aren’t just about credentials—they cultivate leaders who can mentor, advocate, and make an impact in their communities.
Innovation Rooted in Person-Centered Values
This year, we also developed and piloted a new educational initiative: Person Centered FIRST. Shaped by lived experience, this peer mentoring curriculum emphasizes connection and community, intentionally creating spaces built on acceptance, belonging, and mutual support.
We’re excited to continue refining and expanding this work in the year ahead.
Trusted Partners and Forward Momentum
Finally, we’re grateful for the trust placed in us by partners and funders—75% of our submitted proposals were accepted this year. This tells us that there is strong interest in work that is values-aligned, community-informed, and rooted in education as a foundation for meaningful change.
Together, We Make this Possible
None of this happens in isolation. To our consultants, contractors, participants, partners, and community members: thank you for believing in this work and walking alongside us during our first year.
As we look ahead, we remain committed to work that is shaped by lived experience and responsive to the changing world around us. We remain committed to showing what it looks like to center lived experience, invest in people, and build systems that truly support belonging.
To everyone who shared their time, expertise, stories, and trust with us this year—thank you. We look forward to continuing this journey together.
