Tuesday, October 27

AMPRESANACA’TIGA (Dr. Cheryl Funmaker), a WONAGIRE WAKSIK (warrior clan member) grew up in MANA CO (Minnesota). Her father was a member of the SAHA Standing Rock Sioux tribe and her mother is a Ho-Chunk tribal member. Cheryl resides in NEESHLA (Wisconsin Dells) with her family and relatives. Cheryl has had the pleasure to serve in the field of American Indian education for over 27 years. Most recently, Dr. Funmaker supports Ho-Chunk children with disabilities and their families as they navigate special education. Believing in the power of community, Dr. Funmaker collaborates with a variety of agencies throughout the state to build connections amongst Wisconsin’s tribes for their children with disabilities. She is a BPDD board member.

HUCXETEGA, (Ken Funmaker Jr.), HUC bear clan member, grew up in GUSGAK (Chicago) and NEESHLA (Wisconsin Dells). Ken raised his children in Wisconsin Dells. Ken values Ho-Chunk ways passed down from his relatives and supports the continuation of Ho-Chunk culture for future generations.

The drum, a valued part of Ho-Chunk gatherings (along with song), is meant to bring people together. The Ho-Chunk Station singers are HUC (bear clan) members. Rick Cleveland Sr. Ho-Chunk Station Lead Singer and his sons travel throughout the United States and Canada with their drum. Jacqueline supports the drum and sings back-up. The family resides in Lyndon Station.

Houa Yang has lived in the Madison area most of her life. She is Hmong. Her parents are from Laos and they along with her grandparents and relatives, all came to the U.S. as refugees after the war. The Hmong are ethnic minorities from Southeast Asia and China. Many Hmong people are in the U.S. and other Western countries. such as Australia, France, and Canada because they were allies to the Unites States during the Vietnam War. After the war, the communist Pathet Lao were persecuting and killing the Hmong so they fled to Thailand and from Thailand to the U.S. She is a BPDD board member.

The Hmong culture is over 5,000 years old. Their strength is their resilience – their fierce independence, and the rich heritage that influences their everyday choices. However, what they are not is some primitive civilization. There is a reason they have survived two genocide (killings) and continue to carry on their heritage.

Peng Her is the CEO of The Hmong Institute, a nonprofit whose mission is empowering communities by educating, promoting, and preserving the Hmong heritage. He has over 20 years of community development experience working with elected officials, residents, and service providers. As a cultural broker, Peng provides cultural training, facilitation, interpretation, and translation to governmental agencies, educational institutions, and numerous nonprofits.

Dee Herr was born and raised in the Madison area. Her parents are Hmong refugees from Laos, immigrating to the US in the late 70’s. In 2001, I was diagnosed with kidney failure and lost full kidney function about a year after leading to dialysis full time. Shortly after starting dialysis, I also suffered a stroke which led to having multiple physical disabilities. Despite the many health setbacks, her strength and endurance has continued to grow. Dee spends her free time her nieces and nephew, who she says, have never judged her as anything different despite my differences.

Hector Portillo is the father of a teenager with Autism. He has been actively involved as a parent throughout his son’s school years and continues to support him to have a happy fulfilling life in his community. This led Hector to create PADRES E HIJOS EN ACCIÓN (Parents and Children in Action). His goal is to help build strong partnerships between educators and families and to enhance the success of underrepresented students with special needs. Hector works with his families to provide an range of services with people of any type of disability, and of all ages, including: Information and Referral, Peer Support, Skills Training, Advocacy, Transition, and Assistive Technology, and he collaborates with other agencies to provide technical assistance, resources, and training to families. He is a BPDD board member.

Prior to starting PADRES E HIJOS EN ACCIÓN , Hector worked as an Academic Case Manager at the Latino Academy of Workforce Development (LAWD). He had opportunities to help LAWD to assist the Latino Community with bilingual education and employment programs. He also worked with families, schools (MATC), and community agencies (Centro Hispano, FUNNE, and Job Connect) to support building positive partnerships.

PADRES E HIJOS EN ACCION Radio Show is reaching and supporting Families Learning Together. It is the product of collaboration between PARENTS AND CHILDREN IN ACTION and WLMV La Movida radio. This monthly radio show provides information in Spanish to parents, early childhood professionals, and the community about issues relating to children with special needs and their families. The show is live, every second Tuesday of the month on La Movida 1480AM from 9:00 to 10:00 am.

Delores Sallis lives in Milwaukee County and is a mother of five children. Her youngest, Albert, who is 31 years old, has multiple disabilities. Additionally, her 11-year-old granddaughter, Liberty, has cerebral palsy. As her son grew up and she started supporting other families, she would meet with them once a month so they could share information together. For privacy reasons and to help families feel comfortable they would meet in public places, away from the educational setting. Meeting with families once a month allows her to build trust and allow them to be more confident for them to talk with service providers who could help them with their own situations. She is a former BPDD member.

She founded Parent University to help other families. Parent University serves as a resource center for black families and their loved ones with disabilities in the Milwaukee area. Parent University helps families navigate systems of support including schools. Delores has a great passion for the families she serves because she knows there is a great divide of resources.“My passion calls me to encounter people in life that touch my heart, my mind and my spirit. The parents and families I serve find that I’m willing to battle and commit to making changes that meet their needs”, says Delores. One of the biggest barriers her families have is meeting with the schools or other services systems because they feel they might not be smart enough, strong enough or good enough because they don’t communicate in a professional way.

Keith Jones is the President and CEO of SoulTouchin’ Experiences. As an African American community activist and entrepreneur with cerebral palsy, he is a strong advocate and is also extremely active in multi-cultural, cross-disability education and outreach efforts. Keith will share his experiences (REALITY) to help us improve the future (VISION).