We are so proud Wendy Holden, Central Washington University’s Director of Disability Services, who recently won the Disability Inclusion Network’s (DIN) Respect, Acceptance and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (RADD) award . The RADD awards celebrate exemplary leadership in disability inclusion in Washington state. Holden has worked with CWU for 11 years in various disability and access-focused roles. She and her colleague Marshall Sunnes spearheaded the creation of the Central Access Reader, a text-to-speech program for use with mathematics. Holden and Sunnes worked alongside a group of CWU Computer Science students to make math materials more accessible to the blind and other low-vision individuals.

She is also one of the founders of the CWU Accessibility Studies Program, the first in the country to focus on practical applications of universal design and disability rights across all careers and personal experience. Her advocacy for a student's need to fully participate in classroom activities helped define the need and the scope of the curriculum that has now expanded to include an undergraduate certificate, an undergraduate minor, and a graduage certificate. 

Her office has hosted several ASP students' field experience and her expertise and generous guidance continues to influence the direction of study as well as the informal support environment like the Accessibility Studies Club. In addition, she makes a point of attending their SOURCE presentations and is a willing consultant on such topics as reasonable accommodations. 

We are not just proud of her leadership, we are deeply grateful for her wisdom and patience.