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Meet Our Board of Directors

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Loren Lachner

President

Loren Lachner (she/her) is a disabled + neurodivergent person located in Oakland, California, USA. She is a volunteer for Basically Wonderful and is also a Court Advocate for domestic violence survivors at an organization called SAVE. She has spent many years navigating Federal, State (CA) & Local (Bay Area) benefits programs. She is dedicated to sharing her story & learnings with others and advocating for her peers. 


Loren is vegan, has two cats (Bromeo & Bruno), loves reading, and writes haikus! When she is feeling well, she loves to dance (specifically a dance style called shuffling)! She is also known for wearing cat ears. Meow!

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Tony DePalma

Vice President

Tony DePalma (he/him) is honored to be a part of Basically Wonderful’s initial Board of Directors. Tony currently has the privilege of serving as the Public Policy Director for Disability Rights Florida, the state’s federally-authorized Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system benefitting all Floridians with disabilities through the provision of free-and-confidential legal and advocacy interventions specified across ten or more federal grants. Previous to this, Tony worked as an attorney, policy & budget analyst and special master for the Florida House of Representatives and was an assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. Tony attended Florida State University, receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications and a law degree from the FSU College of Law. Tony moved to Tallahassee for college in the late nineties, never left, and once owned a t-shirt proclaiming the city to be “Florida, with a Southern accent”.

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Scuffy Wise

Secretary

Grey scuffy Wise (xe/xem/xyr) is a neurodivergent, mentally ill, queer, genderfuck, trans person currently located on Seminole land, aka Orlando FL. Xe has a passion for art, trans rights, disability justice, anti-racism, animal liberation, and cats. Xe graduated from Rhode Island College in 2012 with a degree in Social Work and a minor in studio art. During xyr time in Rhode Island, xe volunteered with Youth Pride Inc, a drop-in center and outreach organization serving LGBTQIA+ and questioning youth. Scuffy also did xyr Social Work internship with RHD-RI (Resources for Human Development - Rhode Island), an arts-based day program for disabled adults.  Scuffy currently volunteers co-facilitating an online weekly craft group and monthly games night for non-binary people. Xe is also a 1:1 supporter with Peer Support Space Inc, and enjoys making collaborative art.

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Maddie Crowley

Treasurer

Maddie Crowley (she/they) is a storyteller, writer, listener, marketer, blogger, learner, podcaster, and lover. Maddie currently works as Disability Rights Florida’s Social Media and Content Specialist. As a multiply disabled person, Maddie brings authenticity and intentionality to their work in the disability rights space. Maddie also has personal advocacy accounts under the name 'ur fav disabled gal' where they share their lived experiences and resources with others. They graduated from the University of Florida in December of 2021 with two degrees in Linguistics and Education Sciences and a minor in Disability Studies. Maddie has worked in social media marketing for over 6 years and in advocacy for much longer. Having taught themselves most of what they know, they are invigorated and excited to help others achieve their goals through community learning. Maddie is a firm believer and advocate for disability justice, access, and liberation of disabled folks and holds a Black disabled feminist frame in the work they do. They have done community organizing for nearly a decade and hold disability and accessibility consultant roles to ensure that cross-movement organizing remains intentional and accessible for the disability community.

Board of Directors: Meet the Team

Interesting in Joining Our Board?

Basically Wonderful has open positions on our Board of Directors, and we welcome new applicants. Disabled, Trans, and BIPOC folks are encouraged to apply. We aim to be a 100% peer-led organization, prioritizing Disabled and Trans leadership on our Board. We encourage BIPOC folks to apply for a position on our Board, to ensure our organization is led by and representative of the communities we serve. We would like to honor intersecting identities and create welcoming spaces for the marginalized community members most often overlooked by society, despite historically being monumental advocates and trailblazers for our communities. 


Basically Wonderful welcomes those of all levels of personal/professional levels of experience, sexual orientations, genders, ages, and disabilities as well as for those of diverse neurological, racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds to apply.

Board of Directors: Text
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