On Jan. 28, in a groundbreaking moment, Sara Steimle was unanimously elected to the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD). All county boards in Ohio will be required to have at least one person with a disability on their governing boards by July 1, 2025.
Steimle is the first person with disabilities to join the board. She receives services through the county. She was born with Cerebral Palsy.
“People with disabilities should be represented on boards that make decisions about things that affect them. We are very excited to welcome Sara to our Board,” said Cuyahoga DD Superintendent and CEO Dr. Amber C. Gibbs in a statement.
Steimle sat down with The Land’s Executive Director Chris Mosby and Community Journalist Cindy Hill to chat about her groundbreaking appointment and how the region can become a more inclusive and accessible place.
CM: Sara, this is probably the easiest way to start. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and why you were interested in being the first person with disabilities to sit on the Cuyahoga County board?
SS: Sure. Well, I’m Sara. I went to Wright State University and I graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor’s of Science in rehabilitation services. From there, I got a job, working in an adult day program, providing services, like planning activities, along with helping individuals with disabilities. We were a very job skills focused training program, so I would help individuals learn the skills that they would need to be successful on the job.
Then COVID happened, and I got laid off because unfortunately, all day programs had to close, and I was sort of looking at what to do next. And then Youth Challenge actually was in the process of starting their adult programming. Youth Challenge was founded on serving youth with physical disabilities with the help of teen volunteers. We used to just serve individuals [ages] 4 to 18. Then we kind of realized that there was no place for those adult individuals to go, because everything kind of closed at 18 or changed for a person with a disability. So we decided to, in 2020, actually do five virtual programs a week during COVID, and that kind of just grew.
I started as a volunteer doing that, and then in 2021 they hired me as an alumni program assistant. I was planning and leading the programs that I was already doing, but more of just in a paid, permanent position. And then in January of 2023 I was promoted to the position I have today as the Alumni Program Coordinator. I still coordinate and lead our like Alumni Programs for adults. We don’t close the door [at age 18]. They can go up to any age. And we do that now, actually, because we kind of wanted to stick with that peer-to-peer volunteer model. So we do that with the help of adult volunteers as well. I co-lead those programs. I am also the program liaison for our young professionals group as well. And then do some social media posting on our Facebook group. I also give presentations to the community about disability awareness.
Outside of Youth Challenge, I am on the Cuyahoga County Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities. Through the advisory committee, there are different subcommittees, and I chair two of those subcommittees, the Developmental Disability and Mental Health Subcommittee, and then the Inclusive Healthcare Subcommittee.
CM: How did you get involved with Cuyahoga DD and its board? What made you interested in becoming the first person with disabilities to serve on the board?
SS: Part of my desire comes from the fact that I sit in a lot of professional meetings and I’m often the only one who is a person with a disability at the table. I feel like we need more representation of people with disabilities at the table, especially when the issues being discussed affect our community.
CM: Absolutely. Do you hope that you’re the first of many people with disabilities to take on these leadership roles? Do you want to see more people with disabilities join you on the board?
SS: I do. My hope is that I’m not the only [person with disabilities on the board] in the time that I serve on the board. I hope that there are many people with disabilities, even beyond me, not only at Cuyahoga DD, but other boards as well. I hope that this is eye-opening to other boards of directors and boards of trustees and different organizations that have different positions. We need more positions for people with disabilities who can be at the table and can be heard.
Cindy Hill: I’ve raised a son with disabilities, Sara, and this was at a time before a lot of services were available. The world has been growing for him, with new opportunities. You started your journey a long time ago. What experiences did you have that led you to your college, or to your major? What experiences have led you to now?
SS: To answer your question about Wright State and Rehabilitation Services – I actually wanted to be a disability rights attorney. I initially majored in Political Science. But I just realized that wasn’t for me. I wasn’t really interested in that. I wanted a disability-related focus. Rehabilitation Services was more of a fit for what I was interested in. It was more of the career path I wanted to take.
My desire to go to college and give back to the disability community actually started through Youth Challenge. I grew up as a youth participant at Youth Challenge. I started when I was about the age of 5. So I always say I’ve never left this place, this place is like home to me. It’s truly like my second home.
I was able to see our volunteers, our teen volunteers, grow up. They went to college, and they were giving back to their community, because they were giving back to me. I wanted to do the same, and to give back to a community that helped get me to where I was and to where I am today.
CH: That’s amazing. And you continued toward advocacy and service. What helped you push through barriers? I’m sure there were obstacles. What helped you keep pushing?
SS: Youth Challenge taught me, at a young age, to really think out of the box. I mean, we provide sports and recreation for youth and adults with physical disabilities. We have to think outside of the box for how that participant is going to play baseball or play basketball or sled hockey. It comes down to that fact – I was always around people that thought outside of the box. I just think I took that mindset throughout life. I really think about, “How can I, even with my physical limitations,go to college?” Cuyahoga DD was instrumental, along with opportunities from Ohioans with Disabilities, in me going to college. I think that by using the resources that I knew and the resources that helped me along the way, I was able to really network and grow and get opportunities.
I always say that I’ve volunteered at every kind of thing. I think that is valuable. You aren’t always going to get paid right off the bat to do something. Sometimes you have to work your way into something or make something work around your skillset.
CH: What advice would you give someone living with a disability who is considering leadership roles?
SS: I started with volunteering and just getting active in my community. And I just think through different experiences that I’ve had that are smaller. I think I’ve grown because [volunteering] is a way to connect, even connecting with one person, you don’t know where that person is going to take you.
I always say, “Never be afraid to take even the smallest opportunities, because you don’t know what they could lead you to, because they could oftentimes lead you to bigger and better opportunities.” I know that a lot of people sometimes are afraid to take those small opportunities, because they’re oftentimes like, “Oh, that’s not exactly what I’m looking for.” But take those opportunities because it might get you to where, exactly where, you want to be.
CM: This is a groundbreaking appointment for Cuyahoga DD. What’s your message to other organizations that haven’t worked with a person with disabilities before? Or organizations that haven’t had a person with disabilities in leadership?
SS: Be open minded and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I think a lot of times society sees a person with a more physical disability or a more visual disability, and they’re looking at them like, “Oh, I can’t have them in a leadership role because they can’t do it.” But what is stopping them from doing it?
If you just ask a person what they need to succeed, usually they’re going to tell you. They’re going to know what they need to be a productive member on a team or at a table or on a board. I think it’s just giving that person a chance and being open minded.
CM: Do you think there’s still a stigma around people with disabilities? And, if so, how can we break that stigma down?
SS: In some industries, yes. But I don’t necessarily see that in the career path that I’ve chosen. I’ve chosen to work with individuals with disabilities, so I haven’t seen that stigma as much. I do believe that it’s there, though, and it goes back to before the Americans with Disabilities Act. I think that a lot of people with disabilities are breaking down the stigma by advocating for themselves and not taking “no” for an answer. I think we’re breaking down the stigma by being willing to educate at the state level and being able to educate locally.
CM: What can all of us do to be more inclusive?
SS: I think we can all be more open-minded and more thoughtful. If you’re having a community event, are you thinking about how everyone can attend and feel welcome? Feel accommodated? I think that talking with people in the disability community, and other communities, is key to being fully inclusive, even beyond disabilities.
By talking to those groups and talking to the people that it impacts the most, that’s where the community can become more inclusive. Just ask questions. There’s kind of a stigma about asking a person with a disability questions. I think a lot of people are afraid to ask. More times than not, people with disabilities are glad that you asked the question. If you don’t know something, how are you going to learn without asking those questions? How is society going to grow and move forward without knowing? I think the best place to start is by asking people with disabilities and those people affected.
This interview edited for length.
Readers interested in dispelling common myths around disability, can read this pamphlet from the Employment Collaborative.
Chris Mosby previously worked with Cuyahoga DD.
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