As Chief Executive Officer, Wendy Sullivan leads a complex, multi-state organization dedicated to supporting people with disabilities to live their happiest, healthiest lives. Wendy champions growth, innovation, and financial responsibility for the organization, executing a forward-looking vision in partnership with the Board of Directors. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a $6 million operation serving 200 people annually to a budget exceeding $120 million and more than 23,000 people each year.
Wendy joined Easterseals Midwest in 1981 as a Direct Support Professional. Her passion for the disability field resulted in her advancing through positions of increased responsibility over 16 years before being appointed Chief Executive Offices in 1997, a tenure now spanning more than four decades.
Throughout her career, Wendy has been an active voice in the disability community beyond Easterseals. She was selected for Leadership St. Louis from 2002 to 2003, served by Gubernatorial appointment for the Governor’s Mental Health Taskforce from 2004 to 2006, and was an advisory board member for Midwest BankCentre from 2007 to 2010 and the St. Louis Mayor’s Office on the Disabled Advisory Board from 2009 to 2012. She served as President of the Board of Directors for the Missouri Association of Rehabilitation Facilities from 2008 to 2011 and has served on the Board of Directors for L’Arche USA since 2013, including as Board President from 2015 to 2018. Most recently, she was named in the St. Louis Business 500.
Before joining Easterseals, Wendy began her career as a special education teacher with the Special School District of St. Louis County, putting her degree for Special Education and Teaching from Fontbonne University into use. Her passion for disability advocacy first took root through volunteer work she began in high school.
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