Tools & Resources
[Tools & Resources]
We are sad to share that Quincy Abbot, a tireless disability rights advocate and CIL's first President, has passed away at the age of 90.
"Without Quincy there would be no CIL,"says CIL President and CEO Kent Schwendy. "More importantly, he, directly and indirectly, improved the lives of thousands of people through his selfless dedication to making the world a better place. Quincy made sure everyone had opportunities and the dignity of risk to challenge themselves to grow and reach their full potential."
Quincy was a remarkable individual. An active member of The Arc of the United States Board from 1991 to 2001, he served as President from 1996-1998. During Quincy’s term, he initiated a process of change that resulted in the move of the offices from Texas to Washington, D.C., and an updating of operations including a new mission statement, core values, position statements, and affiliation agreements with state and local chapters as well as updating Mental Retardation to Intellectual Disability.
One of his many accomplishments, born out of his efforts to enable people with I/DD to move out of institutions and into the community, was the founding of CIL.
Quincy earned a number of awards for his advocacy work, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Conference of Executive Directors of The Arc in 2002. In 2018, The Arc of CT established its Abbot Lifetime Achievement Award, of which he was the first recipient.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Quincy in October 2020 to hear his story of why he became involved in disability rights and how CIL came to be, which you can view here:
