Not Dead Yet is pleased to announce that Lydia Nunez Landry and Germaine Martin have joined our Board of Directors. Ms. Martin lived in a nursing facility in Ohio and successfully advocated to free herself. Ms. Landry has served as a nursing facility ombudsperson in Texas. Both women have assisted others dealing with abuse and unwanted confinement in these institutions. “We’re honored that these two women have agreed to serve on our board and provide their insights and perspectives on the real concerns facing so many people with disabilities, advanced chronic conditions and terminal illnesses,” said Diane Coleman, President and CEO.
Lydia Nunez Landry is a disability rights advocate living in Houston, Texas. Her advocacy work centers on the rights and safety of institutionalized disabled and older people. Serving as a certified volunteer long-term care ombudsman, Lydia is witness to the often devastating effects caused by segregation in nursing homes. Lydia graduated magna cum laude from University of Houston-Clear Lake with a degree in social work—her activism draws on years of study in disability, critical race, queer, and feminist theories and how they relate in various ways to economic inequality. As a disabled mother of two, Lydia champions the rights of disabled parents and those who want to be parents. She is also a member of ADAPT, assisting with social media outreach, disability rights education, and political action in the Houston area. Lydia was born and raised in rural Louisiana along the Gulf Coast and volunteered in various capacities after hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Harvey, most recently by helping to coordinate rescues and the delivery of vital medicine, food, and water to those stranded by encroaching waters.
Germaine Martin is a Black non-binary female lesbian and has multiple disabilities. She has a BA in political science, and minored in mathematics. She started the first Disabled Student Union at Wright State University, and was involved in student government. She also served as Vice President on the council of her apartment building at Wright State. Germaine taught computer skills to people with disabilities at United Rehabilitation. She was later trapped in a nursing home for four years and fought to get herself out till she succeeded. She has continued to fight for home and community based services and assist others to get out of institutional settings.
We welcome both of these great disability advocates to the Not Dead Yet Board!