National Disability Provider Association Names Dungarvin’s Doug Simmonsen as 2024 DSP of the Year

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April 3, 2024                                                            Tony Baisley, Communications Manager, 612-386-8289

Nine other DSPs from Dungarvin honored as elite in their field, empowering community inclusion for people with intellectual, developmental disabilities (I/DD).

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN – ANCOR, the leading voice in Washington for community-based disability services providers, has announced that Doug Simmonsen, a direct support professional from Reno, Nevada, has been named the 2024 DSP of the Year. National winner Simmonsen, representing Minnesota-based Dungarvin, leads the list of 54 honorees in this year’s edition of ANCOR’s annual Direct Support Professional (DSP) of the Year Awards. This year’s awards garnered a record-breaking 492 nominations from across the country.

“Dungarvin is extremely proud of Doug and the special recognition he has garnered at this year’s prestigious awards,” said Dungarvin CEO Lori Kress. “Through a person-centered approach, Doug exemplifies our mission to ‘respect and respond to the choices of people in need of support.’ We are thrilled that Doug’s dedication to his profession, as well as the individuals he works with in Reno, further promotes community inclusion for the people we support,” said Kress. “We cannot think of anyone who more clearly demonstrates the transformative power of community-based supports, and we’re so grateful that ANCOR has recognized Doug with this national honor.”

Simmonsen’s nomination noted a number of outstanding qualities that made him an ideal candidate for the 2024 National Direct Support Professional of the Year Award. His colleagues noted that he strives to ensure the people in his care have access to the best natural supports possible as well as a strong sense of community thanks to meaningful relationships across a variety of contexts. Simmonsen’s colleagues also lauded him as a key member of every care team for which he participates, paying close attention to the mental and physical health of each person Dungarvin supports, as well as to individual needs for living a life of their choosing.

This commitment was perhaps most evident in the support that Simmonsen offers to a man he supports who identifies as transgender. Recognizing the intersecting ways in which transpeople and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities see their access to community limited, Simmonsen worked diligently to ensure the individual found a sense of community, not only in the Reno area, but also within the LGBTQ+ community. “[Simmonsen] was able to radically transform the life of this 65-year-old transgender male living with debilitating anxiety into an emotionally thriving, contributing member of his community, while fostering a safe haven for other LGBTQ+ individuals in our services,” Simmonsen’s colleagues noted.

The nomination went on to explain why Simmonsen’s work has been crucially important for LGBTQ+ people supported by Dungarvin. “Too often, state agencies reduce [the individuals accepting our services] to just their disability,” the nomination stated. “This previous paradigm ignored the need for individuals to express their true identities and denied their inherent right to personhood.” Simmonsen has helped to pioneer a new approach that emphasizes seeing the whole person, in this case, by supporting LGBTQ+ community involvement.

Since 2007, ANCOR’s annual DSP of the Year awards recognize outstanding direct support professionals (DSPs) who deliver long-term services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The awards celebrate the important role DSPs play in ensuring people with I/DD have what they need to thrive and be included in the community. These awards also seek to raise awareness about a direct support workforce in crisis. Inadequate investments in this essential workforce have led toa decades-long severe shortage of DSPs, which has only been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and has accelerated into a crisis that threatens access to critically needed services.

“Each year, we see more compelling nominations ANCOR’s DSP of the Year Awards,” said Diane Beastrom, president of ANCOR’s Board of Directors and vice president of transition for Ohio-based I Am Boundless. “But Doug’s nomination just blew us away. I cannot think of a more deserving professional to honor, as they truly exemplify what it means to see, appreciate and value the people we are fortunate enough to support.”

Barbara Merrill, chief executive officer for ANCOR, added: “DSPs really and truly do it all, and it’s no exaggeration to say that this year’s class of honorees deliver transformative and sometimes lifesaving supports to the people who accept their services. People like Doug and all 55 of the 2024 honorees are perfect reminders of why ANCOR works tirelessly to advocate on behalf of the direct support workforce and the incredible work our DSPs do to support people in community.”

Dungarvin is proud to recognize our other 2024 DSP of the Year state winners, including:

• Shonda Amspacher         Oklahoma DSP of the Year
• Terri Baber                       Indiana DSP of the Year
• Anthony Flannery            Kentucky DSP of the Year
• Emily Goldstein               Oregon DSP of the Year
• Kelley McGuire                North Carolina DSP of the Year
• Ngozi Osabu                    New Jersey DSP of the Year
• Paula Peace                     Nevada DSP of the Year
• Mariana Santana              Washington DSP of the Year
• Ty’Naja Williams              Connecticut DSP of the Year

The awards ceremony where Doug and the other 2024 honorees will be recognized will take place in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday, April 10 at 8:30 am MDT during ANCOR Connect ’24, the association’s annual conference. Members of the press interested in attending the awards presentation should contact Sean Luechtefeld, ANCOR’s vice president for membership and communications, at sluechtefeld@ancor.org or 571-207-9108.

About ANCOR

For more than 50 years, the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ancor.org) has been a leading advocate for the critical role service providers play in enriching the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). As a national nonprofit trade association, ANCOR exists to advance the ability of its nearly 2,500 member organizations to support people with I/DD to fully participate in their communities.

About Dungarvin

Dungarvin is a family-owned organization that provides services and personalized community-based supports for children and adults with disabilities. The Dungarvin mission influences its approach to person-centered care: “Respecting and responding to the choices of people in need of supports.” Dungarvin believes each person has their own set of aspirations, goals, strengths, and dreams. Over the past 48 years, Dungarvin has grown to provide supports to over 6,000 individuals across 15 states. Dungarvin’s long and stable history demonstrates its unwavering commitment to quality, reliability, and integrity. If you would like to learn more about the organization, please visit us at www.dungarvin.com.