ABOUT THE POLUS CENTER

The Polus Center for Social & Economic Development, Inc. supports community-based programs that promote social and economic opportunities for people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. (See MISSION and GUIDING PRINCIPLES.)

Founded in 1979, The Polus Center began by contributing to the development of innovative alternative service models to support people with disabilities. Our individualized shared living programs throughout Massachusetts, USA, help establish and support households where people with and without disabilities live in mutually beneficial relationships, enabling people with disabilities to live and work within the community. Because of this innovative alternative service model, many individuals who would have spent years in institutional care are now competitively employed and have homes in the communities of their choice.

In 1997, the Polus Center entered into the international arena by coordinating humanitarian efforts in Central America aimed at addressing the long-term needs of people with disabilities, particularly those individuals who lost limbs due to acts of war, landmines and diseases. Several prosthetic outreach programs and clinics have been established, and access, mobility projects and economic reintegration efforts have now been implemented in various countries in Latin America and Africa, and the Polus Center has recently begun victim assistance efforts in Jordan.

Over the years, The Polus Center has broadened the scope of its mission beyond the provision of direct care services, to include planning and development consultation services on the national and international level. By collaborating with other non-governmental organizations plus local business and humanitarian groups, the Polus Center has been able to provide key financial and strategic aid that result in long-term, self-sustaining solutions.

Our goal is to improve the lives of disabled people around the world by removing the impediments to their independence and providing access to the key resources that will nurture their success.

"Polus" is of Latin origin, and means "looking towards the heavens." It suggests searching and working toward an ideal, a pinnacle. This means not only the best for people who are poor, disabled or in some way disenfranchised, but the best for all of us. Polus, the highest point, represents everyone's search for the best of who and what we are.

Polus Center Board Members

President: John Burger, Mitre Corporation
Vice President: Carrie Schuchardt
Executive Director: Michael Lundquist, Polus Center
Treasurer: Dr. E.J. Welch, D.D.S
Clerk/Secretary: Dr. Allie Cowl, Petersham Pediatrics

Directors:

• Mollie Bresnahan
• Rev. Richard Fournier
• Keith Jones
• Greg Stone
• Gary Gruber

Polus Center staff

		Michael Lundquist, Executive Director, M.Ed., C.A.G.S. Chief Executive Officer			Theresa E. Kane, Ph.D. Chief Operating Officer
		Brenda Calder Director of Finance and Administration			Santiago Castellón Latin American Regional Coordinator

International Program Staff

U.S.

• Michael Lundquist, Executive Director
• Theresa Kane, Chief Operating Officer

In Latin America

• Santiago Castellón R.Lic., Latin American Regional Coordinator
• Carola Hunter Ledesma, Polus Center Peru
• Olmar Varela, Director of Disability Leadership Center
• Reina Estrada, Program Director, Vida Nueva
• Marvin Moreira, Program Director, Walking Unidos
• Enmanuel Alonso, Director of Education
  

SHARED LIVING AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT STAFF

• Laurie Sault, Director of Shared Living Programs
• Jason Wheeler, Program Director, Shared Living Alliance, Greater Boston
• Rich Reho, Program Director, Polus Center Peterborough, southern New Hampshire
• Jennifer Conley Sevier, Program Director, North Shore Shared Living
• Colette Cave, Program Director, Lakeside Community Connection
• Tom Landry, Program Director, Quinsigamond Shared Living
• Althea Henderson, Program Director, Commonwealth Business Associates