Who We Are – Disability Equity Center

Our Staff

Photo of Allison Hobgood, a 40-something white woman with short, dark curly hair. She is wearing spiral earrings and a dark t-shirt. She is smiling at the camera. Behind her is a partially-visible bookcase with some books peaking out. — Allison Hobgood, a 40-something white woman with short, dark curly hair. She is wearing spiral earrings and a dark t-shirt. She is smiling at the camera. Behind her is a partially-visible bookcase with some books peaking out.

Allison P. Hobgood serves as Executive Director of the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center, a day resource and community hub for individuals living in chronic poverty. She previously was Professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies at Willamette University and now focuses on grassroots community organizing for disability and homelessness justice.

Photo of Abby Mulcahy, a white person with cropped brown hair and dark-rimmed square glasses. They are wearing a black blazer in a brightly lit room with a picture frame slightly visible behind them. — Abby Mulcahy, a white person with cropped brown hair and dark-rimmed square glasses. They are wearing a black blazer in a brightly lit room with a picture frame slightly visible behind them.

Abby Mulcahy is a co-founder of the Disability Equity Center. Abby completed their PhD in public health at Oregon State University and is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care at the VA Portland Healthcare System, as well as a Delivery Systems Science Fellow through AcademyHealth.

Kate Williams is a white woman with dark brown hair and bangs and pink glasses smiling in front of a wall of pink roses. She is wearing a black and white sleeveless dress.

Kate Williams (she/her) serves as the Director of Advocacy Supports at the Disability Equity Center. Kate has supported the disability community professionally for twelve years, with experience serving folks across the lifespan and in both the private and non-profit sector. She is especially passionate about cross-disability community organizing and holistic health and wellness programming. She loves cats, yoga, and radical social justice!

Zina Allen hosts the Wellness Wednesday support group every Wednesday evening from 5:00-6:00pm Pacific Time.

Laura Estreich, a white woman with long, straight, brown hair, wearing a pink floral sleeveless top. She is smiling and wearing pink lipstick. Behind her is an archway of red roses and green leaves, and a green lawn with a picnic table.

Laura Estreich is a DEC Intern. She was born with down syndrome with developmental disability. She is a northwest down syndrome association OCCD council Member, self Advocate, and a Student at Wings Transition program.

Skyler is a white person with short, curly brown hair. They are wearing a white collared shirt under a black jacket and have a dark blue background behind them.

Skyler Scott is a DEC intern. They are a student at Western Oregon University. Their major is Interdisciplinary Studies with focus areas in American Sign Language and Writing.

Our Board of Trustees

Rebecca is a white woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair. She is wearing a green sweater under a black rain jacket. Behind her is a green field with trees under a bright blue sky.

Rebecca Olson is Associate Professor of English at Oregon State University. She is passionate about improving access in education through trauma-informed and critical pedagogy, programs designed to support working class students, and more inclusive open educational resources.

Our Community

Lzz is a white person with short light brown hair and square glasses. They are wearing a blue jacket over a collared shirt, and are smiling and standing in front of green bushes.

Lzz Johnk is serving as a media and website volunteer for the DEC. They are currently a visiting professor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Grand Valley State University. They previously worked as an Archival Assistant for the OSU Disability Archives.

This picture shows Mike as a white person with short gray hair, sitting in a chair with a black headrest. He is wearing a blue collared shirt with a red and blue shirt underneath and is in front of a green plant on a sunny day. He is smiling kindly.

Mike Volpe cheerfully and relentlessly pushed us to do better in serving people in Oregon and brought a perspective to our work that was both personal and deeply considered. We credit him for helping shape programs in Oregon that redefined how long-term services and supports should be delivered.