Douglas Hovey (Doug) is the Founding Chief Executive Officer of Independent Living, Inc., a consumer-directed, cross-disability service organization based in the Hudson Valley region of New York State. Since 1987, under Doug’s leadership, Independent Living, Inc. has grown from a staff of 3 to over 100 employees and has an affiliate company, Independent Home Care, employing 550 homecare workers. Doug has long championed the cause of equal rights, access, and opportunity for all persons with disabilities; recognizing that people with disabilities face many obstacles, including stigma, stereotype, discrimination, segregation, marginalization, underemployment, limited access to healthcare and affordable and accessible housing, to name a few. Independent Living focuses on the elimination of attitudinal and architectural barriers and supports individuals to turn their perceived deficits into assets.
Doug’s professional training and diversified experiences have provided him with a wide range of knowledge and skills. He has coordinated many conferences, trained hundreds of businesses, and lectured widely at conventions, before TV and radio audiences and public and private sector workshops. He has also consulted on many commercial and residential construction projects to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities and the NYS Building Code. Moreover, he is regularly invited to deliver testimony before the NYS legislature regarding critically important disability legislation, policy and regulation.
Doug holds graduate degrees in Health Care Administration and Rehabilitation Administration from the New School for Social Research in New York and The University at San Francisco, respectively, and is professionally and personally familiar with the challenges faced by people with disabilities. He serves as Chairman of the Orange County Human Rights Commission and a member of the New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL) and the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of NYS (CDPAANYS). Doug also serves on the NYS Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council (MISCC) and the NYS Master Plan on Aging Advisory committee. He has received numerous awards for his leadership in community services and disability rights, and is recognized for his expertise on many disability issues. Doug and his wife Julie live in the Town of Newburgh.