GMSA Staff
Max Barrows
Outreach Director
Max Barrows is Outreach Director for Green Mountain Self-Advocates, a position he has held since 2007. He mentors youth and adults with developmental disabilities to speak up for themselves and become leaders. GMSA is a lead partner of the Self-Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (SARTAC). Max leads SARTAC’s technical assistance team assisting local and state self-advocacy organizations across the nation. Max connects with people on all levels advocating for true-inclusion of people with developmental disabilities. In his work, he advances the message that when you meet an individual with a disability, presume competence. He received a White House Champions of Change award for this work in 2015 and Champion of Equal Opportunity award from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities in 2019. Max is an accomplished self-advocate from Vermont who served as a board member for Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered from 2008 to 2016. On a personal level, Max has a very high interest in extreme weather and he likes to watch college and professional sports.
Karen Topper
Administrative director
Karen Topper is the Administrative Director for Green Mountain Self-Advocates. She manages the GMSA office, supervising employees, training persons with developmental disabilities in techniques of self-advocacy, and program development work. Topper is a co-author of Sexuality Education for Adults with Developmental Disabilities, a curriculum designed for self-advocates and allies to teach a sexuality education series together as a team. She has been working with people with disabilities for the past 40 years. She has created individualized supports for people moving out of institutions in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Topper has extensive experience in developing curriculums for self-advocates, providers, and families on Independent Living, Violence Prevention, Supportive Decision-Making, and Sexuality Education. Topper has been an ally of the self-determination, disability rights, and self-advocacy movements since the early 90’s.
Stirling Peebles
Dissemination Coordinator
Stirling Peebles works as Dissemination Coordinator for Green Mountain Self-Advocates. She got into self-advocacy because she wants to educate people with disabilities to make a difference. The only way we can make a difference is to speak up and fight for what we believe in.
Stirling serves on the Governor's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities. In 2019-2020 she was a Self-Advocate Fellow in the University of Vermont Leadership Education and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. In 2019, the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) awarded Stirling the APSE Lois Curtis Award. This award recognizes an individual’s personal achievement in advocating for inclusive, individualized, community-based employment and/or independent living. Stirling has been recognized by Vermont Business Magazine as a 2016 Rising Star. She is also employed at the Center on Disability and Inclusion’s Think College Project at the University of Vermont as a Dissemination Assistant.
Emily Anderson
Creative Director of Partnerships and Advocacy
Emily’s passion for advocacy was deeply influenced by her grandfather, a Deaf man who held key leadership roles in the Deaf community. Emily was drawn to Vermont by the Bread and Puppet Theater, where she spent years creating and performing shows with diverse communities. After her time with the company, she began working with Grass Roots Arts and Community Effort, facilitating weekly art workshops for people with developmental disabilities.
Emily’s work evolved to support people with disabilities to use the arts to share their voices, particularly through The Awareness Theater Company. Notable projects include Bill’s Bill: Our History of Special Education in Vermont and supporting Mark Utter, an autistic writer, in creating his award-winning film I Am In Here.
Emily worked at Champlain Community Services, where she enhanced Bridging, a program supporting high school students with disabilities as they transition into adulthood. She also remains an active ally for Champlain Voices. Emily is also the artist behind Bluebird Fairies, a project that brings joy and creativity to her life and others around her.
Kristofor Medina
Peer Advocate Trainer
Kristofor Medina is a tough fighter for disability rights, and that means he is taking the work seriously at G.M.S.A. Kris lives in Berlin, Vermont and has a Bachelor's in English.
The Landmark College was not established when Kris attended the University of Vermont. Kris had to work hard to complete his degree in English literature and disability studies.
Following college Kris began working for Green Mountain Self-Advocates.
Professional highlights have been meeting Bernie Sanders and advocating in Washington, D.C.
The fight for education and inclusion is ongoing.
Now Kris is working to fight for medicaid funding.
Kris is also part of the Pathways 2 Partnership team.
Hasan Ko
Hasan is a leader of our work on including people with disabilities from diverse backgrounds. Hasan says, “No matter where we come from, we have the right to be ourselves in our own way.” Hasan mentors peers in his local self-advocacy group. He represents GMSA on national projects.
Karen Noone
Karen is an ally extraordinaire. She works with self-advocates to create accessible trainings and curricula. Karen is dedicated to finding every opportunity to support people with disabilities to speak up for themselves and make their own decisions.
David Frye
David creates advocacy toolkits as part of our SARTAC team. He stands up for equal rights for people with disabilities who are LGBTQ+. In 2013 David received the Vermont Pride Award for Individual Activism. He also received a “Building Block” award from the United Way for his volunteer contributions to his community.