Featuring Julie Resikin
Co-Executive Director of Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition
Julie Resikin is the Co-Executive Director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC), a leading disability rights organization who advocates for social justice for Coloradans with all types of disabilities. CCDC leads the way in citizen engagement by training advocates who permeate the Colorado public policy arena and assist other organizations with assuring real and meaningful participation at all levels, always with the motto: “Nothing About Us Without Us - Ever.”
Julie became disabled in her early 20s, encouraging a lifelong passion about healthcare to include disability rights. After graduate school, Julie advocated for Medicaid rights and the passage of the ADA, before moving to Colorado. In Colorado, Julie worked as a community organizer and community educator, and had a therapy practice. She joined the CCDC as a policy analyst, then later a director in 1997. Julie served in this capacity as a volunteer until the passage of the Medicaid Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities in Colorado in 2015 when CCDC transitioned from an all volunteer team to one with paid staff. In 2022, Hillary Jorgensen was recruited as co-director.
With a BS and MSW from the University of Connecticut, Julie is an Adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver at the Graduate School of Social Work active as a field liaison and teaching macro practice social work. In 2010, Julie was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation as the client representative. In 2018, she was elected to serve on the Board of the ACLU of Colorado and is currently Chair of the Board. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Denver Foundation and Treasurer of the National Pain Advocacy Center.
As a leader, Julie is passionate about supporting and mentoring younger leaders. “We can get to know younger leaders and be there to share what mistakes we made and share what we have learned over decades of this work. We can help them pace themselves. We can be their cheerleaders. We can continue to pave the way as we have by demanding that our community have a seat at the table and support them when they get jobs in the system whether in government or nonprofits.”