Governor Gavin Newsom recently appointed six new members to the State Council of Developmental Disabilities, including Melissa Fitch, Kim Levy Rothschild, Azucena Garcia, Michael Padilla, and Eric Aguilar. Also appointed was Sascha Bittner, a long-time disability rights advocate whose work and lived experience helped guide the Master Plan for Developmental Services.
“As the chair of the Council, I want to make sure that people with developmental disabilities are the main ones speaking up AND being listened to,” Sascha said. “I also want to work to ensure we maintain our right to live and thrive in the community.”
Sascha graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s in social work. She has more than 30 years of advocacy and leadership experience at the local, state, and national level, including being a part of the Lived Experience Advisory Group for the Department. She was appointed by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the National Council on Disability, where she serves as Governance Chair. She is also involved in several other boards and committees, including the San Francisco In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board, the Disability and Aging Commission and national groups focused on disability rights and worker issues.
Sascha believes the work of the State Council is important because it gives people with developmental disabilities and their families a direct way to work with state departments. This helps ensure their voices guide decisions that affect their daily lives.
“I was very lucky to be mentored by Ed Roberts and Judy Heuman, and they showed me how there are many types of disability activists and that there needs to be people both within the government as well as outside agitators and it really shaped who I am as an activist,” said Sascha.
Sascha has a long-standing commitment to accessibility, self-determination, and community living. Her leadership on the Council, with the other new appointees, will continue to elevate the voices of Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities.