“Guardianship takes away a person’s civil rights just because others don’t like the decisions they make. People with disabilities can make decisions, some just need a little more support to express those decisions. Supported Decision-Making really just naturalizes a system that is used by all adults. Get information from those you know and trust, weigh the options and then express your choices.”
jeanie rowe
Jeanie Rowe
Youth Ambassador, Michigan

Team Lead Contact Information

Jill GerrieProject Coordinator |The Arc Michiganjill.gerrie@arcmi.org (517) 492-5029

Mary Shehan
Community Inclusion Coordinator
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council
shehanm@michigan.gov
(517) 284-7288

A collage made up of five images that each feature one of the four youth ambassadors from Michigan, Kaiden, Jeanie, Corissa, and Jenna.

Meet our Ambassadors

Ambassador Project Showcase

Youth Ambassadors Spreading the Word on SDM

Kaiden Tolbert presenting at the Michigan statewide Council on Exceptional Children Conference in 2022. He is standing in front of a screen and pointing to it. The words on the screen say: Supported Decision Making

Kaiden Tolbert presenting at the Michigan statewide Council on Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference in 2022.

a screen shot of Jenna on her youtube channel. she's wearing a black top and black hat. the CYVYC logo is in the background

Jenna Lee talks about using supported decision-making once she turns 18 on her YouTube channel.

Corissa co-presenting with State Lead, Mary Shehan. Both are standing at a podium and speaking into a microphone. Corissa is wearing a black suit top and khaki pants.

Corissa Pittman is co-presenting with Mary Shehan, to 139 transition professionals in Ottawa County, MI.  Corissa, 14 years old at the time, received a standing ovation. 

Jeanie with her mom and state lead, Mary. Jeanie is a wheelchair and her mom and Mary are standing on each side of her.

Jeanie Rowe (middle) pictured with her mom and Mary Shehan. Photo was taken following Jeanie’s presentation on Decision-Making in the Voting Process at the MI Developmental Disabilities Conference in 2023.

The logo for the Center for Youth Voice and Youth Choice. It has two interlocking circles with symbols inside them representing the organization's core missionsSupported Decision-Making (SDM) Planning

Michigan’s Youth Ambassadors are working with the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council and the ARC Michigan who are both members of a statewide Supported Decision-Making Coalition.  Michigan’s Supported Decision-Making Coalition (MSDMC) is made up of many organizations and individuals within the state that share the mission of decreasing the use of guardianships on our state in favor of using the many alternatives to support people in decision-making. One of the Michigan Supported Decision-Making Youth Ambassadors attends MSDMC meetings along with other self-advocates, who maintain involvement in all the activities of the group. The objectives the youth are focusing their projects on include educating 1,000 people a year on less restrictive options and creating an on-going social media campaign about Supported Decision-Making and other alternative to guardianship, in partnership with MSDMC. More information and resources on Supported Decision-Making in Michigan can be found on the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council website.

Resources

Supported Decision-Making in Michigan

Michigan State Team Organizations

Logo for The Arc of Michigan
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council