My name is Carlos Ramalho. I have been LIFTT’s Executive Director since October 2019. As someone with several intersectional identities and significant disabilities (hearing & vision loss), I deal daily with challenges encountered by anyone with disabilities.
Before working at LIFTT, I worked as an international finance and tax attorney, public and private international law professor, ordained protestant pastor, and executive of profit and nonprofit corporations.
LIFTT is one of the four (4) Centers for Independent Living (CILs) of the state of Montana. Its jurisdiction is Southeastern Montana, encompassing the largest population base and geographical square mileage of the four (4) CILs. As Executive Director, my responsibilities are inclusive but not limited to the following:
- Serving and representing the population of our service area.
- Supervising employees.
- Efficiently managing the budget.
- Writing and continually updating/ revising format for personnel, administration, and grants management policies and procedures.
- Communicating and implementing board policies throughout the organization.
- Serving as liaison with all levels of government and private nonprofit partners, inclusive but not limited to the following:
- Administration for Community Living – ACL.
- Montana Vocational Rehabilitation.
- Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services – DPHHS.
- Montana Agencies for the Aging.
- Montana Independent Living Council – SILC.
- Montana Rehabilitation Council – SRC.
- Representing LIFTT on statewide committees and councils.
- Maintaining partnerships with other organizations.
- Representing the independent living community before healthcare providers and stakeholders.
- Serving as spokesperson on advocacy, legislative, and policy issues.
- Overseeing resource development, corporate, federal, and state government grants and contracts.
- Developing and implementing strategies for the organization’s development, sustainability, and expansion.
- Managing LIFTT’s human resources according to Board approved policies and procedures.
Further, as LIFTT’s Executive Director, I have served as a leader of the following regional and national cross-disability grassroots organizations run by and for people with disabilities:
- The Montana Statewide Council for Independent Living – MTSILC. To that avail, I have served the MTSILC for more than seven (7) years, initially as Secretary and member of the Executive Committee. From October 2019 until 31 December 2022, I represented all four (4) Montana Centers for Independent Living – CILs before SILC.
- The National Association of Statewide Independent Living Councils – NASILC as a representative of Region 8 during 2020-2021.
- The Montana State Rehabilitation Council – SRC since 2020.
- The Montana Association of Centers for Independent Living – MTCIL as founder and vice-chair during the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
It is part of my job to continuously work on different projects seeking accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities, study and promote compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). It is a joy to learn about the history of Independent Living in the United States and abroad.
I approach “disability” rights through the independent living perspective and unwavering defense of the treatise that “disability” is a natural aspect of human life. The barriers people with “disabilities” face are inherently rooted in ableism and discrimination. Given this premise, by the very definition of the etymology of the word “disabled,” (I prefer to implement the term “challenged” instead of “disabled”) means not capable in modern language. This is evidenced by the rapid change of nomenclature throughout the US from “disability” to “ability.”
I enjoy serving, accommodating, including, and defending through LIFTT disabled individuals of any race, religious affiliation, gender identity, or sexual orientation and helping them thoroughly thrive in their communities.
Originally a Brazilian national, I relocated to the US in 2006 under the auspices of political asylum. Before moving to US soil, I lived and worked in several South American and European countries. This experience furthered enriched my understanding of world culture and customs. I fluently speak English, Portuguese, and Spanish and communicate efficiently in Italian, French, and German. Perhaps my proudest moment was in 2016 when I took the oath for American citizenship.
If you would like additional information about LIFTT’s services and opportunities, please do not hesitate to contact me at carlosr@lift.org or (406) 294-5190.
About Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT): LIFTT is a Montana 501(c)3 corporation organized as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). With team members based in Billings and Glendive, LIFTT provides people with disabilities with programs and services that help empower them to break down the physical, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers that prevent them from being fully independent participants in their lives and communities throughout 18 counties in southeastern and southcentral Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Stillwater, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app on Apple or Google Play.