Vicki Cuscino
Executive Director
Vicki has dedicated most of her career to social justice, focusing on disability rights, health equity, and ending violence against women. She has worked in disability rights since 2000, joining Direct Advocacy & Resource Center as Executive Director in 2015. Vicki received the 2019 Diane Lynn Anderson Memorial Award from the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona for her work in the disability field.
Prior to joining Direct, Vicki worked at three other CILs in Pennsylvania — as Director of Organizational Development for a large urban center, Executive Director for a rural center serving four counties, Founding Director of a federally-funded CIL for two rural counties. Additional roles in the disability field include Director of Community-Based Services for an allied organization that managed a National Center of Excellence on Multiple Sclerosis and Disability and Program Manager for a nonprofit public entity HMO in Southern California. Vicki’s work prior to disability rights included Public Information Specialist for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and journalist for a daily newspaper where she earned five state journalism awards.
Vicki holds a Master of Social Work degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, where she lived prior to moving to Tucson. She is a Certified ADA Coordinator (ADAC) with advanced certification in Health Care and Law Enforcement through the University of Missouri-College of Human and Environmental Sciences, School of Architectural Studies, as well as a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS). Vicki is a national ADAPT organizer and her community involvement includes the Arizona Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC), SILC Statewide Emergency Preparedness Committee, Pima County Health Department Access & Functional Needs Advisory Committee (Co-Chair), Pima County Health Department Ethics Committee, City of Tucson Commission on Equitable Housing and Development, Sonoran UCEDD Advisory Council, and the University of Arizona Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling Program Advisory Board.
In her free time, she loves to spend time with her pup-pup and enjoy the Arizona sun.