Angelina Ramirez
CEO, Stavros Center for Independent Living
She Helps People with Disabilities Live the Life They Desire
When Angelina Ramirez went to work at Stavros Center for Independent Living as a secretary in 1990, it was supposed to be a transition plan to something else.
Thirty-five years later, she has certainly done plenty of transitioning, but all of it within this organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities achieve independence — with roles including outreach, special programs, community relations, and development … all the way to CEO in 2019.
As for why she never left, it was a matter of simply connecting with a mission.
“I’m a person with a disability myself, and finding a job when you have a disability can be hard, and trying to get through life can be challenging. So the mission of Stavros really spoke to me because it’s making sure that, whatever your goal is, whatever your initiative in your life is, wherever you want to go, we will be there to support you.”
Whether it’s helping people with disabilities access housing, education, and benefits or helping them access personal care management services necessary to stay in their homes, Stavros has impacted countless clients over the decades. But they’re not just numbers; Ramirez can relate many individual stories.
Like young adults who have secured internships through Stavros. “One of my favorites is this kid whose school kept telling him, ‘no, you’re too disabled; you can’t do auto repairs.’ And we talked with an auto repair shop, and they said, ‘well, if he wants to do an internship, we’ll take him.’ And they ended up hiring him because he was so good at mechanical stuff.”
“The mission of Stavros really spoke to me because it’s making sure that, whatever your goal is, whatever your initiative in your life is, wherever you want to go, we will be there to support you.”
Or another client who arrived at Stavros homeless. “The police brought her in and said, ‘we need you to do something because we don’t know what else to do with her.’ And over the years, we helped her get medication, get the services she needed, get her an apartment, and eventually get a job. And now she’s retirement age. I mean, in 35 years, you see someone’s whole life. And when you see that, you say, ‘yeah, I made a difference.’”
Jason Montgomery, Stavros’ director of Development, repeatedly noted that passion for making a difference when he nominated Ramirez to be a Woman of Impact.
“No one in Western Massachusetts has done more to advance disability rights and equity than Angelina Ramirez,” he wrote. “Her leadership is both visionary and practical, driving systemic change while ensuring immediate, tangible results for people in need. She embodies the independent living movement’s core values: equity, self-determination, and community leadership.”
Angelina Ramirez (center) with some of the team at Stavros.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging
It’s a measurable impact, Montgomery went on. “Under her leadership, Stavros transitioned hundreds of people from institutional living into the community and provided thousands with durable medical equipment and home modifications. For decades, she has championed legislation ensuring equity and independence for all.”
One well-known Stavros program is called Home Sweet Home, Ramirez told BusinessWest. “Every year, we build around 60 to 80 ramps, depending on funds. That is a phenomenal program that has to raise a whole lot of money to be able to get all that done. But it’s thanks to partnerships in the community and a great team of people here that it happens.”
Another example of creative problem solving is a contract Stavros recently secured with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to repair wheelchairs. “One of the issues that we have seen over and over is that, for people with disabilities, their wheelchairs will not be fixed in a timely manner, so essentially they’re stuck at home,” she said.
“Her leadership is both visionary and practical, driving systemic change while ensuring immediate, tangible results for people in need. She embodies the independent living movement’s core values: equity, self-determination, and community leadership.”
In all, Stavros serves about 10,300 individuals across Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties at any given time, currently ranging in age from 4 to 89 — and it’s critical work, Ramirez noted.
“When people don’t know about our services, they end up in nursing facilities. Not to say that nursing facilities are not a good thing for some people, but say you’re 25 and you got into a car accident, and now you use a wheelchair. Do you want to spend rest of your life there? The answer is no.
“So one of the things that we do is help people to make sure that they don’t end up in situations like that. But also, a lot of people with disabilities want to go back to work, and they don’t have the resources or the peer support that they need to do that. So one thing we see over and over again is that, because we’re here, more people go back to college, and more people end up working.”
That’s real impact. And it explains why Ramirez, who has dedicated most of her life to this mission, is being recognized as part of the Women of Impact class of 2025.
Sharing the Spotlight
Under Ramirez’ leadership, Stavros has become one of the largest and most effective independent living centers in Massachusetts, Montgomery noted. It was named one of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by Boston Globe Magazine in 2022 — the same year the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce presented Ramirez with its A+ Lifetime Achievement Award.
She is quick to deflect such praise, however. “I feel like I don’t do anything half the time — it’s all the team, and I just get credit for all that they do. But it’s really gratifying.”
Angelina Ramirez says the mission of Stavros has always spoken to her — supporting people with disabilities and helping them succeed in life, no matter what their goals are.
Her impact only continues to grow. In 2024, the year she guided Stavros through its 50th anniversary, she secured a $153,000 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts to expand community-based mental health support across Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. And this year, she launched Rock, Roll & Gather, a regional event blending music, art, and activism to celebrate disability pride, while building community support for access initiatives.
About 80% of Stavros’ income comes from contracts with the state, and many of those contracts originate with the federal government, so there is some long-term anxiety about shifting federal priorities — a concern shared by nonprofits across the U.S. — and short-term worries as well, from a government shutdown that had not abated as this issue went to press.
Still, in the Pioneer Valley, “a lot of the nonprofits help each other out,” Ramirez said. “Every year, we do this small breakfast with our legislators, and we bring in other nonprofits to talk about what issues are of concern right now and how we can address them.
“We have good relationships with the Amherst Survival Center and the Northampton Survival Center and other nonprofits in the area,” she went on. “Sometimes we get employees from them, from the people they serve who are looking for jobs, and they end up working here. And at the same time, our consumers go there and get the services and supports that they need.
“That’s one good thing about working here in the Pioneer Valley — even though there is some sense of competition, because there are not a lot of funds out there, there’s also camaraderie, and the main interest is serving people. That’s very different in this area. I talk with other people in other parts of the state that don’t have that.”
Montgomery noted that Ramirez’s leadership has been especially crucial during periods of crisis. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she oversaw the successful transition of more than 140 individuals from nursing facilities into community living and facilitated the construction of more than 100 ramps for accessibility. She also ensured that Stavros offices were kept open for the duration of the pandemic, and, at the height of pandemic shutdowns, facilitated meal deliveries for clients who couldn’t otherwise access them.
At the same time, Montgomery said, Stavros staff — 80% of whom are women — are empowered to lead, innovate, and serve as peer mentors. “She creates a culture where women’s voices are not only heard, but elevated.”
That’s an especially gratifying part of her job, Ramirez said.
“When people don’t know about our services, they end up in nursing facilities. Not to say that nursing facilities are not a good thing for some people, but say you’re 25 and you got into a car accident, and now you use a wheelchair. Do you want to spend rest of your life there? The answer is no.”
“It is a great opportunity to see people succeed, see people that came in like me as a secretary or as a skills trainer and now see them in supervisory positions or management positions. There’s one person in the building who started coming in here with her mom when she was a teenager, and now she is the assistant director of one of our programs. So there is opportunity for mentorship here. You get to do good while you’re doing good for yourself.”
A True Problem Solver
Ramirez also contributes to civic and professional organizations across the state. She serves on the board of Housing Navigator Massachusetts Inc., which works to expand access to affordable housing through user-friendly, publicly available tools. She is also a member of the Health Equity Compact, a coalition of 85 leaders of color dedicated to advancing health equity and dismantling systemic disparities throughout Massachusetts.
“I remember when the Housing Navigator approached me in 2019 — they had an idea to create this nonprofit to identify housing in the whole state and see where the gaps are. I said, ‘well, I want to be part of that.’ So they created a tool, and now we can see that, here in Western Mass., the availability of housing is minimal to nothing.”
It’s a major problem, especially for an organization trying to keep people in their own homes, but Ramirez is no stranger to tackling problems.
“Anyone can look around and see what is happening and what impact they can have, whether it’s health equity, housing, mental health, whatever it is. If there is a crisis, we need to meet it. That’s what I’m passionate about — when you look at what’s going on with the people that you serve and you start formulating plans. That’s what makes this organization and the teams here successful — they’re always looking forward.”
On its website, Stavros explains that, for the past 50-plus years, it “has worked tirelessly to remove barriers to accessibility and provide essential resources that support independent living. From advocating for disability rights and accessible housing to offering peer counseling, skills training, and vocational support, Stavros has been a trusted ally for thousands of individuals across Western Massachusetts and beyond.”
For Ramirez, the throughline across all that work has been identifying barriers people have to living the life they desire — and then identifying solutions to overcome those barriers. That’s a legacy befitting a Woman of Impact, but, again, she always seeks to share the credit.
“Surrounding yourself with a great team of people that can make it happen is the most important part of it because a lot of this stuff, you can’t do by yourself,” she said. “You have to make sure that the people around you are capable of doing it.”
