Max Barrows
Outreach Director, Green Mountain Self-Advocates
“When I connect and talk to people with disabilities or peers, I see potential in them. I encourage my peers to look into their strengths. Strengths that they may not be as aware of, or have been reluctant to use to speak up and have their voices heard. This is why I continue to be a mentor to people with disabilities.”
We are proud to induct Max Barrows into the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame.
Max Barrows is Outreach Director for Green Mountain Self-Advocates, a position he has held since 2007. He mentors youth and adults with developmental disabilities to speak up for themselves and become leaders. GMSA is a lead partner of the Self-Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center. Max leads SARTAC’s technical assistance team assisting local and state self-advocacy organizations across the nation. Max connects with people on all levels advocating for true-inclusion of people with developmental disabilities. In his work, he advances the message that when you meet an individual with a disability, presume competence.
He received a White House Champions of Change award for this work in 2015 and a Champion of Equal Opportunity award from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities in 2019. Last fall, Max received the Award for Service to the Self Advocacy Movement from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). Max is an accomplished self-advocate from Vermont who served as a board member for Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered from 2008 to 2016.