Executive Director, Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley

Denise Figueroa is the founding Executive Director of the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley, Inc. located in Troy New York. Established in 1987, the center is a disability led organization whose mission is to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities to live full and independent lives in the community by providing individual and systems change advocacy, independent living skills training, peer support, and transition services for youth and for adults seeking to move to the community from institutional settings. 

Ms. Figueroa has been active in the disability rights movement for more than 40 years.  Born and raised in Brooklyn New York, Ms. Figueroa contracted polio as an infant. Her activism in the disability rights movement was ignited as a freshman at Brooklyn College where she met fellow disability rights advocates who became mentors and role models. She met her future husband, Patricio, an emerging leader in the movement while in college. They moved to the Capital Region of New York in 1985. They have a daughter who is now married and has one grandchild.

Ms. Figueroa has served on numerous boards of national and state organizations including the National Council on Independent Living, New York Association on Independent Living, the Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council and the Capital District Transportation Authority