Name Shelley Madore | ||
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Shelley Madore is a 2017 Bush Fellow who wants people with disabilities to live a self-determined life. As the mother of two children with special needs and a former state legislator, she has developed programs and advocated for policies that expand opportunities for students with disabilities as they transition into adulthood. With her Bush Fellowship, Madore will build her credentials for leading systemic change by completing a degree in disabilities studies at City of New York School of Professional Studies and by expanding her network of peers in disability advocacy.
Contents
- Education
- Disability Advocacy
- Minnesota Legislator
- Legislative accomplishments
- Community service and policy advocacy
- References
Madore served as a Minnesota State Representative to District 37A, Apple Valley-Burnsville, from 2007–2009. During her tenure, she was recognized for her work to advance policies that affect people with disabilities and their families, including education, health care, and public transit policy. Shelley Madore ran for the United States Congress in Minnesota's Second Congressional District in 2010.
Education
Madore holds a degree in business administration and spent fifteen years working in marketing and business management. She is a graduate of Partners in Policymaking through the Minnesota Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Disability Advocacy
Madore and her young family moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota from Boston, Massachusetts in 1991. Impressed with the local Early Childhood and Family Education (ECFE) program, she quickly became a volunteer for that and other community interests. When both of her children were subsequently diagnosed with disabilities, Madore began a lifelong dedication to disability advocacy.
One day in 2003, Madore heard a state representative on the radio, justifying his position to cut money from a program to assist children with special needs by saying their families should just budget better for uncovered expenses, like he did to cover sports participation fees for his son. Angered by his insensitive comparison of planning for expensive health care and educational needs to planning for optional extracurricular activity fees, she immediately drove to the State Capitol and summoned the legislator from the House floor. Unmoved by her story of struggle, he mentioned that she was not a constituent from his district and returned to his seat. Before she left that day, Madore told him she would be back to change things, and the next year she ran for State Representative in District 37A, Apple Valley. When she won in 2006, she was the first Democrat in 30 years to be elected in that district.
Minnesota Legislator
While a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Madore focused on the issues of transportation, education, health care, disabilities advocacy, conservation and property tax relief. She was made Vice-Chair of the Transportation and Transit Subcommittee and the Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA) named her a 2007 Friend of Transit. The Friend of Transit award was established to recognize excellence in public transit services and public transit advocacy in Minnesota.