Joan Peters

Joan Peters, JD, MPH has spent several decades working to equip people with disabilities and their families with the skills and resources they need to advocate for themselves. She is a public health professional with broad experience in policy, program development, agency management, program evaluation, writing and advocacy regarding disability and chronic health conditions. While Executive Director at Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, she oversaw the Brooklyn Parent Center, which provided parents, students, and professionals with information on how to navigate special education systems, understand NYC Department of Education procedures and processes, and access community resources.  

Previously, Joan served as Executive Director of the National Aphasia Association, where she co-edited the American edition of the Aphasia Handbook: A guide for stroke and brain injury survivors and their families, which was called an “essential resource for people with aphasia” by the late neurologist and author Oliver Sacks. At Bronx Independent Living Services,  Joan developed programs for parents of people with mental illness and/or developmental disabilities. 

Currently, Joan runs several support groups for people with multiple sclerosis and writes on a range of disability issues, including poverty and transportation. Her article “Health Disparities and People with Disabilities” was published in the Spring 2021 issue Health Progress. 

Joan was the 2015 recipient of Frieda Zames Advocacy Award for advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities from the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. 

She has a JD from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.