Lesley Blecharczyk

Lesley joined the Institute on Disability in 2024 after more than 25 years working in NH’s developmental services area agency system. Prior to that she worked with the IOD on a Natural Supports in Employment grant. She is thrilled to be back at the IOD and is primarily working on the NH Case Management Assessment and Training grant.

During her extensive time at the area agency Community Bridges, Lesley served in case management, family support, supervision, program development and training and agency leadership roles. Her primary professional focus has been the development of Family Support, Case Management, Self-Directed Services, Intake and service provider staff skills and competencies, as well as operational processes and procedures, through the lens of person-centered practices. Through positions held in agency leadership, she brought person-centered approaches to strategic planning and operational design initiatives. Lesley is a nationally certified trainer Person-Centered Thinking© and a Charting the LifeCourse© Ambassador and Coach for the UMKC Charting the LifeCourse© Nexus.

Lesley’s perspective is first and foremost shaped through lived experience as sibling of a person with a developmental disability. She learned early on about the need for not only strong family advocacy, but active and meaningful family participation in policy development and system transformation.