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Governor Eric J. Holcomb
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Portrait of Kate Barrow, a white woman with long brown hair, wearing pink eyeglasses, an olive green blouse and headband, and a black jacket, with earrings, a septum nose ring, and a black-jewel necklace. She is smiling gently and standing beneath a bright atrium, with tile floors and white walls behind her.

Kate Barrow

Executive Director

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Email: kbarrow@gcpd.in.gov

Kate rejoined the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities as its Executive Director in January of 2022. She previously worked with the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and supported the work of the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee, where she helped community members provide critical feedback on the service delivery system to North Carolina’s General Assembly. She also led collaborative training and education opportunities on mental health, disability, substance use that prioritized equity and access. Prior to her time in North Carolina, Kate worked for over ten years in the non-profit field for the Indiana Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Arc of Indiana, and was a staff member of the Governor’s Council, coordinating the Partners in Policymaking program and providing grant management for Self-Advocates of Indiana.

Kate is a family member to a person with a developmental disability as well as several family members who are neurodivergent. She hopes her openness about her family’s experiences with disability, including her own lived experiences of postpartum depression and anxiety, will help encourage families and parents in similar circumstances. Kate draws on her educational background in Sociology to envision strong, supportive communities that enshrine inclusion, self-determination, dignity of risk, and agency for all people of all ages, where people can live, work, and fully participate in life as the experts of their own lives.

Portrait of Desirea Island, a black woman with long dark hair, wearing a powder blue blazer and a black blouse, with a small silver pendant necklace and hoop earrings. She is smiling and standing beneath a bright atrium, with tile floors and white walls and pillars behind her.

Desirea Island

Program & Policy Director

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Email: deisland@gcpd.in.gov

Desirea is the Community Engagement & Systems Change Director at the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities. After studying Criminal Justice at Indiana State University and earning a master’s in Public Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University, she worked in the child welfare system for several years, serving as a partner and advocate to families and communities, implementing support programs, providing training on child abuse and neglect prevention, and managing community development projects for low-income Hoosiers. Ultimately, Desirea is dedicated to helping underserved families, and connecting them with the care and supports they need to improve their quality of life.

Desirea plays the role of organizer, cheerleader, and mom at her children’s sporting events, shopping with friends, and traveling to new places with her husband and family. Her favorite food is Italian, and she loves trying new recipes. Desirea cherishes the importance of family, and is always looking forward to creating new traditions, as well as learning more about her family heritage.

Portrait of Ryan Revell, a white man with dark hair combed to the side and a salt-and-pepper beard, wearing a pinstripe blazer, a light blue dress shirt, and a pink, yellow, and green striped necktie. He is smiling and standing beneath a bright atrium, with tile floors and tall white pillars behind him.

J. Ryan Revell

Systems Change Manager

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Email: rrevell@gcpd.in.gov

Ryan joined the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities in September 2020 as a Systems Change Manager. Prior to his work in this role, he studied Sociology with a focus in Peace and Conflict at Ball State University and worked in finance and the insurance industry for fourteen years, both in sales and operations of the business. After graduating from the Hoosier Virtual Leadership Institute in 2021, he followed a new direction in his career to align with his principles of kindness and public service. Furthermore, growing up neurodivergent has been integral to his sense of kinship and solidarity with the intellectual and developmental disability community. He hopes, by connecting people to self-advocacy and training opportunities, he can support their pursuit of safe, fulfilling, self-directed lives.

In Ryan’s spare time, he enjoys volunteering in his community with Kid Again, Children’s TherAplay, SAWS, Special Olympics, and his Masonic Lodge, as well as singing with the Murat Chanters, taking long walks, and training for his next 5K run. He has a wonderful family who loves and supports him and a Rottweiler-Boxer-Lab mix, Romeo, who is the best dog in the world. He watches sports, too, and is a dedicated fan of the Illini, Colts, and Cubs.

Portrait of Allison Wymer, a white person with shoulder-length blond hair, wearing a white blouse and black jacket, with a pearl necklace. They are smiling and standing beneath a bright atrium, with tile floors and tall white pillars behind them.

Allison Wymer

Systems Change Manager

Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs

Email: awymer@gcpd.in.gov

Allison joined the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities in October 2022. Previously, they were a teacher for nearly twenty years, specializing in gifted, special, and general education of elementary-aged students. They graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a master's in Special Education, and earned a bachelor's in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with a concentration in video and animation. For nine years, they worked at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth where they instructed international students in science, math, and engineering, and wrote the curriculum for Project Mars, a middle-school course on planetary science, physics, and space exploration.

Allison is neurodivergent, as well as a survivor of a traumatic brain injury due to a major car accident, a life-changing occurrence requiring years of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Their work with students with disabilities and their own lived experiences have made them an impassioned advocate for the community. They are fascinated by science and history, particularly ancient history, art and film history, and the origins of language. They love gardening, birdwatching, bike riding, and writes and illustrates their own comics.

Portrait of Hayden McGough, a white man with short dark blond hair and a scruffy beard, wearing gold wire-frame eyeglasses, a hearing aid, and a pale pink dress shirt with its collar open. He has a calm, patient expression while standing beneath a bright atrium, with tile floors and tall white pillars behind him.

Hayden McGough

Communications & Public Engagement Specialist

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Email: hmcgough@gcpd.in.gov

Hayden serves the Governor's Council for People with Disabilities as its lead on Communications, Public Engagement, and Accessibility, and brings with him a devotion to equity and access. He studied English Literature and Critical Disability Studies at Purdue University and, upon graduating, supported the work of its Disability Resource Center, leading campus community programs that explored Deaf and disability experiences, identity, and history. Additionally, Hayden has managed many creative projects as a Deaf and LGBTQ advocate, was an English Language Arts teacher and tutor for several years, and worked for Indiana's Independent Living network before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hayden has been deaf since he was nine years old and his brother is a survivor of an ultra-rare life-threatening disease, both of which have shaped his sense of purpose and his beliefs about community, care, and justice. Beyond his work as a teacher and advocate, Hayden is a writer, a lover of classical art and literature (Jane Austen being a favorite), an amateur botanist and nature enthusiast, and enjoys traveling with his husband, Daniel.

Portrait of Robin Martinez, a woman with dark curly hair pinned back, wearing wire-frame eyeglasses, a mauve animal-print blouse, and a black sweater. She is smiling and standing beneath a bright atrium, with white walls behind her.

Robin Martinez

Office Coordinator

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Email: rmartinez@gcpd.in.gov

A fervent advocate for universal access to education, Robin works for the Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities as its Office Coordinator. She studied English at Goshen College and went on to earn a master's in Library Science from IUPUI. While working towards her master's, she served for many years as the Adult Learning Center Coordinator at the Johnson County Public Library where she brought literacy and English language skills to marginalized communities.

Though her time with the Adult Learning Center first introduced her to the reality of intellectual and developmental disabilities, it was her oldest son’s diagnosis of autism and cognitive delay that affirmed her drive to serve marginalized populations and strive to improve disability services for children and adults. Outside of her work with the State, Robin is a licensed massage therapist, writer and poet, an artist, and animal lover.