Deborah Stumpf BIO

DEC Programs Coordinator/Manager/Director of Independent Living

Deborah has worked as an advocate in the affordable housing field for over 25 years and until recently was employed by the Disability Empowerment Center (DEC), a center for independent living, as their Programs Coordinator/Manager/ Director of Independent Living. 

Deb originally began her employment at DEC as the Programs Coordinator and later
was asked to manage the Disability Empowerment Center until the center completed a reorganization.

Prior to her employment by DEC, Deb was responsible for coordinating affordable housing opportunities for the Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania (CILCP) in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania as one of the first state Regional Housing Coordinators. Deb‘s region encompassed 19 counties in central Pennsylvania where she worked with County LHOT’s; Housing Coalitions; developers; real estate representatives; and housing authorities.

At the same time, Deb was also employed as the Housing Specialist at CILCP working with consumers one-on-one to find affordable “for sale” and rental housing, as well as working with others in the region to educate local officials, realtors, landlords, developers, non-profits, and the public with respect to: (1) the need for, and importance of, affordable accessible “for sale” and rental housing, and (2) how to go about developing and building same.  Working with state officials, and speaking at and participating in regional meetings on this subject, was also a vital part of Deb’s responsibilities while at CILCP.

Prior to working at CILCP, Deb helped develop and implement one of the first Nursing Home Transition Programs (NHTP) in the state of Pennsylvania while employed by Abilities In Motion (AIM) the Center for Independent Living in Reading, Pennsylvania.  Several people were successfully transitioned from nursing homes located in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties to independent living in a non-institutional setting in their own home or apartment by Deb personally.  The State of Pennsylvania chose Lancaster County for the NHTP Pilot Program to identify barriers in the program.
Furnishing a home or apartment; coordinating in home services; working with nursing facility staff; case managers, medical equipment suppliers; a consumer’s personal physician and property management staff, was also part of Deb’s responsibilities at AIM.

Deb’s previous experience prior to AIM includes:

Executive Director & Vice President of Government & Industry Relations for the NFMHO a national non-profit organization representing over 30 state organizations and over 20 million people.

Founder and President of the Pennsylvania Manufactured Home Owners of America, which represented over 700,000 individuals living in manufactured housing in Pennsylvania.  As President Deb worked directly with attorneys, the Attorney General’s Office and the Pennsylvania Legislature to (1) develop new legislation to protect the rights of manufactured housing consumers and (2) eliminate fraudulent business practices in the industry.

Legislative Assistant for a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.