The Center for Disability Empowerment
Providing Resources and Advocacy for Community Living in Central Ohio
Who We Are and What We Do
The Center for Disability Empowerment (CDE) is a community-based, non-residential center that is driven by the choice and direction of people with disabilities (consumers). CDE serves individuals of any age, with any disability, who are residents of Franklin, Delaware, Union and Licking, Ohio counties.
The majority of our staff members are people with disabilities; we share many of your dreams and struggles, because we have lived them ourselves.
We help consumers develop highly personal Independent Living Plans, with self-set goals, priorities and timelines. CDE provides support and resources to enable consumers to meet their individual goals for living, learning, worshiping, and playing alongside people who do not have disabilities.
The Center for Disability Empowerment Announces New Executive Director
The Center for Disability Empowerment is excited to welcome Kristina (“KK”) Kapp as our new Executive Director, effective October 3, 2025. KK will begin her transition into the role on September 18, working alongside our current Executive Director and CDE Founder, Sue Hetrick, as Sue prepares for her retirement.
KK has actively worked in behavioral health, disability justice, and advocacy for over 24 years as a community activist and humanitarian ambassador. For the last decade, she has focused on developing and expanding options for mental health support in Ohio, where she has trained hundreds of certified Peer Support Specialists and established vital community programs to help individuals achieve long-term community living and empowered personal recovery.
A recognized leader in the state, KK graciously Chairs Ohio's federally mandated Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Advisory Council (PAC), while concurrently serving as a voting member of the governing board of directors of Disability Rights Ohio (DRO).
Outside of Ohio, KK's national organizing activities are largely anchored between projects in her role as Vice President of the National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA) and related to her expanding duties as President of the Board of Directors of MindFreedom International (MFI), which she is honored to serve. In addition to these affiliations, KK is a founding member of the Steering Committees behind Liberators for Justice (L4J), Survivors and Families Empowered 4 Recovery (S.A.F.E.), and a founding force behind the Mental Health Subcommittee of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL). Her extensive resume also includes serving as the Deputy Executive Director of The Coalition for Disability Rights and Justice (CDRJ).
Born in North Salem, New York, KK’s perspective has been deeply shaped by a rich, multicultural upbringing as a first-generation American with immigrant parents from the UK and Hungary. Her journey has taken her from sea to shining sea across the US and internationally, with years spent living in London and Scotland, giving her a unique, global view that informs her humanitarian work. KK is the proud mother of two young adults: a daughter born with spina bifida who is currently thriving at The Ohio State University, and a creative, free-spirited son who is an artist.
History and Funding
CDE was incorporated and awarded 501(c) (3) status in 2012. We are funded through grants, donations and fees-for-services. All services are provided to consumers free of charge.