Mary Verdi-Fletcher
ADA Expert, Disability/Acessiblity Founding Director Dancing Wheels
Mary Verdi-Fletcher, a native of Cleveland, is president/founding artistic director and principal dancer of The Dancing Wheels Company & School. Born with a severe disability, spina bifida, Mary founded the Company in 1980 as a means for people with disabilities to have full and equal access to the world of dance. During her long tenure, Mary has managed and directed a full-time company of 10 outstanding dancers with and without disabilities. She has also directed the administrative aspects of Professional Flair, the not-for-profit parent organization to Dancing Wheels and the School. Mary’s quest to raise a solid base of funding and awareness has led her to develop major fundraising events and concerts that have created a strong foundation of supporters and audience members throughout Greater Cleveland and the nation.
As the first professional wheelchair dancer in America, Ms. Verdi-Fletcher has danced many lead roles and has had the distinct honor to work with numerous distinguished choreographers including Dennis Nahat, Daniel Job, Norman Walker, Sabatino Verlezza, Hernando Cortez, Mark Tomasic, Michael Medcalf, Tom Evert, Keith Young, David Rousseve, Rebecca Anderson Darling – Pilobolus, Christopher Fleming, Robert Wesner, Dianne McIntyre and Rosalind Newman. Prior to her dance career, Mary led many advocacy efforts for the State of Ohio and throughout the nation. She was the first Attendant Care Coordinator and later Development Director for Services for Independent Living. During her 10 years at the Independent Living Center, Mary organized Advocates for Disabled Ohioans, a group that led hundreds of advocates with disabilities through a tremendous effort to insure equal access in public transportation and statewide personal assistance care. In 1986, in her role as Director of Development, Mary developed a fundraising and special events division for the Independent Living Center and successfully created a citywide fundraising/awareness program that raised $100,000 for the organization the first year. Overall, Mary has over 30 years of experience in the realm of not-for-profit fundraising and development.
Mary serves on numerous boards and committees including The Arts Presenters Conference Committee, adjudicator for National Endowment for the Arts Access Grants Programming and National Institute on Disability Studies. She is an Ex- officio member to Ohio Dance, Very Special Arts Ohio, and Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. She was a former Miss Wheelchair Ohio and first runner-up to Miss Wheelchair America in the same year. Mary is the 1990 winner of the “Outstanding Young Clevelanders Award,” the 1991 recipient of the “ORACLE Merit Award” for outstanding Educational and Outreach Programming, the 1992 Lakeland Community College “Woman of Achievement Award,” the 1994 “Invacare’s Artistic Achievement Award,” and the 1996 Ohio Theatre Alliance “Encore” Award. Mary and The Company were honored with the “1997 National Rehabilitation Awareness Award”, the 1998 Cuyahoga Special Education Service Center Award for Outstanding Community Services, “1998 Governor’s Award” for Outstanding Outreach programs and in March 1998, Mary and her partners, Mark Tomasic and Raymond Rodriquez (Cleveland Ballet) were featured performers on the ABC television special, Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope. In 1999, Mary received the “YWCA Greater Cleveland Women of Achievement Award” and was a “Northern OhioLive Arts Award” nominee. In 2000, Mary was inducted into the “National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities.” In 2001, The Ford Foundation named Mary one of 20 semifinalists from over 3000 international nominees for the “Leadership for a Changing World Award.” The Dancing Wheels Company received 2006 “Northern Ohio Live’s Special Achievement Award” in recognition of the Company’s 25th Anniversary. Recently, Mary was the recipient of the 2007 “The EP Maxwell Schliefer Distinguished Service Award” and a 2007 Emmy Award for hosting WNEO/WEAO PBS Television "Shortcuts to Happiness", a 12-series show created and produced by Steve Mitchell.