About Us
Our Agency was founded by and for people with Disabilities in 1995, to ensure Berkeley Seniors and Persons with Disabilities could live independently, in their own homes, at little cost to them. What began as a small Berkeley grassroots community of Persons With Disabilities and their caregivers, volunteering their time to ensure nobody experienced a lapse in care, has grown into a full-fledged Agency with a comprehensive Program offering 24/7 Emergency Attendant Care, Accessible Transportation, Wheelchair Repair, and free Wheelchair Rescue service.
Our Vision
Our vision is of a world where every person with a disability is able to direct their own care to live as they choose.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide seniors and people with disabilities non-medical emergency services and other essential support to enable and enhance independent living.
“We are the experts on what we need. We are the ones who have to live with the consequences of these decisions. We are the ones who have to fight for our rights every day.”
CeCe Weeks, Late Founder of Easy Does It Emergency Services
Our Legacy
The City of Berkeley is known worldwide as the birthplace of the Independent Living movement. In the early 1970s, Ed Roberts successfully fought to make the University of California’s Berkeley campus accessible to himself and other students with disabilities. In the process, he started a movement that spread around the globe. Easy Does It was a natural outgrowth of this Independent Living movement.
EDI was incorporated in 1995 when Cecelia Weeks, a long-time advocate for Independent Living and Disability Rights, led a group of people with disabilities and their advocates in creating a nonprofit organization initially aimed at providing emergency backup attendant services.
In 1998, City of Berkeley voters approved Measure E, authorizing a property tax to finance services for “severely physically disabled persons.” To this day, Measure E remains EDI’s principal sponsor, providing the majority of funding for our Emergency Services: Attendant Care, Equipment Repair, Accessible Transportation and Rescue Rides. As the recipient of the first Measure E contract, EDI would like to thank the City of Berkeley and its citizens for this indispensable support.
Over the years, EDI has expanded services to include Routine Transportation (through a contract with the City of Berkeley, Alameda County Measure B funds) and Wheelchair Rescue for people who are stranded due to a wheelchair or scooter breakdown (funded by Alameda County Transportation Commission, Measure B funds).
EDI employs approximately 30 experienced and dedicated Team Members, including attendants, drivers, repair technicians and dispatchers.
Our Team
Easy Does It is comprised of teams of Attendants, Drivers, Dispatchers, and Administrators who work to ensure that the agency can help Alameda County Seniors and Persons with Disabilities to live independently in their own homes.
Attendants
Our Attendants are dedicated professionals, someone is always on call to assist our clients.
Andrew Fusco
Angelica Franco
Charles Russell-Carter
Courtney Haynie
Eliza Liu
Kyle Eminger
Laurie Alarab
Maricela Scheel
Dispatchers
Our Dispatchers work around the clock to connect callers with the team members/resources they need.
Flor de Maria
Aaron Nelson
Rosa Genet
Shaviya Watson
Transportation
Our Transportation Coordinator and Drivers work throughout the week to safely transport our clients in/around the city of Berkeley.
Eduardo Guiza
Fleet Coordinator
Drew Tynes
Ernie Vegas
Felix Velasquez
Jolene Emerson
Wheelchair & Mobility Equipment Repair
Our experienced repair technicians are responsible for keeping our client's devices functional for a fraction of the cost of service at for-profit repair shops.
Levan Talakhadze
Repair Manager
Rodney Alainz
Rick Hamilton
Chris Genosick
Administrative Team
The team that operates behind the scenes to make sure that the rest of the agency can excel at their work.
Bruce Curtis
Executive Director
Bruce Curtis, is a disability rights activist, a spinal cord injury quadriplegic who uses a wheelchair and has been working internationally to build the organizational capacity of disability NGOs since 1980. Bruce began working internationally in Nicaragua in 1980, six months after the Sandinista revolution, in order to transfer independent living skills and disability inclusion policy from the Independent Living Movement in the United States. From 1980-1984 he worked to build the organizational capacity of disability organizations in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Grenada and Jamaica.
Beginning in November 1992, Bruce worked for the World Institute on Disability for 22 years and served as their International Program Director until June 2014. From 1992-2004, Bruce was building the capacity of disability NGOs in many regions of Russia and in other post-Soviet countries such as, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan. From 2004-2016 he helped to build the capacity of the Coalition for Independent Living in the Republic of Georgia. Between 2009 and 2014 in the Republic of Georgia, Bruce successfully managed a USAID funded 5-year, $5 million project to set up a small factory: to produce high-quality, appropriate technology, adult and children’s, manual and electric Roughrider wheelchairs.
Since 2015, Bruce has been the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Whirlwind Wheelchairs International. Since 2019, Bruce has been a member of the Board of Directors of Easy Does It and is currently the Executive Director.
Richard Woolbert
Deputy Executive Director
Richard Woolbert is a dedicated professional who has been working with Easy Does It Emergency Services in Berkeley, California. He started as an Executive assistant and worked his way up to becoming the Operations Manager, eventually being promoted to Deputy Executive Director. Richard’s passion for helping people with disabilities has been a driving force behind his career at Easy Does It.
During his time at Easy Does It, Richard has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to the organization’s mission. As Deputy Executive Director, he is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organization, ensuring that it runs smoothly and efficiently, and that the needs of the people it serves are being met.
Richard has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by people with disabilities and is committed to helping them live independent, fulfilling lives. He is known for his compassion, empathy and dedication to serving the community. Richard’s contributions to Easy Does It have been invaluable, and he widely respected by his colleagues and the people the organizations serves.
Maggie Tenenbaum
Bookkeeper
Bookkeeper Maggie Tenenbaum is a Berkeley native, Oakland resident, and graduate of UCSC. She has been with Easy Does It since 2019 and brings 10 years of nonprofit bookkeeping experience to the agency. Outside of work Maggie performs in musical theatre and choirs around the Bay and is mom to two cats.
Trevor Jacobson
Communications Coordinator
Trevor is a Bay Area native with a Marketing, Design, and IT background. He uses his unique skillset to maintain brand touchpoints, produce ads, promote EDI at events, and maintain the agency's newly updated IT assets. Outside of the office, you can catch Trevor cooking or catching up on video games.
Levan Talakhadze
Repair Manager
Ayanna Keeton
Program Manager
Rose Acampora
Case Manager
Marissa Shaw
Case Manager
Beth Hanscom
Administrative Assistant
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors meets regularly to ensure the agency is serving the community as effectively as possible. We encourage community members to voice their opinions at our monthly remote meetings and even consider joining the Board.
Elections are held each fall, but when the Board has openings, qualified applicants may be added any time of the year. EDI bylaws require that a majority of Directors must be physically disabled.
Bruce Curtis
Board President
Janien Harrison
Member
Janien Harrison was born in North Chicago but considers herself a Bay Area Native. She completed her graduate program in Gerontology and finds it fulfilling to assist Bay Area Seniors and advocate for people with disabilities. She is a counselor for a crisis / warm line and is also honored to help oversee Easy Does It and the vital work we do.
Outside of work, Janien loves to cook and has a substantial appreciation for any hue of the color blue.
Larry Rosenthal
Secretarry
Retired Social Security employee and AFGE Union Representative.
Rose Acampora
Treasurer
Felix Gutierrez
Member
Judi Rogers
Member
Catherine Connor
Member
Join our Mailing List
We regularly send out monthly updates and occasional announcements to subscribers of our mailing list. Those who choose to subscribe to SMS can receive emergency updates regarding natural disasters and the status of our services during them.