Meet KAA’s New CEO: A Journey of Passion and Purpose
Ken Anderson Alliance (KAA) is pleased to introduce our new CEO, Patrick Ober, whose journey is rooted in passion, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to advocating for and creating meaningful impact for individuals with disabilities.
Patrick has been connected to people with disabilities his entire life. Growing up he spent many years playing on Unified sports teams through Hamilton County Special Olympics with his older brother who has developmental disabilities. In high school, Patrick’s summers were spent working as a counselor at Cincinnati Recreation Commission’s camps for kids and teens with disabilities. In addition, Patrick’s stepfather spent most of his professional career with Hamilton County Developmental Disability Services and Patrick’s mother spent most of her career as a special education teacher and professor at the University of Cincinnati.
These life experiences inspired Partick to obtain a law degree from Belmont University College of Law, as well as a Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy Studies from Indiana University. He explains:
“Ultimately, my training in education policy has given me a tremendous foundational understanding of how people with disabilities should be respected and supported from school-age through adulthood.”
Patrick worked as a policy fellow where he recommended creative policy solutions that included a more inclusive and engaging community input process and greater teacher support services. This policy work was followed by several years of teaching as an adjunct professor and assistant instructor before taking a job in the Northwest Local School District. Patrick followed up his roles in education as a Disability Rights and Advocacy Specialist at The Center of Independent Living Options. More recently, Patrick served as Director of Programs and Operations at Stepping Stones, Inc.
Patrick’s expertise and passion align perfectly with KAA’s mission to provide a quality of life that empowers adults with disabilities through our LIVE, WORK and ENGAGE opportunities. We look forward to his leadership as KAA continues to improve and expand our programs and KAA’s role in helping people with disabilities live in our community.