In June 2024, Sierra Green, Senior Outreach Archivist at Heinz History Center, recorded the oral history of Catherine Holl, disability rights advocate and co-founder of Disability Options Network Center for Independent Living (DON CIL), headquartered in New Castle, PA. Tina Calabro, the Consortium’s Outreach and Preservation Manager, also participated in the interview.
Catherine Holl was born on July 10, 1944, in Sharon, PA. She was the fifth of seven children of Louis J. and Margaret (Connair) Holl.
Catherine, her older brother Robert and younger sister Mary were born with Friedrich ataxia, a rare neurological condition that affects the nervous system. Robert passed away in 2018 at the age of 78. Catherine, 80, lives in Sharon with her sister Mary, 78. The longevity of all three siblings is considered unusual among people with Friedrich ataxia, Catherine said.
As children, Catherine, Mary and Robert’s disabilities were mild, and the Holl family did not focus on limitations. “We were a family,” Catherine said. Both parents promoted their children’s independence. Their father’s experience with vision impairment (he had lost an eye) influenced his emphasis on ability, Catherine said. “My mother and dad never, never said, ‘Hey, you can’t do [something].’ They said, ‘You try and you try and you try, and then if you can’t, that’s okay.’”
When Catherine was 12, her father passed away and the family moved from Sharon to nearby Farrell. Rather than transfer to a different high school, Catherine earned money through babysitting to pay for a portion of her tuition at Ursuline Academy, a Catholic high school in Youngstown. She graduated in 1962.
Following high school, Catherine worked as a nanny in various locations, including several cities in Ohio, and in Minnesota. She also held jobs in retail.
When Catherine started to use a wheelchair in her late 20s, she was determined that it would not limit her options in life. At age 42, she enrolled at the Sharon branch of Penn State University, earning an associate’s degree in Letters in Arts and Sciences. She also earned a certificate in religious studies from the Diocese of Erie.
Three years later, in 1989, Catherine enrolled at Edinboro University (now called PennWest Edinboro) to pursue a bachelor’s in psychology, with minors in religious studies and sociology. Her academic focus provided an opportunity to gain in-depth understanding of human nature. “I was always a people person,” she said. She graduated in 1992.
Edinboro was known for its commitment to inclusion of students with disabilities. Catherine explained: “They had their own transportation system right on campus. They would pick you up … and take you to wherever your classes were.” The school also provided academic and personal aides. “They would be people that maybe had the same interests you did, but they were trained [to] help you.” In addition to tasks such as taking notes in class, the aides helped with the logistics of campus life. “Like, when I went into [the cafeteria] line and I couldn’t reach over to the plates, they’d get my plate and carry it to the table.”
After graduation, Catherine became president at Mercer County Disability Coalition, which she co-founded with the late Cheryl O’Connor. In this role, she supported efforts to start a shared-ride program for people with disabilities and learned the ropes of organizing people for advocacy. As the organization grew, “we got to the point where we wanted to do more than just Mercer County,” Catherine said.
She and other advocates started envisioning an Independent Living Center (CIL) for four counties north of Pittsburgh – Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer. Centers for Independent Living are community-based, cross-disability organizations that offer support, advocacy and information and are operated by people with disabilities. CILs are supported through funding authorized by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Catherine and other local advocates felt that people in the four-county cluster would be better served by having their own CIL, rather than relying on centers located 90 or more miles away. In 2002, Disability Options Network Center for Independent Living (DON CIL) started operation in New Castle, Lawrence County. Catherine and her sister Mary served on its founding board.
“We founded [DON CIL] not just for ourselves, but for others,” Catherine said. “It’s important that we all have choices and that we are informed about these choices. We wanted to inspire others to start their own advocacy, and learn how to advocate.”
As a board member, Catherine participated in the hiring of DON CIL’s longest-serving executive director, Chris Lloyd. Chris, who died in 2023, was a renowned disability rights advocate. Over the years, Catherine joined him in advocacy locally, statewide and in Washington, DC. “We were always protesting or not protesting, but we were always trying to get [decision-makers] to understand why we wanted a certain legislation. And we always thought it would be best if the people most benefiting … were the ones [who did the asking].”
Chris was an important influence on Catherine, she said, especially his “can do” attitude and his belief the power of activism. Within a few months in his position, Chris moved the DON CIL office from a small space on Mercer Street in New Castle to a bigger and more central location across the street. Five years later, the agency moved to an even better location on East Washington Street, across from Cascade Park. There, Chris initiated activities for participants such as parties, dinners, and picnics in the park. More than 1,000 people would attend the organization’s annual Autumn Bash, Catherine said.
Besides his administrative skills, Chris brought a powerful philosophy to DON CIL, Catherine said. “Every CIL has core services that they offer. One of them is advocacy. But Chris told us, ‘Advocacy is number one. It’s advocacy, advocacy, advocacy. Everything falls into that category.’”
“The most important thing you can learn is how to advocate for yourself,” Catherine said. “The mission of a Center for Independent Living is to help people make their own choices for their own lives. It is not letting others decide your life. It is for you to decide what you want and what’s best for you.”
Catherine continues to serve on the DON CIL board, currently as vice president. The CIL now serves three additional counties — Allegheny, Armstrong, and Westmoreland – and operates under the larger umbrella of Disability Options Network, which offers additional services for people with disabilities.
