CHARLES HOUSTON - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, QUEENS CENTER FOR PROGRESS

Charles Houston is the Executive Director of Queens Centers for Progress (QCP), an agency in New York City providing comprehensive services to children and adults with developmental disabilities.  Charlie has been at QCP since 1981 and has been Executive Director since 1987.  During that time the agency has grown fourfold and has greatly expanded its range of services.
 
Founded nearly 60 years ago by parents looking for services for their children with cerebral palsy, QCP now serves people from infancy through its services to seniors.  Its more than 650 staff provide clinical, therapeutic, educational, residential, vocational, and many day service options.
 
Charlie began his career in vocational rehabilitation in the late 1960s, working in several NYC agencies as a vocational evaluator, rehabilitation counselor, and workshop manager, and vocational program administrator.  He has been active in statewide provider associations as a board member of the New York State Rehabilitation Association and the InterAgency Council of Mental Retardation and Disability Services agencies.  He was President of the Disability Service Providers of America (DSPA) prior to its merger with ACCSES.
 
Charlie received his B.A. from Brown University, spent two years in graduate school at NYU, went into VISTA, and then obtained his M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling while working in the field.
 
He lives with his wife Julie in Brooklyn. Their daughter Molly is a jeweler in Carlsbad, CA and their son James works at a vineyard on the North Fork of Long Island.