Cyndi Gerlach is a parent of three young men, two who have autism. Cyndi is currently a School Trustee in the North Vancouver School district in her 2nd term. She started her advocacy journey in 2001 as part of a group of parents who started Moms on the Move, which she managed for 10 years with another parent.

She sat on the Board of Directors for North Shore Association for the Mentally Handicapped (now the North Shore Connexions Society) for two terms with the goal to support changing the name of the organization; she didn’t believe her children were mentally handicapped and didn’t feel the name represented the direction of the organization and has been a member of the North Shore Supported Child Development since 2003.

Cyndi believes each person needs to be respected for who they are and believes education is the way to support this; it is through public education that we move our society forward. Another passion for Cyndi is advocating for more mental health supports for individuals with developmental disabilities and that there are professionals that can support children, youth and adults in their own community.