Tara Conley

Tara Conley has been working in the field of ID/DD for more than 25 years. She started as a support worker, QIDP, and has been an Independent Service Coordinator. Through her work as a QIDP and Independent Service Coordinator, she helped people with disabilities and their families understand and navigate the state and national service system. Tara’s realization of the need for support of siblings came when she met other siblings, like herself, while doing support work. Tara is a certified Sibshop facilitator who has mentored other Sibshop facilitators to start their own programs in Illinois. Tara is the visionary and original co-founder of Supporting Illinois Brothers and Sisters (SIBS), and was involved in the inception of the Sibling Leadership Network (SLN) also founded in the same year. Tara has served on the Arc of IL Board, the UIC consumer advisory/LEND committee, the Sibling Support Project’s Advisory Committee, and has served as the S.I.B.S.’s President and Vice President on the board of S.I.B.S. Tara received the Arc of IL Outstanding Family Advocate Award in 2005, not only for her advocacy with her brother but also for the development of sibling support in IL. Her most recent endeavor includes acting as the independent consultant for the SIBS Sibling Support Project in partnership with the SLN with an investment of the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. Tara has shared her sibling experience in the book Thicker than Water: Essays by Adult Siblings of People with Disabilities.