The Washingtonian magazine has named Vivian G. Bass, Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, as a Washingtonian of the Year for the year 2006. She and JFGH are featured in the January 2007 issue of the magazine.

Bass was chosen by The Washingtonian from hundreds of candidates who have made Washington a better place to live. She is being honored for her 30-year commitment to improve the quality of life, independence, community inclusion and dignity of individuals with disabilities throughout the metropolitan Washington D.C. area, nationally and internationally.

JFGH, which is a partner agency of The Jewish Federation, is a non-profit, non-sectarian community residential program, which enhances the independence and quality of life for adults with disabilities. JFGH provides long-term support, personal assistance services, and training to enhance independent living skills for residents in home and supervised apartment environments. Since its inception in 1982, the agency has grown to support 151 individuals in 21 homes, 39 apartments, and a variety of other living arrangements in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Bass, of Bethesda, Md., has worked in a leadership capacity for programs supporting individuals with disabilities in the Greater Washington D.C. community since 1977. Employed at JFGH since 1986, she has served as the agency’s chief executive officer since 1995.

“Vivian Bass’s passion to enhance the independence and quality of life of individuals with disabilities and their families is unparalleled. Her visionary efforts have led JFGH from a small organization supporting a handful of individuals, to a regional organization that has become a model for similar agencies worldwide,” said Larry Herman, president of the JFGH Board of Directors.

Bass has played a pivotal role in consortiums and legislative/consumer advocacy efforts and is a recent past chairperson of the Montgomery County Inter-Agency Coordinating Council for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. She is a board member or professional volunteer at numerous local, national and international agencies including Potomac Community Resources (PCR), the Maryland Association of Community Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (MACS), and Best Buddies International.

Bass has developed a myriad of policy, training, public relations and other materials which have been implemented worldwide. She has presented or had papers delivered at professional conferences including the World Congress on Disabilities in conjunction with the Paralympics, American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR), the National Organization on Disability (NOD), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and Coalitions on Alternatives to Jewish Education (CAJE).

She has received numerous distinctions including the City of Rockville Human Rights Commission’s F. Michael Taff Award; PCR’s Patricia Sullivan Award; the 2001 Sulam Award; and is a Jewish Federation of Greater Washington ‘Woman of Valor’ (Lion of Judah), the highest recognition for Jewish women internationally.

Under Bass’s leadership, JFGH was recognized as the “Non-Profit of the Year” in 2006 by Victims Rights Foundation International and for five consecutive years has received a four-star rating (the highest rating) from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities’ financial health.

For more information, contact JFGH at 301-984-3839 or visit the JFGH Web site at www.jfgh.org