Accessible Rural Communities
Solutions Roundtable
Thanks to all who joined us for this November 18, 2025, event!
Watch this space for recordings, a resource guide and other follow-ups to the WeCAN Solutions Roundtable on Accessible Rural Communities, cohosted by the Western Rural Development Center.​
More about the roundtable
Creating rural communities where everyone can thrive means ensuring access for people of all ages and abilities. From housing and transportation to outdoor recreation and community decision-making, accessibility is essential for building welcoming, resilient places. The Accessible Rural Communities Solutions Roundtable will explore how rural communities across the West are advancing accessibility—addressing the needs of people with physical disabilities, older adults, neurodiverse residents, and others who benefit from access assistance.
The roundtable featured keynote speaker Jeremy Maxand—a disability advocate, former mayor of Wrangell, Alaska, director of the Living Independence Network Corporation, and board member of the Idaho Access Project. Drawing on his experience as a wheelchair user and his leadership in community accessibility, Jeremy highlighted both the challenges rural communities face and the opportunities they have to lead the way in inclusive design and policy.
In addition to the keynote, we heard solution stories from rural communities across the western region and joined interactive breakout sessions where we connected with peers, exchanged ideas, and discussed practical approaches in more depth. We left with new connections, fresh perspectives, and strategies we can adapt and put to work in our own communities.
About our keynote speaker, Jeremy Maxand
Jeremy Maxand is the Executive Director of the Living Independence Network Corporation, or LINC, one of Idaho’s three Centers for Independent Living. Jeremy grew up in a small island community in Southeast Alaska and has used a manual wheelchair since 1989. He moved to Idaho in the early nineties to attend Boise State University, where he earned undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice Administration and Sociology, and a graduate degree is Applied Historical Research. Jeremy holds a certificate from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute, and from the University of Missouri’s College of Human & Environmental Sciences, School of Architectural Studies, ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program. Jeremy has more than twenty years of nonprofit management experience, and 10 years in executive leadership. He serves on several committees and boards, including the Ada County Highway District ADA Advisory Committee, the State of Idaho Building Code Board, the Idaho Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Board, the Idaho State Independent Living Council, and the Idaho Access Project Board. In addition to his work at LINC, he has been an adjunct faculty instructor of sociology at Boise State University for the past 17 years.
Solution Stories
artAbility | Moscow, Idaho | Erik Luvaas & Olivia Lebens
artAbility is a student-led project supported by the Idaho Center on Disabilities and Human Development in collaboration with the Self-Advocates of Moscow.
Since 2014, artAbility has encouraged adults with disabilities to express themselves, offering a series of art workshops, each focused on a different art technique. These create opportunities to learn about different ways of self-expression. Topics have included clay, expressing emotion through color, outdoor oil painting, collage, Native American culture and drumstick making, wood sculptures and more. Sessions are led by local artists and our Project Coordinator, with University of Idaho students providing a helping hand. An annual community Showcase caps off the year.
Cutting Fences Foundation | Montana | Kendra Lewis
Cutting Fences Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving farmers, ranchers, and Veterans in agriculture who are living with a disability or illness. Programs include free adaptive equipment loans, free consultations, the Quality of Life Fund, and an Advocacy Podcast.
Schooner Creek Discovery Park | Lincoln City, Oregon | Jeanne Sprague
The Schooner Creek Discovery Park the first inclusive and accessible public playground on the Oregon Coast. Designed to incorporate elements of the natural beauty of the nearby Siletz Bay, this playground is one of a kind, designed to break down physical and social barriers. Learn how this community of 10,000 residents funded and built an $11 million playground because the community wanted a park that everyone can enjoy — and what's in store next.
Jemez Pueblo Accessible Trail & Pedestrian Access Projects | New Mexico | Kymon Greyhorse
To help make its community more connected, accessible and safe, Jemez Pueblo built an accessible trail, offered safe bicycling programming and support for youth, including autistic youth, and implemented "quick build" projects with temporary, easy-to-install, easy-to-move features that have helped slow traffic, reduce the threat of vehicle collisions, and carve out separate areas for pedestrians and people on bicycles.
ASSIST Community Design Center | Utah | Jason Wheeler
ASSIST Inc is an independent nonprofit Community Design Center founded in 1969 by the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Utah and the Utah Society of the American Institute of Architects. Executive Director Jason Wheeler will talk the Center's accessibility design services for people with disabilities, focused on projects in rural Torrey, in the heart of Utah's red rocks country.
Idaho Access Project | Carol Baron, Dana Gover, Jen Grush-Dale
Idaho Access Project advances equality for people with disabilities by re-imagining how physical spaces are planned and designed; challenging attitudes about human ability and difference; and creating communities for everyone. Learn about their work with rural community accessibility audits and accessible travel.
Sponsors
This event was co-hosted by the Western Community Assessment Network (WeCAN) and the Western Rural Development Center (WRDC). Together, we are committed to bringing rural leaders, organizations, and residents together to share practical solutions and strengthen communities across the West.
