Gretchen Sanewsky named Disability Pride Month Game Changers honoree

DETROIT --Gretchen Sanewsky knows how it feels to be excluded.

When she was in middle school, Sanewsky and her family moved from Toronto to a small town in New York. According to Sanewsky, the transition wasn't easy.
"You wouldn't think there's a lot of difference between Canada and the United States but coming from a large city to a small town was a huge transition," Sanewsky said. "I realized what it felt like to be left out and excluded. So as an 11-year-old, that's when I really became an inclusion champion."
From thereon, Sanewsky has dedicated her life to advocate the inclusion of all people. And now, Sanewsky's work is being celebrated.
Sanewsky joins other 2022 Disability Pride Month Game Changers honorees Christopher Samp, Tim Hileman and Jenny Brown as community members who are making a positive impact by working to create an inclusive environment for all through the areas of youth education, youth wellness or sports participation.
"This month's Game Changers are providing opportunities and promoting inclusion for thousands of disabled Michiganders," said Kevin Brown, director of community impact for Ilitch Sports + Entertainment. "As one of our honored Game Changers, Gretchen Sanewsky and her team at The Arc of Northwest Wayne County deliver essential resources every day to ensure people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can live their best lives in communities across the region."
Sanewsky describes her journey into her current role as the executive director of The Arc of Northwest Wayne County, a non-profit organization that provides advocacy and support to people with disabilities, as a "roundabout one."
After beginning her career in special education, Sanewsky followed a higher calling and was ordained as an American Baptist pastor. She served churches in the state of New York, then moved to Jackson, Mich., in 2002 to serve First Baptist Church.
"It's not just about trying to help somebody have a voice or be a voice on someone's behalf," she said about her experience in the church. "It's more about helping grow spaces to help someone have their own voice."

Recognizing she wanted to empower others in a different way, Sanewsky shifted into the non-profit sector. She spent four years as the director of community outreach for Huron Valley PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) before joining The Arc in 2018.
"My work as a pastor and work in the non-profit space revolved around inclusion," she said. "I learned that I loved juggling all the pieces of building up people, which I do every day at The Arc."
The Arc provides information and individualized assistance for individuals in the areas of education, access to mental health services, housing options, person-centered planning, entitlement applications and more.
Sanewsky said The Arc also offers athletic programs and social activities, adding that these unique services help the organization "reach even more people."
"It's amazing to watch people with disabilities own their own condo, go to work and really be part of the community," Sanewsky said. "Basically, to live a full life with the same opportunities that everybody has."
For Sanewsky, serving a key leadership role at The Arc is very fulfilling.
"Inclusion, for me, is really a two-way street," Sanewsky said. "People with disabilities don't just benefit from their work. We see how everyone in the community benefits from their talents and abilities that were probably never previously displayed."
As The Arc expands to assist more people, Sanewsky is thrilled for its future. In addition to hiring more staff, Sanewsky said the organization is currently moving into a larger building in Canton, Mich.
"Our size and influence are really allowing us to launch into the community even more," Sanewsky said. "It's no longer about just getting people to come into our building. It's more than that now."
For more information about The Arc and its services, visit
TheArcNW.org.