When Kathy Lobb retires Monday, she’ll vacate her position at the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas, but she’s not leaving the field. She’ll continue advocating for Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After all, there’s still a bill named after her that she wants to see resurrected and turned into law.
“It’s called Kathy’s Law, and we’re wanting to make sure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a chance at a job with the State,” Lobb said.
Introduced in 2021, House Bill 2220 would give individuals with disabilities preference in hirings and promotions. Should a disabled person vie for the same position as a veteran, the most qualified person would be chosen.
Lobb will retire after 21 years at SACK — most of that time as its legislative liaison. She looks forward to testifying on behalf of herself and other disabled people but now as a private citizen.
“We always like to see people get off the waiting list,” Lobb said, referring to the long line of disabled people waiting for the State to provide disability services in order to live and work more independently.
After years of inadequate funding, Kansas’ waiting list has ballooned to nearly a decade long. That’s unacceptable to Lobb.
“I’ve been fighting for that the last 20 years!” Lobb exclaimed.
Tears streamed out of Stephanie Sanford’s eyes as she talked about advocating beside Lobb.
“I am so proud to call her a friend and a colleague, but more than that, she’s been someone I’ve looked up to the entire time I’ve known her,” Sanford said. “We wouldn’t be the same state without her and without her work over the past 20 years, and we won’t be the same state from now on.”
Colleagues credit Lobb for not backing down throughout the years while also making friends and earning respect. In legislative testimony in 2012, Lobb cautioned legislators about Kansas’ handling of managed care.
“If managed care is not implemented right, it will not only destroy the economic future of Kansas, but it will destroy lives of vulnerable people. People like me,” her testimony read.
Rep. Barbara Ballard, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives since 1993, said she always looks forward to Lobb’s appearances in front of the Social Services Budget Committee.
Calling Lobb a friend for more than 30 years, Ballard described her as dedicated and caring. Her influence has grown over time, said Ballard, who represents part of Lawrence and Wakarusa Township.
“She knows who she is speaking on behalf of,” Ballard said. “She believes what she’s saying, and she has experienced a lot of what she is telling you. It’s not like it’s hearsay.”
Angie Reinking, executive director of ARC of Douglas County, applauded Lobb’s approach.
“Kathy has just developed her own confidence,” Reinking said. “And I don’t know if it was always there or not, but to just, ‘Hey, I know what I need to ask, and I’m going to ask it.’ She doesn’t need to check with someone else, and I really value that.”
A different era
Growing up on a McLouth dairy farm, Lobb learned the value of persistence at a young age.
“We all had our chores,” Lobb said. “Mine was gathering the eggs and watering the pigs. That wasn’t fun in the wintertime.”
Now 66 and the proud owner of a home in Lawrence, Lobb looks forward to more freedom in retirement. She plans on helping her three sisters care for their mother and making at least one trip a year to the casino. She hopes to visit the Amish community of Jamesport, Missouri, and watch a lot of KU basketball. She also enjoys spending time on Facebook and playing games.
Lobb said her parents originally didn’t want to accept that their oldest child had been born with a disability. In the ’60s and ’70s, inclusion in educational settings rarely existed. For five years, she attended a boarding school in Beatrice, Nebraska, for students with developmental disabilities in lieu of a traditional middle- and high-school experience.
“It was very hard,” Lobb said, nodding. “It was very, very hard.”
Reforms such as the Individuals with Disabilities Act and Americans with Disabilities Act wouldn’t come along until 1975 and 1990, respectively.
“I grew up in an era where there was no ADA or IDEA,” Lobb said. “At least the generation of today has that, and they are able to go to school and be able to finish.”
Lobb’s family has supported her advocacy work and participated in their own. Her father served on the board of Cottonwood Inc. and the Jefferson County Special Education Co-Op. And her sister, Sharon Johnson, previously served as the executive director of Arc of Douglas County.
“I did inspire them,” Lobb said. “In fact, my mom is so proud of how much I’ve accomplished over the years and what I stand for.”
To cheers of “Kathy! Kathy! Kathy!” Lobb accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas Disability Caucus in August. Sanford’s nomination said Lobb’s contributions, including service on numerous boards — local, state and national, had “helped shape policy for individuals with disabilities in the state of Kansas.”
“Her lifetime of advocacy for others has paved the way for so many self-advocates to follow in her footsteps,” Sanford wrote. “She has made an accessible place at every table for self-advocates and we are a better community because of her presence.”
Lobb’s colleagues invite the community to attend her retirement celebration from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, at the Union Pacific Depot, 402 N. 2nd St. Lobb and her friends plan to have fun.
“They call me the Queen Bee of SACK,” Lobb said with a chuckle. “(Stephanie) said she’s gonna make me a throne.”
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Tricia Masenthin (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at tmasenthin (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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