Charlie Carr (activist)

Charlie Carr (born 1953 in Everett, Massachusetts) is a disability rights activist who became disabled after a diving accident in 1968.^{[citation needed]} He was institutionalized for seven years and then left Middlesex County Hospital in Waltham, MA upon the creation of the Boston Center for Independent Living in 1974.^[1] He was an early member and went on to start:

• The Northeast Independent Living Program in Lawrence, MA in 1980 as the founder and CEO^[2]
• The National Council on Independent Living in 1983^[3]
• The Disability Policy Consortium in Massachusetts in 1996^[4]

He was appointed Commissioner of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission in 2007^[5] by Gov. Deval Patrick, and served for eight years.