By Teresa Palumbo, Waisman Communications Manager
Paul White, MA, founder of Community TIES and former director of the Waisman Center’s Community Outreach Wisconsin program, passed away unexpectedly on June 17, 2025.
His life can be distilled to a single concept: he was a consummate infracaninophile—a lover of the underdogs. He made everyone a friend, treated everyone with respect, and saw value in everyone. And he lived his life with humor, love, and above all, a smile on his face. He was a visionary who helped redefine what it means to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in living full, meaningful lives within their communities.
His legacy is woven into the fabric of Dane County, Wisconsin, and beyond, through the groundbreaking work he led at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In 1986, at a pivotal moment in the national movement to deinstitutionalize care for people with IDD, Paul was recruited to help solve one of the most pressing challenges: how to support individuals with complex behavioral needs in community settings. The result was Community TIES (Training, Intervention, and Evaluation Services)—a program that has since become a model of inclusive, person-centered care.
Paul built TIES from the ground up, crafting individualized behavioral support plans that honored each person’s unique needs, strengths, and circumstances. His approach was holistic, involving families, caregivers, healthcare providers, and community members.
He believed that challenging behaviors were often expressions of unmet needs—and he worked tirelessly to meet those needs with empathy, skill, and respect.
Sue Helgesen, a client who worked with Paul through TIES for many years, explains his approach: “Paul really helped me when I was not wanting to talk to others,” she says. “He offered me new ideas and possibilities when I was having a hard time. He offered me things like the safe house, and visits that helped me see that I could learn new things, and get through hard times.”
Under Paul’s leadership, TIES expanded to include psychiatric care, crisis response services, and community training programs. He helped establish safe houses for individuals in behavioral crisis, ensuring they received support—not punishment. His training programs, like Managing Threatening Confrontations, empowered schools, community agencies, and even international partners to adopt more compassionate and effective practices.
Paul’s influence extended far beyond Dane County. His work reached schools in Madison, programs in Milwaukee, and professionals in Pennsylvania, Australia, and England. Yet, at the heart of it all was his unwavering belief in the dignity and potential of every person with IDD.
Paul’s 41-year career was defined by his inherent drive to help people and to make their lives better. His reach spanned his employees, his clients, and their families. He believed in the value of every person, and in supporting the positives that an individual has to offer.
He received a BA in psychology at Western Illinois University in 1973, a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1979, and became a licensed professional counselor. His professional career began in 1975 at the H.M. Adler Mental Health Center, a short-term intensive treatment program for children with emotional and developmental challenges, where he provided direct care and clinical supervision and eventually became program director. In 1980, he became behavioral treatment director RFDF Orchard Hill, a community-based residential program for adults with disabilities in Madison.
From 1986 to 2016, Paul was on the academic staff at UW-Madison’s Waisman Center, a University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. There he developed the Community TIES program and later, as program manager, assumed responsibilities for all activities at the Waisman Center’s Community Outreach Wisconsin program. He managed a range of innovative programs supporting community inclusion for people with disabilities, including Sound Response, the Crisis Response Program, the TIES Psychiatric Clinic, Wellness Inclusion Nursing, and the Training and Consultation Program.
Paul served on several boards including the Encore Studio for Performing Arts, Capital Times Kids Fund, Family Support and Resource Center, Friends of the Waisman Center, and Responsive Solutions, Inc. Notably, he was recognized for championing quality of life for people with disabilities and won several awards: the 1978 Francis J Gerty Award; the 1989 Dane County Distinguished Professional Service Award; the 2002 Dane County Community Support Award; the 2003 Joyce Erdman Youth Service Award; and an award for Outstanding Service to the Capital Times Kids Fund from 2005–2015.
Paul retired in 2016 with emeritus status from the University of Wisconsin and received a certificate of commendation from the State of Wisconsin Governor based on his commitment to public service that contributed to the well-being and quality of life of the citizens of Wisconsin. Paul’s legacy lives on in the lives touched by TIES and the many students and colleagues he worked with and mentored. He leaves behind a thriving program that now serves more than 400 individuals and continues to grow under the leadership of those he mentored.
Paul was a builder of bridges—between institutions and communities, between challenges and solutions, between people and their potential. His work changed lives, and his spirit continues to guide those who carry his mission forward.