A tribute to Paul White: Champion of community, compassion, and change
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.
Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
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.
Around 1986, there was a paradigm shift across the country to bring individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) out of institutions and inclusively integrate them into the community.
Paul White has been a key player in helping people with developmental disabilities in Dane County live independently and be included in community life. When White, 63, a licensed professional counselor, began his career in the 1970s, institutionalization was the fate for many people with cognitive challenges. When the Illinois native moved to the Madison area in 1982, he was the treatment director for a large facility that housed more than 90 people.
Paul White, director of Community Ties at the Waisman Center, has developed a new training video and guide entitled “Managing Threatening Confrontations.” The curriculum is intended for frontline staff in the fields of developmental disabilities and mental illness who deal with potentially explosive situations. Years of experience working with people who exhibit challenging behaviors helped …
The Waisman Center’s Paul White received the 2003 Joyce Erdman Award which is sponsored by the Capital Times Kids Fund. The annual award recognizes a person who excels in working with youth. White heads the Community Ties Program, which provides case management and community training related to individuals with challenging behavior. Paul works directly with …