Below are biographies of our board members. Each biography is in its own heading to make it easy to navigate between them with screen readers.
Lois Butterfield
My name is Lois Butterfield.. I am a life-long Democrat. Living in Florida, I felt the need to get involved in politics for survival. I am so glad Nancy started this coccus. I hope to get involved even more in hopes of making a real difference.
I was born in Vermont and went to high school there. After graduation, I was trained as a switchboard operator. I held various clerical jobs with the state of VT before transferring to the Postal Service before retiring from there. We moved to Florida in 2005. I was bored, and heard about the medical transcription program and applied. I spent a year in school where I learned about pharmacology, physiology, etc. It was the first job I loved, and I did that for several years before retiring.
I now am a fitness fanatic, and running is my passion. I do most of it on my treadmill with the Charge Running app.
Doug Hall
Doug Hall is a charter member and serves on the Board of the Volusia Democratic Disability Caucus (VDDC),and other Democratic entities, along with membership and participation in several organizations and advisory committees. Doug, who is totally blind, since age 8, received his early education, attending public schools in New York, where he also obtained rehabilitation services. He , received his BA Degree in Psychology from the University of New York, College at Geneseo and his Masters Degree in Counseling from the University of New Hampshire. He was recruited, moved to Florida and was hired to work for the Division of Blind Services as a counselor. In the past 43 years, Doug has worked as an adjustment counselor, program director, volunteer services supervisor, instructor, and case manager, but his real love has been in the fields of advocacy and community involvement. He is cofounder and member of the Daytona Halifax Area Lions Club, as well as the Mayor’s Alliance for People with Disabilities of Daytona Beach. Along with his wife, Nancy, who has
Rheumatoid Arthritis, Doug serves as an advisor on advisory committees of the River To Sea Transportation Planning Organization, is a founding member of Friends of Library Access, active with the Halifax Council of the Blind and the state organization, the Florida Council of the Blind. Transportation concerns, especially public transportation, and access to voting for people with disabilities, as well as caring for Nancy, have been and continue to be important concerns for Doug.
Nancy Olson – President
Nancy Olson is our first president of the caucus which was started in late 2019. Nancy graduated in 1979 with a BS in Physical Education and Health from Slippery Rock State College. She is also a member of the Slippery Rock Athletes Hall of Fame for her post college wheelchair tennis career. In 1983, Nancy had a car accident going home from work at the Scarsdale YM & WHA as their Aquatic Director. She became a bilateral above knee amputee from that accident. She started playing wheelchair tennis in 1985. Before her final retirement in 1999, she played all over the world earning world rankings (highest singles 3rd and doubles 1st) and 2 silver medals for doubles.
Nancy has been a lifelong Democrat but never was politically active until the election of 45. Nancy and her partner Leslie Frye attended the Women’s March in DC in Jan 2017. Soon after they both joined the South East Volusia Democratic Club, became precinct leaders and members of the Volusia Democratic Executive Committee. While attending a State Convention, they attended the Disability Caucus meeting and saw the need to form a local chapter.
Ryan Mann – Media Chair
Ryan teaches people who are blind and visually impaired technology at the Conklin Davis Center. He has been blind since birth. He went to the Florida School For The Blind in St. Augustine from 6th through 12th grade. He is also a board member of the Daytona chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. Ryan has been a registered democrat for most of his adult life. He became a member of the Volusia Democratic Disability Caucus in 2020.
Mary Tyson – Secretary
My Name is Mary Tyson. I have been blind since the age of one year. I attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine and graduated in 1975. I moved to Daytona Beach in 1977 to study medical transcription and worked for a local hospital for some time before receiving a job offer to work at the then Daytona Beach Regional Airport. I began working there in June of 1978 and retired in June of 2016.
I have been a member of the Halifax Chapter of the Florida Council of the Blind for over 20 years and served as Membership Secretary and am currently completing my second term as President. As part of that organization I have worked with many others in the blindness community to promote accessible voting options and to improve the availability of voting for all who are disabled.
I have always been very interested in politics, especially as they pertain to the rights of underserved and disabled citizens. I am proud to be a member of this caucus and to continue to work towards seeing that the large voting block which is the disability community is kept apprised of issues and laws that will effect them and their families.
VDDC Web Page Biographical sketch for Nancy Burgess-Hall
In memoriam, Nancy passed away on April 24, 2022.
Nancy Burgess-Hall is a charter member and serves on the Board of Directors of the Volusia Democratic Disability Caucus (VDDC). She grew up in a family where politics were regularly discussed and helped hand out political flyers before she could vote.
Nancy has had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since age 2, resulting in evolving physical and medical concerns. She currently uses a motorized wheelchair and drives an accessible van. She attended public schools, community college, undergraduate college and earned her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology at University of Florida. She became interested in education, speech therapy and helping others during junior high school. She became involved in disability awareness and advocacy during her stay at UF. Nancy served in a variety of settings and age groups from preschool to geriatric, but most of her career was spent in public elementary schools, retiring in 2013.
Nancy is married to Doug Hall. Individually and as a team Nancy has advocated for accessible voting, accessible and expanded mass transportation and accessible media. She is active in Florida Council of the Blind (FCB), its local chapter Halifax Council of the Blind (HCB), Friends of Library Access, Inc., the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization’s (R2CTPO) Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and has participated in numerous community/governmental meetings and activities.
Jewel S Dickson – Chair of Volusia County DEC
Jewel S Dickson currently serves as Chair of the Volusia County Democratic Party. Dickson received her B. A. and M. A. degrees in elementary school curriculum from Stetson University. She also has a specialist degree (ABD) from the University of Florida in Organizational Development. Dickson is retired from the Volusia County School System where she served as a classroom teacher as well as a district curriculum specialist and administrator. Dickson is certified in elementary education, gifted education, administration and supervision, and educational leadership. Currently Dickson serves on the Board of the Museum of Art DeLand where she has been the president of the Museum Guild as well as the Guild Store Manager. She also serves as the Legendary Florida Tour Coordinator as well as the chair of the Education Committee. Dickson also serves on the board of the African American Museum of the Arts. She received the Dorothy Johnson Volunteer Award from the Museum of Florida Art in October 2012 for outstanding volunteer service to the Museum of Florida Art. Dickson is also a member, current officer, and past president of the West Volusia Retired Educators Association. Dickson also served as President of the Florida Association for the Gifted. Dickson is also a member, precinct committee woman, past secretary, past VP, and Past President of the Northwest Democratic Club in DeLand before becoming chair of the DEC in January 2017.
disclaimers
Paid political advertisement paid for by the Volusia Democratic Disability Caucus.
Paid for by the Volusia Democratic Disability Caucus Executive Committee. http://voldemocraticdisabilitycaucus.org This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidates’ committee.