Lilia Teninty, the director of the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS), will step down next month to take a new position with a consulting firm. ODDS is the program responsible for serving more than 32,000 Oregonians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).  

Since joining ODDS as director in 2014, Lilia has been a strong advocate for Oregonians with I/DD. Under her leadership, ODDS has achieved many positive outcomes for the population they serve while weathering significant challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lilia was an early voice for the greater risk faced by people with I/DD, leading the state to a more equitable public health response. She also supported rate increases for I/DD providers that ensured higher wages for this dedicated and undercompensated workforce. During this time, Lilia also led the development of strategic plan for the I/DD system and the implementation of a new functional needs assessment to better serve individuals in the system. 

Most recently under her leadership, ODDS marked the end of the Lane v. Brown settlement after making access to competitive, integrated employment the expectation for every Oregonian with I/DD.  

Before coming to ODDS, Lilia worked as a senior policy specialist for the Human Services Research Institute in Tualatin and, before that, she served as director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities for the state of Illinois.  

Lilia will now be going back to her consultancy career with her new role at Health Management Associates (HMA). She will work primarily with the HMA Burns & Associates subdivision, consulting on policy and systems implementation efforts.   

Lilia’s last day at ODDS will be Thursday, November 10. We will make an announcement soon about an interim director.  

While we will miss Lilia greatly, she has built an excellent team in ODDS that will continue to build on the progress made.  

Thank you, Lilia, for everything you have done to improve the lives of Oregonians with disabilities, and congratulations on your new role!