May 22, 2025
The Boost News
The New York State Justice Center’s latest newsletter remembers the life of Mary St. Mark, who died this month at age 84. The mother and advocate was a force of nature, as were her four cohorts, who helped change the lives of countless individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
In honor of St. Mark, The Boost recommends you watch this wonderful video of the work done by St. Mark and her colleagues, Anna Mae Vener, Dorothy Stone, Mary Bonsignore (who passed away in 2020) and Nellie Velez, all of whom had or have children with I/DD. They devoted their lives to advocacy and profoundly impacted public policy starting in the 1960s and ’70s, at a time support was severely limited and in many instances nonexistent.
Perhaps best known as the “Ladies in Red,” among their signature accomplishments was in 1994, when through organizing and protesting they induced then-Mayor Guliani to restore cuts he had made to funding for people with developmental disabilities.
St. Mark was also president and chairperson of the Institutes of Applied Human Dynamics (IAHD) for nearly three decades, an active member of the Bronx Developmental Disabilities Council for over 50 years, and in 2014 joined the Justice Center Advisory Council as a parent advocate.