Wisconsin’s Special Olympic World Games gold medalist and outstanding disability advocate, Olivia Quigley, has died at the age of 25. Olivia had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.
Olivia was adopted at the age of 3 from China by her parents, Dan and Judy- a former Disability Rights Wisconsin board member. Olivia had a diagnosis of autism, lived in her own apartment and was a success story for the Project Search program that supports young people with disabilities in community jobs. She exceled at her job at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and was a role model for countless other young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In 2015 ESPN named Olivia to their Impact25 list of influential women in sports and she received the inaugural Inspiration Award. She was also honored as a Hometown Hero by the Wisconsin State Assembly and received a standing ovation on the floor of the Assembly.
You can read more about Olivia’s extraordinary life and advocacy for people with disabilities here:
http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/17995516/remembering-special-olympics-world-gamesgold-medalist-olivia-quigley
Disability Rights Wisconsin shares condolences with the Quigley family and honors Olivia’s memory.