Robert Stack
Transformative Leader in Disability Rights and Community-Based Care
Robert Stack has spent over 40 years championing the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, transforming how care is delivered in the United States. As the founder, President and CEO of Community Options, established in 1989, Stack turned a personal investment of just $362 into one of the nation’s largest and most respected nonprofit organizations in disability services. Today, Community Options operates in 12 states, with over 60 offices, a staff of more than 7,000 and an annual budget exceeding $500 million. His pioneering work in community-based housing and employment has directly challenged institutional care, allowing thousands to live more independently and with dignity.
Stack’s early career in public service began in 1980 at the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, where he helped open the state’s first group homes. Later, as Deputy Director for New Jersey’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, he led efforts to transition individuals from large institutions into local, community settings. His experience highlighted the bureaucratic challenges of systemic reform and inspired him to found an organization committed solely to person-centered, community-based care.
His academic background laid the intellectual groundwork for his advocacy. Stack earned a BA in Philosophy from the University of Dayton and later an MBA in Business and Management from California Southern University, graduating summa cum laude. He also studied internationally at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), the University of Rome and the University of London, broadening his global view on disability rights and nonprofit governance.
In addition to leading Community Options, Stack has shared his knowledge as a university lecturer, teaching at Kent State University, where he won a Graduate Teaching Award, and Kean University as an adjunct professor. His focus on nonprofit leadership and disability policy has educated and inspired the next generation of advocates and administrators.
Stack is also a published author. His 2015 book, I Matter – So Does Your Cause: Starting a Nonprofit, offers a practical and philosophical guide to launching mission-driven organizations. All proceeds from the book are donated to Community Options. His forthcoming title, Silent No Longer: Advancing the Fight for Disability Rights (due out in September 2025), tackles the systemic problems facing the disability services sector today, including the concerning rise of private equity in care provision and the persistence of substandard institutions masked by clever marketing.
Recognized as both a practitioner and thought leader, Stack’s insights have influenced nonprofit strategy, disability policy and ethical leadership on an international scale. He was appointed to the Board of Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources (PAR) in 2022 and invited to the Oxford Roundtable in 2015, further testaments to his impact on the field.
Today, Stack continues to lead Community Options with a collaborative, team-based approach to executive leadership. His focus remains on expanding community-based supports, protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities and guarding against trends, like privatization, that threaten care quality. His legacy is defined not just by the organization he built, but by the national shift in how we define support, inclusion and human dignity for people with disabilities.