Whit Downing

Whit Downing serves as the Vice President of Policy and Programming for the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities (KCDD), the leading statewide organization representing Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Downing first joined KCDD in early 2024 as a behavior health advisor, and became its full-time VP leading policy and programming in November 2024. Whit is a proud autistic woman who lives with PTSD, and has survived a suicide attempt. Whit’s greatest passions is ensuring that neurodiverse people are always included in discussions surrounding mental health and suicide prevention.

In her role, Whit leads a number of initiatives related to KCDD’s advocacy agenda and systems change programs. Downing regularly testifies before the Kansas Legislature on key disability lifespan issues that require subject matter expertise. She supports KCDD’s Health Equity & Outcomes Coalition’s behavioral health portfolio which includes leading Kansas’ We All Matter (WAM) peer mental health support group by and for people with IDD, creates plain language resources and guides and represents KCDD on a number of statewide coalitions, boards and committees. 

Prior to joining KCDD, Downing was a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) Trainee and graduate. Whit serves on the board of directors for the Kansas Youth Empowerment Academies (KYEA), and recently finished her term as a board member of HeadQuarters Kansas.

Whit’s education background includes two years of college classes at Washburn University,  participation in KYEA’s advanced leadership Faces of Change training program.