National Down Syndrome Congress

National Down Syndrome Congress

NDSC's Logo
Abbreviation	NDSC
Formation	1973
Purpose	Educational, advocate, legal, research
Headquarters	Roswell, Georgia, USA
Official language	English, Espanol
President	Dr. Marilyn Tolbert
Website	NDSC Official Website

The National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) is a national not-for-profit organization that provides individuals, families, and health care providers information and support about Down syndrome, as well as advocating with and on behalf of individuals with Down syndrome.

In recent years, the NDSC's most prominent campaign has been "We're More Alike Than Different."

The NDSC was an outgrowth of meetings held by the Arc of the United States, and the NDSC was officially formed in 1973. It was the first organization to focus specifically on the needs of individuals with Down syndrome, rather than generalized intellectual or cognitive disabilities. Though originally based in Illinois, the national headquarters is now in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2014, Dr. Marilyn Tolbert, of Fort Worth, Texas, was elected president of the organization. Past presidents are Pete Starr (1973–1976), Owings Mills, Maryland; Sig Pueschel(1976–1977), East Greenwich, Rhode Island; Robert Glasgow (1977–1978), Washington, DC; Lucille Msall (1978–1979), Oak Park, Illinois; Diane Crutcher (1979–1982), Normal, Illinois; Tom O'Neill (1982–1985), Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Frank Murphy (1985–1988), Atlanta, Georgia; Kathleen Marafino (1988–1990), St. Louis, Missouri; Michal Clark (1990–1993), Bakersfield, California; Maureen Babula (1993–1996), Phillipsburg, New Jersey; Betty Hersey (1996–1999), Dallas, Texas; Jo Ann Simons (2000–2001) Swampscott, Massachusetts; Kathleen Marafino (2001–2002) Cicero, New York; Judy Martz (2002–2005) Littleton, Colorado; Rich Robison (2005–2008) Sudbury, Massachusetts; Brooks Robinson (2008-2011) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and James Faber (2011-2014) Monument, Colorado. Since 2003, David Tolleson has served as Executive Director.