Gerald Nebeker

Dr. Gerald Nebeker is a social enterprise entrepreneur. Considered an expert in nonprofit governance, he has served on many local and national nonprofit boards. Dr. Nebeker founded the nonprofit organization RISE, Inc. in 1987 to support people with a variety of developmental disabilities, now operating in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. He co-founded Acumen Inc. in 1995, becoming the first national fiscal employer agent company in the nation, and helping people to self-direct their care. He created Orange Socks, in 2016 to educate new parents of children with disabilities. Orange Socks has millions of views on social media with people viewing and listening to its parent stories all over the world. He is an advocate, researcher, and national presenter in the field of developmental disabilities. But, most significant, he and his wife, Laurel, have been married 36 years and have eight terrific children, the youngest of whom has Down syndrome.