This past Wednesday, July 30th, 2025, Inland Regional Center (IRC) proudly continued its commitment to community collaboration by hosting an informative IRC 101 training session with the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District at their headquarters. The presentation welcomed fire personnel as well as first responder partners from across the region, marking an important step in strengthening relationships between IRC and local emergency service providers.
The training was led by an exceptional team from IRC’s Community Engagement and Training departments: Dr. CJ Cook, Program Administrator for Community Engagement, Training, and the Service Access and Equity Unit; Ruth Armstead, Manager of the Service Access and Equity Unit; Travis Gaddishaw-Grant, Senior Training Specialist for Training and Development; and Marquis Quinton, IRC Emergency Service Coordinator. Together, they delivered a dynamic, interactive session aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of IRC’s mission, services, and the populations we serve.
The goal of the presentation was clear: to educate our public safety partners on who we are as a regional center and how we serve individuals with developmental disabilities throughout San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. More importantly, the team emphasized how first responders and IRC can partner together to build a more inclusive, informed, and responsive community.
From outlining IRC’s foundational values to explaining how to best support individuals with developmental disabilities during emergencies, the team fostered open dialogue and offered practical strategies for real-world application. This engagement is not just about education—it’s about creating long-term partnerships rooted in mutual respect and shared purpose.
Marquis Quinton summed up the spirit of the day when he shared, “This is the first step forward for many new partnerships to be made with our first responder partners.” His statement speaks to IRC’s vision of inclusion—not only for those we serve but for the broader network of public agencies working alongside us.
We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to San Bernardino County Fire Protection District for hosting us and to all the dedicated first responders and public agency staff who participated in the session. Your openness, engagement, and commitment to learning are what make partnerships like this possible.
If your agency is interested in receiving an IRC 101 presentation or would like to begin a conversation about how we can collaborate to better serve individuals with developmental disabilities, we invite you to reach out. Please email us at [email protected]—we would love to connect with you.
Together, we can continue to create safer, more inclusive communities across the Inland Empire.
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