Vicki Niswander is first and foremost the mom of three fantastic children, who are all now adults.   Jeff, is a recent grauduate in mechanical engineering from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb.  Kathy, is a junior majoring in psychology at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, and Annie, age 25, who has Down Syndrome, assists with the radio program, Disability Beat.  Vicki's husband, Mark, works for the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in Research Safety.

 Vicki is currently self-employed as a consultant, having worked for Project CHOICES, an LRE project in Illinois, and directed the Parent and Educator Partnership, another state grant in Illinois. Current activities, in addition to Disability Beat, include menbership on the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, chairing the College Access Committee (studying access to postsecondary opportunities for people with developmental disabilities in the east central Illinois area), and serving as a member of the Board of Education in Mahomet-Seymour CUSD#3 in Mahomet, IL. She is also a trainer for Family Matters Parent Training and Information Center, based in Effingham, IL.