Texas Disability History Collection

Vicki Niedermayer graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology in 1980. She received her Masters from the University of Texas at Arlington in Applied Behavior Analysis in 1986. She began her career with MHMR of Tarrant County (Mental Health Mental Retardation) as it was beginning to deinstitutionalize residents of state schools. After establishing a group home for women from the Denton State School, she became the residential program director and eventually also the director of behavior treatment and crisis team coordinator at MHMR of Tarrant County. After 17 years, Niedermayer moved to Fort Worth’s Lena Pope Home in 1999 to become director of training. After two years at a disability-focused non-profit in Dallas, she came back to Arlington in 2001 to serve as the CEO of disability rights and independent living organization Helping Restore Ability (HRA). Under her leadership, HRA has become the largest nonprofit provider of attendants for daily living activities in the state.

Today, she serves on the board of Texas Association of Home Care and Hospice and the international nonprofit advisory board for the executive leadership training organization Vistage. Niedermayer has received numerous awards for her work, including the Legacy Woman of the Year Award (Health and Human Services), the Outstanding Not-For-Profit Organization of the Year from the Arlington Chamber of Commerce in 2010 and the Aggie 100 Award in 2011