Queens Centers for Progress founder Natalie Katz Rogers died on May 7 at her Florida home at age 103.
Photo courtesy of QCP
Queens Centers for Progress announced its founder Natalie Katz Rogers died peacefully in her Florida home on May 7 at the age of 103. Despite her age, she continued to be a champion for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and a role model and mentor for those who worked with her through the years.
“How do you explain a woman who changed the lives of so many families, as she did mine?” said Margaret MacPherson, QCP president, board of directors. “This one person truly made a difference and unselfishly advocated for those who needed her strong voice. She is the reason Queens Centers for Progress exists. It was a privilege to have known her and she will be missed by all who knew and loved her.”
Queens Centers for Progress was founded in 1950 when Katz Rogers and other Queens parents began advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and laid the groundwork for the Cerebral Palsy Association of New York State. Construction began on the organization’s first dedicated building at 82-25 164th St. in Hillcrest, which would offer therapy and educational programs for children with cerebral palsy. As the children grew, they began offering vocational services, including facility-based training workshops. As the deinstitutionalization movement grew in the early 1970s so did the scope of her organization.
QCP’s Natalie Katz Rogers Training and Treatment Center at 81-15 164th St. was built in 1974 followed by the opening of the Robert T. Groh Residence in Jamaica Estates in 1979.
Currently, QCP provides programs and services assisting more than 1,200 individuals to promote independence, community involvement and quality of life.
Her bright smile and sense of humor were fixtures at the CP State Annual Conference for many years, where she orchestrated musical numbers, recited…
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