20
Nov
2025

Dr. Thomas Neuville Named 2025 Recipient of the Edna Silberman Humanitarian Service Award

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On November 18, 2025, Keystone Human Services (KHS) honored Dr. Thomas Neuville with the Edna Silberman Humanitarian Service Award at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Membership.

Given annually, the award honors outstanding citizens who have made significant contributions to individuals, the community, and KHS, and who have played a major role in making the KHS vision real in the lives of others.

Thomas recently retired as a Professor of Educational Foundations and Disability Studies in the Special Education Department at Millersville University after a career of making a difference in the lives of people with intellectual disability. He created groundbreaking teacher preparation courses in social justice and community organizing, graduating over 3,000 educators with a deep understanding of Social Role Valorization. He established the first four-year, fully inclusive residential certificate program for students with intellectual disabilities in the United States.

In 1986, Thomas joined KHS as the Executive Director of the Commonwealth Institute (now the Keystone Institute) – KHS’s first values-based training institute. He brought with him a decade of work in Colorado where he advocated for economic justice in pay for people with disability and pioneered supported living and employment. During his time leading the Commonwealth Institute, KHS’s vision and values became woven into the fabric of the disability community across Pennsylvania. His service to KHS and the community extended through the years as he volunteered thousands of hours to provide workshops and study groups for KHS.

In his retirement, he continues to serve as an Expert Witness to the court for children at risk of being segregated from their typical peers.   

“Through five decades of unwavering leadership, innovation, and action, Dr. Neuville has not only championed inclusion and self-determination for people with disability, but has transformed communities, institutions, and lives across the nation,” said Charles S. Sweeder, President and CEO of Keystone Human Services.