Kate Pew Wolters, Grand Valley State University trustee, received the Invest in Ability award from the Disablity Advocates of Kent County last week.

The Invest in Ability award is given to individuals or organizations who have advanced the lives of people with disabilities in the Grand Rapids community. Pew Wolters served as executive director of the DAKC in the early 1980s.

Jocelyn Dettloff, DAKC development director, said Pew Wolters has never let her physical constraints as a dwarf affect the lofty goals she set for herself in life.

“She is an extremely down-to-earth person,” Dettloff said. “… Grand Rapids is very fortunate to have someone like Kate around because of her passion and compassion.”

In 1994 she was appointed by then-president Bill Clinton to serve on the National Council on Disability, where she worked from 1996 to 2003 after being approved by the Senate. She served as the vice chairwoman of the council for eight years.

The granddaughter of one of the Steelcase founders, Pew Wolters led the effort to build the Grand Rapids Art Museum, served as the chair of GVSU’s Board of Trustees, sits on the board of directors for Steelcase and leads charitable efforts through both the Steelcase Foundation and her own foundation.

Founded in 1997 by Pew Wolters and her late husband, Richard Wolters, the Kate and Richard Wolters Foundation makes grants to non-profit organizations with an emphasis in the arts, education, human services and people with disabilities. The foundation takes in $6 million annually, according to findthebest.com.

The foundation has provided grants to Gilda’s Club of Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Art Museum and Catherine’s Care Center.

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