Meet Our Founder & CEO
A Life’s Mission: Cheryl Kilmer and the Inspiration for TERI
In 1970, while studying psychology at the University of Michigan, Cheryl Kilmer had an experience that would shape her life’s purpose. During a visit to a state hospital for children with disabilities, she met Yvette Champagne, a five-year-old girl living with quadriplegia, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy who had been abandoned by her mother. Though confined to a wooden wheelchair with little opportunity for connection or growth, Yvette’s spirit left a lasting impression on Cheryl. Cheryl knew she couldn’t save Yvette, but she promised to do something greater—to change the way society sees and cares for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
That promise became TERI.
About Cheryl Kilmer
Cheryl Kilmer is the Founder and CEO of TERI, Inc., an organization dedicated to transforming the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. After earning her degree in psychology, Kilmer took an active role in deinstitutionalization efforts, helping to create community-based homes and specialized services for individuals with severe disabilities. She moved to California in 1976, continuing her work as an executive director before founding TERI in 1980. What began as a small initiative to provide high-quality residential care has grown into a nationally recognized model for lifelong support, education, and advocacy. Under Kilmer’s leadership, TERI has pioneered innovative programs that have empowered countless individuals with disabilities, ensuring they receive the dignity, security, and opportunities they deserve. Today, many of the first individuals TERI served are still part of the organization, a testament to the lifelong impact of its mission. For Kilmer, TERI is more than an organization—it is a movement to ensure that no individual with disabilities is ever forgotten again.
Founding TERI to Transform Lives
In 1980, Cheryl Kilmer founded TERI from her home in Oceanside after seeing the lack of quality services for individuals with special needs. That same year, TERI became one of only thirteen agencies in California to pilot residential care—marking the start of a lifelong mission to transform lives.
Creating the TERI Campus of Life
In 2002, a $1 million lead gift from Charles E. Cono made it possible to purchase the land that would become the TERI Campus of Life. After securing its Major Use Permit in 2015, TERI opened the Harriet E. Pfleger Equestrian Center—the first major facility on campus.
Expanding TERI’s Impact (Ongoing)
TERI continues to grow—offering lifelong education, organic farming, quality of life programs, and vocational training. The organization also broke ground on the Tom and Mary Tomlinson Vocational Center in 2019 and the Walter J. & Betty C. Zable Foundation Fine & Performing Arts Center and Bornemann
Theatre in 2022.
Today, TERI operates over 20 programs, serving more than 900 individuals and families each year, and has raised over $55 million to bring the Campus of Life to life. Next up, complete the Campus—opening all doors for all abilities and fully realizing TERI's vision to become a replicable model for the world.