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2026 IMPACT HERO WINNER
Margaret McNutt
ROAR Florida | Noah's Ark of Central Florida
Central Florida
When a Big Dream Becomes a Community
More than three decades ago, five families gathered at a sports complex in Lakeland, Florida, carrying the same difficult question: What will happen to our children when we're no longer here to care for them? Each family had a young child with developmental disabilities and Margaret McNutt was one of those parents.
But rather than accept the limited options available to her son and other adults with developmental disabilities, Margaret began imagining something different—a place where they could live with greater independence, build friendships, continue learning and become active members of a community. That vision would take decades to realize, and it would change hundreds of lives along the way.
Searching for a Better Way
Margaret's son, Jared, experienced a severe seizure when he was 15 months old and was later diagnosed with developmental disabilities. As Margaret connected with other parents, she began to understand how widespread the need for long-term support was and how few satisfactory options families had. So Margaret started searching.
She volunteered her time and her own financial resources to study residential communities around the country, spending two years traveling to New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois to meet with the people behind programs serving individuals with developmental disabilities.
In 1998, she helped create the nonprofit Noah's Ark of Central Florida. The families initially developed a small residential facility in downtown Lakeland known as Noah's Nest, eventually expanding it to three buildings. But Margaret and the other families were thinking bigger. They envisioned an entirely new kind of community: apartment-style residences combined with activities, education and opportunities to volunteer and work—an environment designed around self-sufficiency, growth and belonging rather than an institutional model.
Changing the Rules to Change Lives
Creating that community meant confronting an enormous list of obstacles. They needed land, funding and community support, and bigger yet, they even needed Florida law to change. Margaret spent years building relationships and advocating for people with developmental disabilities. Over an eight-year period, she helped bring individuals with special needs to Tallahassee to serve as pages on the floor of the Florida House of Representatives and encouraged them to meet personally with lawmakers.
Her reasoning was simple but powerful: policymakers should know the people whose lives would be affected by the decisions they made. Margaret was ultimately instrumental in advocating for Florida Senate Bill 1166, which changed a rule that had created a barrier to developing planned residential communities for people with special needs.
The vision finally became reality, and the Villages at Noah's Landing began welcoming residents in July 2016. The 56-acre community grew to 126 residents, with plans for an additional phase underway at the time of Margaret's nomination.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
A Place to Belong
Housing was only part of Margaret's dream. She also wanted residents to have full lives. At Noah's Landing, residents can participate in classes ranging from food preparation and money management to swimming, theater, fitness and jewelry design. They're encouraged to pursue part-time employment and volunteer opportunities, and transportation helps connect them with activities beyond the campus.
For many families, the impact is profound. Adults who once spent much of their time at home with their parents now have opportunities to learn, form friendships and develop greater independence. And their parents have something equally valuable: the reassurance that their sons and daughters can have meaningful lives even when they can no longer serve as their full-time caregivers. For Margaret, creating that possibility has become a life's work.
A Lifetime of Showing Up
Margaret's impact can't be measured by Noah's Landing alone. For more than 18 years, she has volunteered as a coach for sports programs serving people with special needs. She leads a weekly yoga class for Noah's Landing residents and others in the surrounding community. For decades, she has provided transportation to people who otherwise might not be able to participate in community events. And for 15 years, she has served as a personal caddy for adaptive golf through First Tee of Lakeland.
She also helped develop a transition program between Polk County Schools and Florida Southern College, creating opportunities for students with developmental disabilities to receive job training, academic support and social-skills instruction alongside age-appropriate peers on a college campus.
Her service has included Habitat for Humanity builds, fundraising events, community gardening, advocacy and countless hours spent helping people participate more fully in the communities around them. The common thread isn't simply volunteerism. It's inclusion.
Dreaming Big Enough for Others
When Margaret began this journey more than three decades ago, she had no guarantee that her own son would ever benefit from the community she was fighting to create. But she kept going anyway, because the problem was bigger than one family.
Margaret envisioned a future in which adults with developmental disabilities could experience independence, friendship, purpose and belonging, and a future in which their parents could see that future take shape while they were still there to witness it.
Today, the community she helped imagine is home to people living that future. Some Impact Heroes change a life through a single extraordinary act. Others spend decades creating the conditions for thousands of ordinary moments—a first apartment, a new friendship, a job, a yoga class, a bus ride into town, or simply the confidence that comes from having a place where you belong. Margaret McNutt's impact is the latter. What began as five families asking what would happen to their children became a community built around an entirely different question: What's possible when everyone is given the opportunity to thrive?
About Margaret
Margaret McNutt is a longtime advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities and one of the driving forces behind Noah's Ark of Central Florida and The Villages at Noah's Landing. For more than three decades, she has devoted her time to expanding housing, independence and opportunities for people with developmental disabilities through advocacy, coaching, education and hands-on volunteer service. Her work helped turn a conversation among five concerned families into a thriving residential community built around inclusion, connection and belonging.
Grace Hill’s Impact Hero Awards Program recognizes individuals who go above and beyond to help others and make a difference in their local community. Learn more.
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