Friday, June 11, 2021 2:49 PM
Mia Peterson, 47, of Des Moines, best known for pioneering the civil rights movement for people with disabilities, died Jan. Obituary released this week. In 1997, Peterson became the first person with Down syndrome to deliver the plenary address at the National Down Syndrome Congress Conference. She started her company, Aiming High, to continue her public speaking work and became the first person with Down syndrome to sit on the board of the National Down Syndrome Society, as testified prior to the 10th Anniversary Congress of Americans with Disabilities Act in 2000 and serve on multiple boards and committees for life, including People First of Ohio and Iowa, GiGi’s Playhouse, Iowa Governor’s Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the Iowa Commission on Persons with Disabilities. An online celebration of life ministry will be announced shortly. Commemorative donations in Peterson’s name can be made to the National Down Syndrome Society and GiGis Playhouse of Des Moines.
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