Meet Our Founder

Lilly Grossman is a disability policy advocate, systems strategist, and writer focused on how public systems shape access, independence, and long-term opportunity for Americans with disabilities. She also speaks on disability policy, systems reform, and lived experience in policy design.

Drawing on over a decade of firsthand system navigation, her work centers on identifying structural barriers embedded within disability programs and translating lived experience into practical policy reform strategies. Through Beyond The Box Advocacy, Lilly developed the Enforced Barriers Project and Disability Support Service Portability Framework.

In addition to leading Beyond The Box Advocacy, Lilly contributes to research, policy development, and governance across multiple organizations. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Disability Community Resource Center and Access Central Coast, contributes to long-term services and supports research with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and advises the California Department of Developmental Services through its Lived Experience Advisory Group.

Lilly also holds leadership roles within the National Association of Social Workers California chapter, where she chairs the DisAbilities Council Policy Subcommittee and works to advance disability inclusion within social work practice and policy development. Her advocacy extends into healthcare and patient access through her work as an ambassador with the National Patient Advocate Foundation.

Alongside her policy work, Lilly writes and speaks about disability access and systemic accountability. Her work has been featured in Forbes and she has authored policy commentary examining how public systems influence opportunity, independence, and stability for Americans with disabilities.

Lilly is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work at the University of Southern California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in English from Whittier College.