Brion Brooks ’80

Brion Brooks ’80 became the executive
director of the Village of Progress, a nonprofit
agency in rural northwest Illinois, serving
individuals with developmental disabilities, in
2014. In the spring of 2017 the agency opened
The Village Bakery, a retail bakery and café in
Oregon, Illinois. The Village Bakery provides
competitive wages to men and women with
disabilities in an integrated environment.
With the tagline “Baking a Difference,” The
Village Bakery strives to help the community
see people with disabilities for what they can
do. The bakery also provides special-education
internships for local school districts.