Tom Heinz, who built East Bay Innovations into a lifeline for adults with disabilities, plans to retire

For more than three decades, Tom Heinz has worked from a simple idea: adults with disabilities should get the same basic chances as everyone else. "We want people with disabilities to have the same basic opportunities that non-disabled people have," Heinz told CBS News Bay Area. He plans to retire from leading the nonprofit he founded, East Bay Innovations, at the end of the year.

What East Bay Innovations does

Heinz founded East Bay Innovations, or EBI, in 1994. According to the organization, it began as a small supported-living agency and now offers a range of services across Alameda County. Its mission is to provide personalized support so people with disabilities can live in their own homes, work in jobs of their choosing and feel part of their community.

The state-funded San Leandro nonprofit provides education, employment, housing and support services. CBS reported that it serves about 1,100 clients a year, helping with everything from personal care to applying for government benefits.

Keys and paychecks

"There's two things that we get to see that are super powerful," Heinz said. "One is people getting the keys to their first apartment or house. The other is people getting their first paycheck."

His relationships with lawmakers and employers have opened doors. Heinz said one client hired at BART now earns $80,000 a year, and that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently promoted a client to a supervisor job with a six-figure salary. One program graduate now works full-time at the reception desk of the Ed Roberts Campus, a hub for disability service nonprofits. "These are game-changers in the way people look at disability, especially intellectual disabilities," Heinz said.

Recognition

Mary Lou Breslin, EBI's board chair, called Heinz a bridge-building visionary. "He absolutely does not seek out the limelight," she said. EBI says it was named a 2026 Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Liz Ortega, and it has announced a partnership with Related California on an affordable, transit-oriented community planned next to the West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.

Asked what the work has meant to him, Heinz called it "soul food." "You get to see people achieve things that they never thought they could achieve," he said.